This must be what people call a heartbreak, Rachel thinks, lying on her bed after wiping her eyes. But is it really a heartbreak when two people weren't even together before they broke up?

Emotions came in waves, never the same one. It started with a mad anger, at him, for hurting her. Then the fear, that she's the one who ruined everything. Finally the cold indifference, ready to raise her walls so she won't ever be hurt like this again.

Then it starts all over.

Next day, after school, Rachel finds Ricky waiting near her car at the parking. "I'll leave if you don't want to talk now," he quickly says as she approaches, "I just wanted to say sorry in person."

Rachel had promised him before they will talk, and forgot that promise. "You don't have to apologize, Ricky. We can talk now."

"If you don't mind, can we talk over coffee?" he asks, cautiously, as if scared that'll anger her.

To her surprise, Rachel smiles. First time since the school dance. "Coffee sounds good."

"YOU'VE GOTTEN PRETTY good these past few weeks. How about I set you up for a match?" says the studio owner, Polo.

"Sure," Hector says, not stopping the punches on his partner's punching mitts.

He doesn't care about winning or losing. He just needs to fight.

Later his friends visit him at the locker room. "You missed practice for this?" Vince says.

"It's all the same."

"It's not the same," Tate says, "I heard you're going to have a match."

"You heard right."

"You are not a pro boxer."

"So?"

Vince and Tate exchange looks. Tate turns back to Hector. "Hector, man, you have to stop this. You are missing classes and football practices. You hardly hang out with us anymore, or even with your bikers friends. You are all the time here, boxing. Which is fine if you really want to be a pro boxer, but you don't."

"How would you know what I want or don't want?"

"We know," Vince says, "because we are your friends. If it was Tate or me would you let us throw away everything like this? Look, how about you talk to Ra—"

"That's enough," Hector says, getting up and throwing the gym bag over his shoulder, "I'll do what I want with my time. You don't like my choice? Fine. But you don't get to tell me what I should or shouldn't do." He storms out before his friends could get another word in.

"We've got to do something," Vince says.

"We can't force him. If this is what he's gotta do to feel better, then so be it," Tate says.

"But he's getting worse. Signing up for a pro match like that, he's looking to get beaten up."

"Maybe, but we can't do anything about it except be there for him when he needs us."

"How about we talk to Rachel?" Vince says.

Tate shakes his head. "Bad idea. What if we make things worse?"

"They are poles apart now. What worse could happen?"

Tate sighs. It's not like he didn't think the same before. Between Hector and Rachel, Rachel is more likely to give in. And that's precisely why it feels wrong. But... the way Hector is, Tate and Vince will regret not doing everything they can to help, before something terrible happens for real. "Alright. Let's give it a shot."