"Why the hell is it so cold?" Brianna groaned beside me, hugging her arms around herself, "It's not even October yet."

I offered a nod in agreement, but didn't say anything. At least she'd had enough intelligence to put on a long sleeve under the jersey Andy had given her to sport while she was cheering him on. I was sitting in Jay's, but had rushed out of the house so quickly that I'd not only forgotten to grab something to wear under the jersey but a jacket as well. Bryan had mentioned he'd be stopping by, but would be late because of work, so I didn't even have him to act as my own little heater as I usually did. It was coming to a point where I needed to glue a sticky note to my forehead reminding me to grab a jacket every time I left the house.

"Andy!" Brianna jumped off the second to last bleacher and hurried to her boyfriend as the boys made their way to the locker room. I was a little slower to joining her, watching from afar as she hugged Andrew, his dark eyes glistening. They were perfect; the Golden couple for sure. I hate that it took this long for me to try and push them out of their comfort zones so they got together.

"Hey, Reese!" I was engulfed in a hug before I could say anything, my eyes still on Andy and my friend. I swallowed and pulled back from Jay, taking in his black and red uniform. They looked a couple sizes too big against his slender frame, but he didn't seem to care, and the confidence that he exuded made you feel as though they were the perfect fit. "You look great!"

I glanced down at the jersey with a weak smile, surprised he couldn't see how red my fingertips and shoulders were. But he didn't seem to really be paying attention to me, but to his own jersey on me. Before I could get a word in, the wide receiver, Trey or something I think, shoved Jay and he winked before roughhousing with his teammate across the field. When I looked back to Andy and Brianna, Liam had appeared out of thin air and was grinning down at my friend, intently listening to whatever it was she was saying. As if they could feel my eyes on them, Liam shifted his duffel bag on his shoulder and Andy frowned.

"You're cold." Liam said quietly, not a question, but a statement. Brianna and Andy looked worried, but neither of them added or contradicted it.

"I'm a little anemic." I answered passively. "I just get colder easier than most people."

Brianna laughed, and added, "She usually bums a jacket off Bry, but he had work and she forgot her jacket when we picked her up."

Liam nodded and unzipped his bag, pulling his Letterman from it. Andy immediately slapped a hand against his best friend's broad chest before he could take a step forward. Liam dropped his head so he was staring at his friend's hand clutching a fistful of black and red fabric in his hands.

"What are you doing, bro?" Andy asked.

Liam picked his friend's hand up by the wrist and dropped it so it fell back to Andy's side limply. "She's shivering and her entire body is red from the cold, Andy. She needs a jacket."

"Yes." Andy responded with a nod, putting an emphasis on every word that left his mouth. "Her boyfriend's jacket."

The words sat in the air for a while. I hadn't really considered the thought of Jay being my boyfriend; we'd been on one date and I was at our school's Homecoming game. There was no official label, at least I hadn't thought so. Then again, I was kind of new to the whole dating scene.

"Clearly he was being a self-absorbed dick and didn't even think to give her his. I don't care what it signifies, Andy. Nobody will even be paying attention to one girl in the crowd."

Andy stares at Liam for a couple seconds before he backs away with his hands up in surrender and lets Liam pass by, closing the distance to where I was standing. He smiled weakly as he wrapped his jacket around me. Then, he leaned down and said, "Don't worry, I'll get on his ass for you, okay?"

I nodded but couldn't speak. This was by far the kindest gesture I'd seen out of Liam in the little time I'd actually gotten to know him. Which meant that the Playbook must be putting small chinks in his armor every day. It was working.

"Hey!" I grasped Liam's forearm before he and Andy started across the field to join the rest of the team. He looked back over his shoulder at me, one of his dark eyebrows raised, blue eyes prompting me to go on. "Good luck, Tin Man."

*

Despite the uproar of the crowd nearly defeaning me, as I watched the last thirty seconds of the Fourth Quarter, all I could hear was my own heartbeat as my eyes followed Liam. He backed away, eyes scanning the field for anyone open, Just as he catches sight of Andy and throws a perfect spiral that lands in his best friend's expectant arms, he's sacked by an opponent and hits the ground so hard his body grows still and his helmet flies off. I excused myself as I squirmed through a few men and a eight year old girl with her hands over her ears, ready to get away before the hearing loss could become permanent. I waited on the sideline for a few minutes, watching the rest of our team tackle and praise Andy, my eyes on Liam. Nobody seemed to notice him on the ground until I broke passed a cheerleader and began to walk across the field.

"Reese!" Andy shouted, shoving through his teammates. "What the hell are you doing?"

I made a gesture toward Liam and he immediately ran over to me, crouching down beside his best friend. "Dude, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Liam mumbled, and though I wouldn't admit it aloud, I was relieved. "They just knocked me on my ass is all."

It was definitely a little more than that, though, because the second Andy tried to help him sit upright, he grasped his shoulder and polluted the turf with vomit, inches from his friend's shoes. Andy rubbed his shoulder and I was pushed back as a medic rushed to his side. Before I could try and reach out to comfort him myself, I felt arms snake around my waist from behind and I was spun around to face Jay with the biggest, goofiest grin on his face. Even when he leaned down to kiss me, something that should of made my heart explode, I couldn't help but want to turn back and check on Liam.

*

The final verdict was a minor concussion and a bruised rib for Liam. He was told by Coach to rest and keep off his feet as much as possible, which we all knew wouldn't really happen. He'd be parading around school acting as if nothing happened Monday morning. As most of the crowd and the rival school's team exited the parking lot, we ended up sitting around or in Liam's truck and staring at the vacant parking lot. Andy and I kept looking back to Liam, who was sitting in the bed of his truck massaging his temples, lips pursed, eyes occasionally finding ours before he'd drop it again. Brianna was sitting on the tailgate, Andy standing and leaning against the car beside her as they passed a joint back and forth. One that would occasionally fall into Liam's hand, and more times than I'd like, into Jay's as well.

Jay and I weren't near Liam's truck at all, but stood almost in the middle of the lot, his arm draped loosely over my shoulder as he passed the joint back to Andy in front of us.

"Who you taking to Homecoming tomorrow, bro?" Jay broke the comfortable silence, eyes on Liam over Brianna's head. "We all know you'll probably get Homecoming King again, might want to consider making a good impression with your date if you want Prom King."

It was likely my sleep deprivation getting the best of me, but I swear for a second that Liam's eyes flickered to me before he shrugged and exhaustedly said, "Probably Nicola or Shay. You know I don't really care about it."

I guess it wasn't a trick of the mind, because Jay unbuttoned Liam's Letterman and pulled it off me before throwing it into the bed of the truck, a few inches in front of Liam's hunched figure. Then, jokingly, but with a very subtle bitterness seeping in, he said, "You do know Reese is my girl, right?"

Liam's top lip curled back in anger. "I'm aware, Jason."

"Then stop the sly nice guy shit. We all know what your motives are."

But as I stared at Liam, the lines of exhaustion around his eyes, the dark bags beneath them, I couldn't help but question;

What exactly were his motives?

"We better get going." Andy checked the time on his phone. "I told Mr. and Mrs. Waters I'd have Bri home by ten. Reese you catching a ride with us?"

I looked to Liam, his eyes half open in the back of his truck. "No. Liam shouldn't be driving. I'll drop him off and have Bry come pick me up."

Andy looked relieved, and turned to slap a hand on Liam's shoulder before he laced his fingers through Brianna's. She hugged me on their way passed, then they were in his car a few spots down. Jay hesitated beside me, looking back and forth between Liam and me, as if he were processing my words, then leaned in to kiss me before whispering a quiet goodnight and fishing his keys from his pocket. I waited until he was in his Buick and out of hearing range to touch my hands to the cold tailgate and look up at Liam.

"Are you okay?"

He shrugged his left shoulder, burying a hand in his hair. "I've been better, but I'll live. Do you even have a license?"

"Just because I don't have a car doesn't mean I can't drive, thank you." I stepped aside as he moved to the edge of the tailgate and hopped off. He had to grip the car for a few minutes after before he walked around to the passenger's side. I got in, but stared at him for a good five minutes before he realized I needed the keys in order to drive. But with the keys he handed me his Letterman, and when he saw my indecisive look, he said softly, "He's gone, don't worry about it."

I slid into the warmth of the jacket before starting the truck and letting it warm up. As soon as I adjusted the seat so I could reach the peddle, I made mental note to never, ever purchase a truck. Trying to control this thing was hell.

"I'm sorry about Jay." I whispered once I was out of the parking lot. "I don't know why he's being such a dick. We're not even like boyfriend or girlfriend yet."

Liam made a noise, then looked toward me. "He's being a dick because he thinks I'm trying to get at you. He knows about us going out late at night to hang. Thinks we do more than just hang out, if you know what I mean."

I thought about it for a moment before my cheeks flushed. "Oh."

He chuckled quietly, but his eyes still held so much exhaustion my heart hurt for him. "Yeah, I tried telling him I wasn't interested in you as more than a friend, but he's being ignorant and trying to start shit."

"I mean this in the kindest way possible, but is he always so narcissistic?"

Liam laughed for the first time all night at the question, sitting up a little in his seat. "Definitely. I am too, as you've pointed out. But he's a decent guy under all the arrogance. Though he's definitely very oblivious to other people's feelings, hence why he didn't notice how cold you were. But I promise he has a heart."

"You do too." I pointed out.

"That is debatable, Reese. We still have yet to see the old, rusted Tin Man's heart."

I snorted as I slowed the car at a stoplight. "Bull. You gave me your jacket tonight because you saw I was cold. You helped me the other night, with my Dad and all that. Don't be so hard on yourself, Liam. You're doing really well."

Even though I couldn't turn to look at him, I could feel his eyes burning into me the rest of the way to his house. It wasn't until I turned the key in the ignition in his driveway that he spoke. "I'm still trying to get a clear reading on you, Taylor, and it's driving me crazy that I can't figure you out."

"Some mysterious are better left unsolved, Liam." I whispered, swallowing the knot forming in my throat. "Go get some rest. And actually do it. Don't just walk around school Monday acting like you're fine."

He grunted in response before getting out of the truck and walking around so he could help me down. I sent a quick text to Bryan as I stepped up on to the curb beside Liam, dropping his keys into his hand.

"Come inside." He whispered, gesturing over his shoulder. "It's cold out here. You can come back out when Bryan gets here."

I contemplated the thought before ultimately giving in. At least I'd be able to make sure he made it inside okay.

"Okay." I agreed with a smile. "Come on, let's get inside."