"Great day today guys! Get a good nights sleep for tomorrow!" Dylan smiles before driving away. We all smile at each other and load onto the bus. As I put my things in my seat, I realize Tyler's still outside. He's talking to the head administrator here. I forgot his name so I call him Mr. G. All I remember is that it starts with a G. Everyone starts messing around, but I keep glancing at Tyler.

Mr. G says something to him, which makes Tyler look back at the bus. I quickly turn around and act like I was in the conversation the whole time. My senses could feel his gaze on me, but I somehow stayed cool.

My head stayed straight as they continued to talk. Tyler walks away and gets on the bus. I glance at him as he sits down.

•••

The crucible was two days away. I woke up to a headache from stress, so I took some medicine. We didn't talk much on the bus, but we could all tell we were nervous.

"The crucible is made up of 5 parts..." Dylan says. I listen intently to everything she says. She put us in sections for the race.

"...and for the last part, Callie and Tyler will be racing the ATV. Since we're the only pod with 5 people, they put an extra on the back of everyone else's. Whoever sits in back will put together a kit which contains things just in case something goes wrong." Dylan explains to the two of us.

Great, just great. My parents are going to see me hanging on to a guy on the back of a ATV. My dad's going to have a blast with this one. As Gina hops on the ATV for training, Brody rides up on his ATV. "Guys! Come quick there's an emergency in the parking lot! Someone left an American girl doll in a car with the windows up!" He exclaimed.

Tyler approaches him. I tried to pull him back but he was too far away. "Oh no. Callie's one of the only ones who can calm him down." Gina tries to whisper, but I still hear her. I bite on my nails as he stands in front of Brody.

"What's your problem, man?" Tyler asked. "You're my problem, man. You're a screw up, you don't have what it takes." Brody taunts.

Uh oh, he went for something Tyler doesn't deal with well. I glanced to the rest of my pod. They watched everything go down.

"I'm not a screw up." Tyler says. "Then prove it! If you can beat me to the end of that beach, I'll leave you alone." Brody taunts again. "Don't." I told Tyler. He didn't turn around, but I can tell by his body posture change that he heard me.

Tyler cracks his neck.

"Tyler..." Eric warned. The ATV roared to life as Gina got off abruptly, Tyler jumped on and raced Brody. "Tyler!" I screamed after him. "This isn't going to end well." Eric said as we watched. They drove out to the next beach! I turned to my pod before I could watch anything else. "I can't believe him!" I exclaimed before storming away. Suddenly, everyone gasped. I turned back around to see Tyler's head in the back of a pig. I pressed my lips together.

Mr. G took Tyler, but not Brody and lead him towards the bus. We ran after them as he made Tyler grab his bag. Tyler caught my eye as he walked by. He looked upset. My heart broke by the look in his eyes.

"I thought you were actually taking this seriously." Eric said after Mr. G walked away, then the rest of the pod walked away, but I stayed. I shyly walked up to him.

"I should have been the one that went on the ride, not you." I softly said. "No, it was my fault I raced Brody." Tyler said, looking down at our feet. He was much taller than me, but I could tell there were tears in his eyes. I hesitantly hugged him. He hugged me back, tightly of course.

"I'll try and be here to support you guys. Good luck on the ATV race." He says as we pull away. "I'll try my best." I said. "If you ever need to talk, here's my number." I said, pulling my phone out of my bag. He pulled his phone out and put me in his contacts. "I will, thank you." Tyler said.

Tyler's eyes flipped to my lips, and my eyes did the same to him. Because of our proximity, we could feel each other's breath. We both leaned in, but before our lips touched a loud honk broke us apart. We pulled apart and looked at the car responsible. "That's not mine, I promise." Tyler chuckles. I weakly smiled.

"Callie! Let's go!" Dylan shouts. "I'll text you later." Tyler says before walking away.

•••

I laid on my bed on my back, thinking about the day.

My mind was on Tyler. Was he okay? What are we going to do without him?

My mom's familiar knock on the door broke my train of thought. "Come in." I softly said. She popped her head in. "You okay?" She asked. "No." I said, sitting up. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"You know the jacket I came home with the other day?" I asked. She nodded, closed the door behind her, and sat on my bed. "Tyler let me use it because I was cold, and that's when I finally accepted I had feelings for him. But today he got in trouble, and he got kicked out. Before he left, we had a moment. It was just the two of us, and we almost kissed. But a stupid car had to honk. We were supposed to do the ATV race together, but now we can't." I softly told my mom. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and pulled me into her side.

"I know honey, boys can suck. But if he went to kiss you, it probably means he's really into you and willing to fight for the relationship." My mom says. I weakly nodded as my dull blue eyes landed on his jacket that I forgot to return. My mom followed my gaze. My small hands reached out to grab it. Once I got a hold of it, I held it to my chest. Tears finally streamed down my face.

Tyler was no longer in the pod, and there was nothing I could do about it.