TIP: Play the song.

Are you ready for this?

I don't think you're ready for this...

Welp, here goes.

_____________

Present

9 missed calls

I covered my face with both of my hands.

"No," I groaned.

He shouldn't feel this way about me. I shouldn't have kissed back.

He was Scout fucking Crimson. We were too different. It shouldn't be. We were only supposed to be pretending. He just got carried away by the moment.

'I like you – a lot.'

'And I know you feel the same way.'

I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, refusing to believe it. My phone rang again. I was about to decline it when I saw Alfie's name on the screen.

Frowning, I picked up my phone and answered the call.

"Hey."

"Where are you?" was the first thing he said.

"New Jersey." Where the hell was I supposed to be? Not on Scout Crimson's bed, that was for sure.

"Yeah, no shit." He chuckled. "Are you at your dorm?"

"Yeah," I said slowly, getting suspicious. "Why?"

"I'm at Rutgers."

That made me bolt up from my bed. "What? Which campus?"

"I have no fucking idea." I could hear the frustration in his voice. "I didn't know there'd be several goddamn campuses here. Geez, just how fucking many are there?"

"I'll send you the directions to my dorm hall," I said, already putting the phone on speaker so I can google map my exact location and send it to him.

"Hey, Con." There was a pause. "Do you wanna go home for a bit?"

"Home, as in Mount Valley?" I asked distractedly.

"Yeah."

My fingers stopped from typing. I was about to argue that, from the sound of it, he drove all the way here from Florida, and now he wanted to drive two hours more to get to Mount Valley? Wasn't he exhausted?

But there was something in his voice that told me he needed me to say yes. There was a hint of hesitation in his tone that was so unlike him.

And so, I found myself saying, "Okay."

Thirty minutes later, Alfie pulled up in front of my dorm building. I climbed in his pick-up truck and drank in the sight of him. His hair was cut shorter and his muscles grew more defined, most likely from the brutal training they had to go through everyday.

"No hugs?"

My eyes snapped up to meet his green ones. There was that infamous crooked smile that promised mischief plastered on his face. I couldn't deny that I missed it.

I rolled my eyes at his playfulness, but leaned forward to put my arms around him all the same.

"Missed you, Con," he whispered to my hair.

I breathed out. "You, too."

"Let's go," he declared, after we pulled away.

Our drive home passed by quickly as we caught up with each other's lives and talked about our classes. We reminisced about the good old times, too. It was obvious that he really wanted to go back to when we were still in high school.

Maybe because it was easier then.

My phone started ringing in my hand. When I saw the Golden Boy's name, I hit decline and put it on silent.

"Not gonna answer that?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

"What if it's your sorority sister calling?"

I sharply looked at him, my eyes narrowing. He only smirked.

Looking away, I gritted my teeth. "Dammit, Oz."

"I overheard him talking to Drew," explained Alfie. "No need to be shy about it. You in a sorority..." He laughed to himself. "That's pretty hot."

I shoved him hard enough for him to move, but not hard enough that we'd swerve. It only made him laugh harder.

"I'm surprised you didn't quit," he said. "That must mean you like it."

"I promised Drew," I muttered.

From the corner of my eye, I caught him shaking his head.

"If you didn't like it, you wouldn't go through with it. You would've told Drew to eat shit and fuck the promise."

When I opened my mouth to argue, he barked a laugh and shook his head.

"Don't waste your breath, Con. There's no one in this fucking world who knows you better than I do."

"Even Oz?" I challenged.

He considered it, cocking his head to the side. "True. But then," he paused and a devious smile appeared, "I've known you in ways that he didn't."

I hated how the memory got me slightly flushed.

Shaking my head, I said, "Doesn't count."

"Hell yeah, it does."

"No, it doesn't."

"Do you want me to prove you wrong?"

There was determination in his voice that told me he wasn't kidding around. So I decided to change the subject.

"You didn't tell me where we're going exactly," I said, looking out the window.

We were already in Mount Valley, and I watched as we passed our favorite diner. There was something about coming home that gave me a sense of calm.

"My house," answered Alfie. "I need to pick up something."

It took about twenty minutes to get to the wealthier side of town, where he and Oz grew up. Considering I spent almost my every waking hour with them for the past years, in a way, I grew up there, too.

"Is your mom home?" I asked, just as he parked his truck in front of their house – or more like mansion.

He raised an eyebrow at me, then I remembered.

"Right, she's never home."

He snorted as he turned off the engine. "Wanna go inside with me?"

"Sure." It had been a while, after all.

I followed Alfie inside, up to his room. While he rummaged his closet, I looked around. It was still the same as I'd last seen it. Only cleaner.

I wandered to his dresser and saw our senior prom photo together. He had an arm around my neck, pulling me closer to him so he could kiss me while I was laughing my ass off.

"I didn't know you had this framed."

Alfie stepped out of his closet and walked over to me to see what I was talking about. When he saw the photo, a small smile touched his lips.

"Ah, yeah," he said quietly. "Thought it'd be a shame not to put it on display." He raised a hand and gently touched the glass frame. "That was one of the best nights of my life," he added in a whisper, more to himself.

My eyes found the picture again. "Me, too," I found myself admitting.

I could feel him looking at me, and I glanced at him. He didn't say anything for a while. As we stood facing each other in silence, memories came flooding back.

"That was the last night I remembered being so fucking happy before..."

"Yeah," I mumbled, breaking our eye contact and putting the picture frame back to where it was.

Before we both decided that it would be better for us to stay friends.

Alfie cleared his throat and disappeared back to the closet. I sat on his bed and the nostalgia of being here brought a smile to my lips.

"Remember the first night we met?"

It was at a high school party. Drew brought me because he didn't want to leave me alone with our stepmonster. That was the first party I ever went to – and it was a high school one.

"Yeah, why?"

I grinned. "I thought you and Oz were the most annoying little shits."

Alfie's laughter filled the room. "Right back at ya, babe."

"And still, after I saved you guys, you didn't leave me alone."

"You reminded Oz of himself."

"How?" I asked, with my brows furrowed.

"By looking lost and abandoned."

I laid my back on the bed. "If it wasn't for Oz, would you be friends with Scout?"

"Crimson?"

"Yeah."

"We're all cool now, aren't we?"

"No, I meant back in high school."

"Not sure." Then, he added, "Probably not."

"How come?"

"For starters, there's still that ongoing beef between the football team and the basketball sissies," he grunted, as though he was lifting something. "Also, I dunno. He's just too nice."

He said it like it was a contagious virus.

"Frisco's nice," I pointed out.

Frisco was a year below us. He was the last addition to the crew, the nicest one of us all. In the end, he got corrupted. Only by a little, though.

"Frisco was part of the football team," countered Alfie. "Hey, is he in town?"

I shook my head, even if he didn't see. "No, he went to check out Clemson with his parents this weekend."

"Fuck." Alfie came out, looking shocked. "He's gonna be a Clemson Tiger?"

I shrugged. "They reached out."

"Damn," he breathed out. "I'm proud."

I grinned because I felt the same way. Frisco deserved every good thing in this world. He probably would've won the Nicest Guy award if Scout didn't exist.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" I asked, ready to get out of here. Too many memories in this room. It was overwhelming.

Alfie nodded, waving an old picture. "Right here."

I took the photo from him and checked it up close. It was him and Oz, side by side, grinning from ear to ear, and arms around each other's shoulders. I remembered taking this. It was during our sophomore year. I'd never forget this particular game because it was the first game that they let Alfie off the bench.

It was the beginning of their invincible duo on the field.

"What do you need this for?" I asked him, handing it back.

He stared longingly at the picture. "A reminder." He didn't say anything more than that, and I didn't push him. He'd tell me eventually.

"Where to now?" I asked, when we got back to his truck.

"Now," he started, backing out of their driveway and flashing me a sideways grin, "you show me around that campus."

Alfie threw his head back and laughed. "I cannot fucking believe he did that."

"All of you were wasted," I said, laughing along with him.

We were back in New Brunswick, at the Brick, drinking and looking back on our high school days.

"I was the only one sober enough to pull you out of your asses," I added.

He grinned, shaking his head. "Good times." He had that longing look on his face again. "Sometimes, I wish we could all go back to high school." His voice was lower, as he stared at his bottle of beer. "Everything was so much easier back then."

I was right.

"What happened?" I finally asked him.

He only shrugged.

"Is it the pressure?" I thought about what Oz told me when he called a few weeks ago. He was right about Alfie.

University of Florida was one of the big guys in college football. But these past years, they've been struggling to find a quarterback that perfectly fit their whole team dynamic. Now that Alfie was their new QB, the entire Gator nation was expecting a lot from him.

In short, he better not fuck it up.

Alfie let out a humorless laugh. "Everyone watches my every little fucking move. Shit's suffocating." He paused, raising his eyes and staring at a distance. "Then, I wonder what's the point of any of this shit? Why the fuck am I doing this to myself?"

"So you needed a reminder." I nodded, referring to the photo he took.

"I could use a break, too." His jaw clenched and his grip tightened on the bottle. "Just needed to fucking escape for a while."

"Does Oz know you're here?"

"No."

"When do you plan on going back to Florida?"

"Tomorrow, maybe."

"And where are you sleeping tonight?"

He met my eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"Hell no," I deadpanned.

"Why not? It's not like we haven't slept on the same bed before."

"We won't fit."

"Wanna bet?" he challenged, flashing that crooked smile at me.

I knew him well enough not to bite into that trap. But I also knew that he'd be sleeping in my dorm room whether I liked it or not.

"I need more drinks," I declared.

He barked a laugh. "What, need liquid courage to get in the same bed with me?"

I flipped him off, causing him to laugh harder. I'd tell him later that he would sleep on Madeline's bed since she was in New York City this weekend. For now, I'd let him gloat.

We drank for a couple more hours, which got us buzzed just the right amount but not drunk that we were stumbling our way to my dorm.

I opened the door and let Alfie in.

"Nice crib," he said, looking around after he entered. "Too bad your roommate's not here. Would've loved to meet the person who you got a girl crush on."

I chuckled, before pulling off my jacket and sweatshirt – leaving only a tank top – then throwing the clothes at the chair on my study table. When I glanced at Alfie, I caught him looking at me. He didn't avert his eyes, though.

I was about to tease him, when his expression changed. His piercing green eyes held me on the spot, and the expression on his face grew soft – almost vulnerable.

I couldn't look away.

I couldn't speak.

I couldn't move.

When he stepped closer, only then did I see the pain his eyes. He looked so lost and desperate. When he was a foot away from me, he stopped and gave me a pleading look. This was the first time I ever saw such an expression on his face.

Alfie didn't plead, nor did he ever beg.

But despite trying to keep his shit together, he was on the verge of tears. And when he whispered the next words, his voice cracked.

"Con... make it go away."

My heart broke for him. I thought about our friendship. I thought about my easy-going best friend. I thought about the moment I knew I was in love with him.

Scout's face appeared in my mind, along with the feelings I wouldn't accept and our fucking situation. I wanted to forget all things regarding him. I needed something familiar – something I knew.

Looking into Alfie's eyes, I knew what I had to do.

So I did.

I went on my tiptoes, my hand going around Alfie's neck to pull him down to me. The space between us closed as our lips met.

I made it all go away.

_____________

Were you ready? Did you expect that?
Don't hate me please. Hahaha :(

Next update: Thursday (May 16th)

Coming up next... Chapter 19: Escape