Aaron's POV:

As soon as lunch is over, I head straight off towards the football field, Alicia clinging to me.

"Can you get off me Alicia?", I groan out, frustratedly.

"Oh come on, Aaron", she says, reluctantly releasing me from her snake like grip.

"I'm off to practice, and I can't have you around me right now", I almost yell out, but I don't because tomorrow is Kayla's competition, and I don't want to piss Alicia off and make her do anything.

Alicia pouts a bit, but walks off to join her cheerleader friends without any further issue.

Meanwhile, I head off straight for the locker room to change, trying to keep my mind blank. It's something I started doing this past week, when the pressure became a bit too tough. My parents are still arguing over college and football, Alicia has been making my days at school unbearable, and I can't be with Kayla anymore. So most times, to avoid the stress, I tune everything out, and focus on only football about football.

Two other guys are in the locker room when I get there, so I go into one of the showers to change in private. I hang my bag of clothes on the faucet of the shower and shut the door with a click behind me before I start to strip off my clothes.

A sigh of relief escapes from me as I reach for my jersey and a feeling of calm envelops me.

Until water starts to gush out of the faucet.

Cold icy water.

"What the..."

I splutter as I blindly reach for the faucet in my haste to shut off the water completely and prevent it from completely drenching me, but instead I am met with a wet t-shirt. Then, in my blind disorientation, the water shuts off, I am thrown a towel, and all but dragged out of the showers and thrown butt first on the ground.

"For heavens' sake cover up", I hear Keon's voice, one that I would recognize anywhere.

I use the towel to dry my face before I lay it across my lap to cover my drenched boxers. I look up to find Keon and Jason standing over me.

Jason turns to the two boys who are sitting on the bench, mouths agape.

"Out", he barks, and they scuttle away like scared rabbits without a second glance back.

"What is going on", I ask frustratedly, glaring at Jason who ignores me.

"He's covered up Steph", he yells, turning towards the door. "You can come in now".

The door opens to reveal Steph, her red hair tangled and messy around her shoulders, her arms behind her back.

"I would have come in anyway", she says, rolling her eyes at me. "It's not the first time I've seen a guy's..."

"I don't think we need to be informed of the number of times that you've come in contact with the male sex organ.", Keon's British cuts in, his tone condescending.

Steph sticks out her tongue at him.

For a moment, they all seem to have forgotten that I am on the floor, so I clear my throat loudly.

"What is going on?", I repeat.

"Well we had to find a way to get you to communicate with us since you were obviously going out of your way to avoid us. So we had to resort to this barbarian ambush.", Keon finally answers.

"I'm sure this was all your idea", I growl at Jason.

"Actually, it was my idea", Steph cuts in. "I know how to mess with pipes and stuff. Your friend wasn't supposed to be here, but he heard us talking about it and insisted on coming along." At this point she shoots Keon a glare.

Now it is Keon's turn to stick his tongue out at her, and I would be surprised at his childish behavior if I didn't have much more pressing issues on my mind at the moment.

"So you've got me. What do you want to talk about", I say, folding my arms.

"We want to know what is actually wrong Aaron, and not the half baked lie you've been feeding us lately.", Jason says.

"We all know that if what you really desired was getting back with Alicia then you would have been far more ecstatic than you are now.", Keon puts in.

I give a sigh. "I am happy with Alicia"

Steph gives the two boys a look, and they nod and step back, just in time for her to reveal what she was hiding behind her back.

A hose. Pointed at me.

She turns it on full blast, drenching me in the cold water.

"Steph", I yell out, raising my hands to protect myself from the watery attack, but failing woefully.

Finally, she turns of the hose.

"You say anything stupid again, and I'll turn it back on", she threatens. "So you'd better come up with a different answer."

"You think this is a joke?", I growl, trying to stand up, but a firm hand meets my chest and pushes me back down.

I look up, expecting to see Jason, but instead it's Keon.

"Of course we do not consider this a joke Aaron", he says, his voice loud and firm. "We can all see that you are hurting, and hurting badly. So let us help you. Are you too blind to see that its not only you thst is hurting, but everyone around you, your team and even Kayla?"

Something raw and emotional snags in my throat, and I tear my gaze from them, looking at the empty shower hall as I try swallow down whatever it was that was choking me. I am silent for a long while, shaking my head, intent to come back with some sort of argument.

But I don't have one.

And instead, I do what I should have done a long time ago.

I tell them everything.

I am shocked at how easily everything somes out once I make up my mind to do so. I tell them how I had planned to tell Kayla that I was in love with her, how Alicia had threatened me about the art competition and how I had felt the need to protect her from Alicia no matter what it did to our relationship with each other.

All three of them lean in expressions of concern on their faces, and I can't help the tears that stream down my face, tears that have been threatening to fall from the moment I left Kayla's side.

"So you did all this for Kayla?", Jason and Keon ask together, and I nod.

And then, Steph bursts out laughing. She laughs so hard that she falls ofd the bench where she has seated and rolls on the floor.

"Have you lost your mind?", Keon asks.

"No but... omg I can't believe that she actually... I am literally going to die."

"So do you plan to tell us what is so hilarious or are you going to keep the joke to yourself?", Jason asks, revealing that he is just as confused as I am.

Eventually, Steph manages, to get herself into a good enough state of mind and stands up.

"Ok, I know this is going to sound crazy but... Alicia lied."

She waits, as if pausing for dramatic effect, but none of us react.

She looks at us, frustration written clearly on her face.

"Don't you see? Kayla didn't need that art contest to get into Brown University. She already submitted her portfolio to them months ago. Yes, this art contest is important to Kayla, but not for admission purposes or anything like that. It's because this is one of the art competitions her mom won before she died."

Slowly, realization dawns on me.

"B-b-but Alicia said that she would get proof that Kayla was cheating", I barely manage to stammer out.

"How would she do that?", Steph responds. "The competition requires you to give either video or photographic proof of you completing your artwork as proof of your entry. That's literally all that is needed."

Jason whistles through his teeth. "Alicia played you for a sucker man. And you got Kayla so depressed because she thought you didn't care about her."

"But I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was helping Kayla, and now all I've done is to cause her pain."

"it's the thought that counts Aaron", Steph says, sitting beside me on the ground and putting an arm around my drenched shivering body. "The fact that you loved her so much to put yourself through pain for her to be happy, well that says so much about how much you care for her."

"Not to mention how irrationally you acted. I've always known you to double check your facts but when it comes to her you seem to lose all sense of reasoning", Jason adds, leaning against the wall.

"But you should have told her, or your coach, or someone. You could have used your phone to get a recording of her blackmailing you. Even though her ground for blackmail were completely false", Steph snickers.

"Where was this advice three weeks ago?", I mutter.

"It was right here. You just weren't ready to share the burden with someone who would listen", she says.

"Fair", I admit. "You guys are right and I... I appreciate you for being there for me."

"There, that didn't kill you did it?", Jason asks. "That means I can finally stop stalking you and your brat of a girlfriend."

"Stalking us?"

"Yeah. Kayla knew something was up, so she asked me to keep an eye on you, which is why I've been following you around a lot"

"You mean she might still be interested in me?"

Steph smacks the back of my head.

"Of course she's still interested in you idiot.", she groans in frustration. "What you need is to get her back. Explain everything, show her how much you love her."

"Of course. A grand gesture of love", Keon says from where he has been quietly seated, and we all turn to look at him.

"What", he asks, raising his eyebrows. "I know a few things about romance."

I look at them, an idea blossoming in my mind. Something to show Kayla how much I care about her. How much she means to me.

"I know that look.", Keon smiles. "What are you planning?"

"And more importantly", Steph says, turning to face me, "what can we do to help".

A/N: Sorry that I couldn't update yesterday loves. I really wanted to, but I was really sick and I couldn't. 

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

What do you think Aaron has planned to get Kayla back?

Don't forget to vote and comment all your thoughts and opinions. Love you all 💋💋💋