And here we are, a week later with Chapter 16. God this one is LONG. Thanks for waiting! But I definitely think it'll keep your attention. Lots of twists and turns, that's for sure. Thank you for all the wonderful votes and comments in the last chapter. I can't wait to see and read them this time! We also have some trigger warnings for drugs and stuff. Read at your own discretion. (I think Im gonna stop putting these bc if you have something to say, don't read it lol. It also ruins the surprises.) On that note please enjoy! Oh and whoever is on spring break, happy spring break!

We caught up to Erica who was still weaving through the crowds. She was keeping her head down to avoid being recognized, thus she hasn't seen Mike yet. We reached her and Zoe grabbed her arm. Zoe gestered up towards Mike and when she noticed him, she completely stopped. The poor drink person nearly knocked into her. Erica covered her mouth and muttered "What the hell are you doing?" Mike had done the impossible. Shocked Erica Hale herself.

I was going through a turmoil of emotions too. My childhood best friend who I hadn't seen in almost a decade was here. And drunk, high and half naked. Despite how awful and gross he looked, I was still glad to see him, as I missed him. His life looked like it went to crap way worse than mine did. I guess all the money and fame really got to him in the worst ways.

We stood there awkwardly deciding if we should approach him while he was like this. The bar was surrounded by girls mostly who were also very drunk and high. But as he spun in a circle, he noticed us.

Now that we got a view of his front, it was worse. He was obviously still very handsome and had great abs. But now he had dark circles under his eyes and a spacey look in his eyes. He looked like he was half out of it. And he was wearing his uniform (minus the shirt jersey waving in the air) so he was going to play tonight. But after seeing the state he was in now, I wasn't too sure. And I'm pretty sure he was the starting pitcher.

Anyway, when he spun, he noticed us and stopped dancing for a second. He stood there, just staring at us. The hoard of girls then turned on us, jealousy filling their eyes. Mike then grinned really big and jumped off the bar and made his way towards us.

"Oh my god! Hey guys! Cameron said you were dropping by!" He stumbled forward in his drunkenness and almost fell completely on top of Zoe.

We were all shocked in his state right now. Erica looked like he was too disgusted to speak to him and Zoe looked like she was very concerned for him. I was a bit horrified, but this was still the same Mike we all knew, so I decided to speak.

"Hi Mike. Wow, it's very good to see you. Um... how've you been?" I did an internal facepalm at my own comment. He was obviously awful. But after all these years, thinking about our past, I didn't really know what to say.

"Oh my god," he slurred with drunk giggles mixed in, "I am having the TIME OF MY LIFE! You have NO IDEA." Mike was being serious. He seemed to have tricked himself (probably with the drugs and dopamine hits) into thinking he was happy. Based on his tone and body language, he really did believe he was having the time of his life.

"I mean, do you know how much money the league and the team pays me? It's INSANE. I mean, Erica, you probably understand, but Zoe and Ben, it's crazy! I have all the money for the best drugs and booze! Here!"Mike fumbled in the back pocket of his uniform. He produced a small baggie of white powder.

"I just got this amazing cocaine yesterday!" He put some on his hand and snorted it up. All of us instantly recoiled, "Here, try some!" Mike put more on his hand and stuck in right in front of my face. There was no way I was doing that, but luckily, this guy came over and slapped Mike's hand down, spilling the drugs on the ground. Mike pouted at the guy.

"Mike, what did I say about doing this right before a game?" The man spoke to Mike firmly. He was about my age, maybe a few years older. It also seemed like if the ladies in this bar weren't fawning over Mike, they were fawning over this guy. I could see why too. He had dark, styled hair and a short beard. It was perfectly maintained too, not patchy at all. His dark brown eyes were soft and friendly, yet had professionalism in them. He had a masculine jawline and shockingly white teeth. He was also dressed very nicely, with a casual, yet professional suit. I could see why many thought of him as striking.

Mike grumbled and Cameron turned to introduce himself to us.

"Hey guys. Sorry to have to meet you like this. I'm Cameron, Mike's agent and manager." He gave us all a firm handshake. Erica especially smiled when he shook her hand. Cameron gave her a dimpled smile as well. I didn't like it.

"So you were the one who set this all up for us?" Zoe asked in awe.

Cameron laughed, "You mean the hotel and the other stuff? Yeah, that's me."

"Thank you," Erica grinned at him. If I didn't know any better, it sounded like there was a bit of flirtation in her voice. I felt growing resentment for this guy. Cameron checked his phone and sighed.

"Of course. Excuse me, something came up. Mike, we need to talk." Cameron grabbed Mike's upper arm. He already downed another shot of some alcoholic drink while we were talking.

Mike sloppily wiped his face. "Okay. Erica, Zoe, Ben, I look forward to talking to you later. Enjoy the party." And then we were left alone. I thought I saw Erica turn back around to watch Cameron walk away, but that could have been my imagination.

"What now?" I asked, a little anxious. I wasn't one for social events or anything like that. Parties were definitely not my scene.

Erica grinned, carefree and a bit wild, "We party!" She grabbed a drink off some bartender's tray and shoved it in our arms. Then she was gone.

I felt really awkward. I didn't really know what to do. Luckily, Zoe was still there for me.

"Here, Ben, let's go to the bar." Zoe gently grabbed my arm and led me towards this other vast bar seating area. The bar was a tower of a cabinet of drinks, looking around three stories tall.

We shoved people away and finally got two seats at the counter.

"Not much of a social guy, huh?" Zoe asked me. I barked out a laugh.

"No, definitely not. You?"

Zoe smiled, "Not anymore, but in college that's all I would do. Of course, now it's legal to drink all of this stuff. Takes the fun out of it a little bit."

Zoe ordered us two drinks. I didn't know much about any alcohol, but they were good. We were talking for a while. I hadn't seen much of Erica or Mike the entire night. Finally, after about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, Erica found us. She was obviously a little tipsy.

Some loud songs were playing. Erica danced over to us. She looked very comfortable and in her element right now. Tell me ten years ago she'd be dancing at a party, I'd laugh straight in your face. But with all the Hollywood events she attends, she must have gotten used to the crazy party scene.

"Ben!" Erica yelled over the music, "Dance with me!" I felt my face heat up. If it was a slow dance, I might have been able to figure it out. After all, we were all forced to do ballroom dancing in elementary school. But this was a rap song. You were supposed to hop around and jump to this song. I had no idea what to do and I freaked out. I didn't want to make a fool out of myself in front of Erica.

I tried to smile. It came out weak, "Haha, no thanks Erica. I'm good."

She frowned, "Why not? Dance with me, come'on." Erica grabbed my arm and tried to drag me. I gripped the bar counter well. Some guys near us were looking at me with jealousy in their eyes. And complete shock that I was rejecting the beautiful woman.

"No, I'm not one for dancing." I tried desperately to get out of it. Of course, I was flattered that she asked me. But there was no way I was making an embarrassment of myself in front of her. Plus, I would be more flattered if she asked me sober. She was a bit tipsy right now.

Erica stuck her bottom lip out and pouted. Cameron suddenly appeared out of the crowd and offered a dance. Erica instantly beamed and started dancing with him without even looking back. And Cameron obviously knew what he was doing. They looked really good together. I felt my skin boil. It was my fault it wasn't me dancing with Erica, but my self esteem was low.

Zoe cringed when I turned back around to her. Wordlessly, she shoved a drink in my hand. I downed it quickly.

"What? Are you not into Erica? You're crazy, she's even prettier than she was ten years ago. I thought you guys had a thing!" Zoe looked confused.

"What?" I asked, a little panicked, "Um... I'm into her, I guess. I don't know, I'm still figuring it out." Oh no, I was definitely into her, but I didn't want to come off as desperate to Zoe.

"Then not much of a dancer either?" She said playfully.

I gave her a sad smile, "Nope, never really did it."

"Ben, you've gotta let loose a little. Have some fun. You look great tonight, you just have to open up."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Then we talked more. Zoe and I were at this Hollywood style party and were sitting at the bar talking. I could tell Zoe wanted to get up and have some fun too, but she was being super kind and stayed with me.

After some time, a young guy walked up to us. He was about Zoe's age and super attractive. Zoe seemed super into him too. He asked Zoe for a dance and Zoe apoligzed and was whisked away. I was alone. This reminded me very clearly why I hated parties.

More time passed and Erica and Cameron came back. They didn't speak to me, but sat a few seats down from Zoe's old seat. They seemed to have been together this entire time and were enjoying themselves. It hurt to see. Cameron's back was to me. Erica noticed me and gave me a smile, but I couldn't bring myself to smile back. I was just counting down the time until we all had to leave for the Red Sox game.

Zoe then came back and sat down with a huff. She wasn't too happy.

"What happened?" I asked, handing her a drink. She sipped it.

"That guy I was with had to leave. He was nice and cute too. Not like it was going anywhere or anything, but it's disappointing."

I was happy she was back though so now I didn't look like a total loser.

We were talking and suddenly the bartender interrupted us from behind the counter.

"I'm so sorry to disturb you, but those ladies over there would like to send you a drink." He had a thick Boston accent.

Instinctively, I looked behind me for the person he was talking to. Zoe nudged me with a smile. The bartender laughed a little and gave me a drink and pointed to the women. They were my age and very pretty. They all laughed and waved in a flirty way when I looked over. I held my drink up in thanks. Wow that really boosted my self esteem.

As I was tuning around back to Zoe, I noticed Erica. She was pretending to pay attention to what Cameron was saying by smiling and nodding, but she was really looking at me, and then glared at the women who sent me a drink. I had no idea what to think of that. First she's flirting with Cameron, yet upset that hot women sent me a drink? It was confusing.

"Oooh Ben!" Zoe squealed in delight for me, "They like you! You should go over there to talk to them!"

The tips of my ears turned red, "What? No! I can't do that! I don't know what to talk about!"

Zoe swatted my arm, "What do you mean? Just go over there, thank them for the drink and let the conversation flow from there! And it looks like those girls will be chatty, so just listen! You got this!"

I started to build myself up. How bad could it be, right? Not bad at all! Plus, they want me to come over this time since they sent me the drink. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity!

"Okay, you know what? I'll do it!" I started to get up, when the music suddenly shut off. Everyone got quiet. Then we heard a loud microphone screech.

Cameron was standing on the bar with Mike next to him. "Thank you all for coming! Unfortunately, it's about that time. The Red Sox play the Seattle Mariners in an hour and a half and this champ," he pointed to an unstable Mike, "is starting today! So please come and support the team and go to the game! We have complementary limos and buses to take you to the stadium."

Mike grabbed the mic from Cameron, "Go Red Sox!" This really riled the crowd up and everyone cheered. Then everyone, including the girls, rushed towards the exit in hopes to get the limo instead of the buses. There goes my chance.

I was worried how Mike was supposed to play this game. He was super drunk and on some drugs at the moment. How was he supposed to perform well if he was hungover or drunk? But again, this didn't seem like his first time doing this party. Maybe he was used to it?

Zoe grabbed my arm so we could find each other and not get lost in the crowd. We eventually found Erica.

"Quickly, we've got to get a bus!" Zoe said in a hurry.

"Relax," Erica said, "Cameron's having a private driver take us."

Of course he was. I thought. The resentment was growing. Erica seemed really into him. I hated it.

But it was nice having a private driver. Cameron rode with Mike and his team of people, so it was just the three of us. We got to the statum with plenty of time. The chuffier gave us our tickets. I loved baseball growing up, but we never got great seats. Since we knew Mike, I was hoping we were going to get some good seats.

I was wrong. We got AMAZING seats. Sorry, not seats, BOX. We were sitting in Mike's private box. It was right along left field with a perfect view of the field. Oh and there was a waiter staff with three courses of fancy food brought up. There was inside seating and outdoor. Outdoor was on a balcony type thing with cushioned seats. Indoor could still see the field (it was indoor by a garage door type of thing) and there were TV's showing the game as well. As a baseball fan, this was luxury.

It wasn't just us three up there. I think Mike had some friends who came too. They must have been at the party as well. Mike's entourage was up there too. His public relations manager, his assistant, his assistant manager, all of these people. It reminded me of Erica's staff.

Zoe, Erica and I got seats on the balcony outside. The game was late, but we got heaters so it was nice and warm. I sat between Zoe and Erica. Erica had empty seats next to her.

We loaded our plates with the amazing food and the pregame stuff started. When Mike was called on the field, the Red Sox crowd started to cheer louder than I've ever heard. As a star pitcher and hitter, he was a Red Sox hero. Mike smiled and waved to the crowd. He seemed fine now. It was kinda surreal to see him out there, like a hero, when I knew him in elementary school and saw him pick his boogers.

Cameron then came back. I groaned under my breath. And of course, he occupied the seat next to Erica. I gripped the arm rests so my knuckles turned white.

Instead of focusing on the game, they seemed too focused on their conversation. I tried to focus on the game too, but it was hard too with my jealousy getting the best of me.

It was a rough game for the Red Sox. Nothing on Mike's pitching, but the Mariners were just really good. The crowd eventually started cheering for walks, since the Mariners were getting so many hits.

But then the Red Sox started coming back. They were still losing 4-3 in the fourth inning, but it was getting better. It was getting super exciting. The bases were loaded with a count of three balls and two strikes with two outs. It came down to this pitch to see if they were going to keep it close.

Mike pitched a beautiful curveball, taking the batter by surprise and striking him out. The crowd cheered like they won the World Series. Everyone in the box jumped up and screamed and shouted in celebration. Even Erica jumped up and was really excited. We were all a bit drunk still and screaming and hugging each other. I hugged Zoe and without thinking, turned around and hugged Erica. She hugged me back and then... well... she kissed me on the lips.

It was very brief. We were hugging, then she kissed me. It wasn't even long enough for me to react. I'm not even sure if she knew we did it. After all, I could taste the alcohol on her lips. Erica didn't even acknowledge it after, she just hugged Cameron and sat back down and watched intently. But I certainly remembered it. It was wonderful and scary. If we weren't surrounded and in such close quarters with a bunch of people, I would talk to her.

Throughout the next innings, I was waiting for her to talk to me about it, but she didn't. Erica did start shifting in her seat closer to Cameron though. She and him were talking a lot. It hurt even more. You're gonna kiss me and not even say anything, yet go back to talking with Cameron? That's why I don't think she realized she did it.

The Red Sox were getting a nice streak in the six and seventh inning. But bottom of the seventh, the Mariners started getting a rally. Hit after hit after hit. The score was 6-3. It came down to this play to see if they had a chance at winning. It was the same count as last time; three balls, two strikes, two outs. But this time it was bases loaded. If it was a strike, they're out of the inning. But if it was a ball, they'd walk a runner in for the point, and get farther away from the Mariners and a victory. Mike pitched the ball. It was a screwball and hit the catcher's glove. The batter didn't even swing. I started to cheer, but then realized I was the only one. I quickly sat down in embarrassment.

"Hold your horses, Ben," Cameron said, "It looked like a strike, but we don't know yet."

They put the play under review. Mike looked frustrated. I could see anger building inside of him. He looked like he was ready to yell at someone.

"Calm down Mike," I heard his PR manager whisper to himself.

"The ruling on the field is... a ball!" The umpire said, voice ringing around the statum. Immediately, the crowd starts boo-ing. The Mariners got another run, pulling farther away from the Red Sox.

But no one was focused on that. We were all watching Mike. He looked REALLY pissed and stormed over to the umpire and started yelling at him.

This sent the box into a frenzy, with all of Mike's people already trying to draft PR damage control. But they weren't ready for what Mike did next. Mike charged full speed at the umpire and leaped right on top of him, tackling him to the ground. Everyone in the entire statum stopped. It was quiet. Mike's people looked so shocked, they couldn't move. And then like a switch was turned on, the entourage erupted into chaos. Managers were on the phone, they were yelling at people, they were running. Cameron swore under his breath and told us in a hurry,

"Sorry guys we have to deal with this. We'll send someone here to take you back to the hotel. We'll contact you later when we have more information."

He paused as we watched security drag Mike off the field.

Cameron sighed, "I have a feeling this has something to do with the drugs and alcohol he consumed today. Erica, it was a real pleasure to meet you. All of you, in fact." He gave a weak smile. I wasn't even jealous of his words. I was just concerned for Mike and his career. This was and is still his dream job.

"Is Mike going to be okay?" Zoe asked quietly.

"I don't know yet I'll let you now when I do. Please enjoy the rest of the game. I'm sorry this happened. Talk to you soon." With that, Cameron rushed out of the box. Stress was already clear on his perfectly sculpted face.

After that incident, the game tried to resume as normal. It was on everyone's mine though. Most of the crowd loved it, so that they could post it or whatever. We tried to enjoy ourselves in the box, but it was hard to. We were all very concerned about Mike.

I thought about bringing up the kiss. But then I realized that it was probably very insensitive to do so. I had to sit on it for awhile, at least until morning.

The game finally ended at around one or two in the morning. I was exhausted. A man got us from the box and took us to his town car. We were all so tired emotionally and physically that the drive was silent. When we got back to the hotel, it was relatively quiet. Even though it was very early, there were still a small group of people in the lobby.

With dread, I realized I recognized someone in that group of businessmen and women.

"Cam!" Erica called out when she realized it was him. They were all in a huddle in the lobby. I think those were mostly Mike's people. Mike was nowhere to be found.

Cameron turned and walked over to us. He tried to give us a smile, but it didn't work. It was weak. He looked stressed and concerned beyond belief.

"How's it looking?" I asked him.

He gave a big sigh, "Not too great. The board is having a big meeting here in this hotel to determine Mike's fate in the morning. Since it was such a late game, we all decided to stay here for the meeting. Mike's already in his room. We're doing some late-night prep for tomorrow. We're wrapping it up now, though."

We nodded. I would want to stay and hear more, but I was way too exhausted for this. I wanted to go to bed.

Zoe, Erica and I left Cameron to finish up. We all rode the elevator to our rooms. We mumbled a good night and retired to our respective rooms. I was trying to get ready for bed, but my mind was distracted. I couldn't get the kiss out of my head. Knowing I wasn't going to be able to sleep well if this wasn't resolved, I decided to go and seek out Erica, to get the truth. Was it a I-have-some-feelings-for-you-kiss or a I-was-drunk-and-not-really-thinking kiss? I had to know.

Gathering my courage, I left my room. My room was closest to the elevator, then was Zoe's and Erica's farthest away. Since the rooms were giant, the front doors to the rooms were very spread out. In fact, Erica's front door was round a corner. 

I approached the turn and when I did, I almost fainted in shock. Cameron was pinning Erica against her door and they were passionately making out. They both seemed to be enjoying it a lot.

Fury was building up inside of me. I had my answer all right. I spun on my heel and rushed back to my room before they knew I was there and before things got more physical. I slammed my door to my room, and swore off Erica for good.