"So I've been thinking about what you said." Mia claimed as we made our way to the football field after school that same afternoon. School had seemed to drag on forever, and now we had to wait another hour and a half whilst the boys were at football practice.

"What's that?" I asked, side-stepping a pothole that was milliseconds from breaking my ankle, but nearly falling over in the process.

The wind was wild and blustery today, and multiple times I had felt as if I was going to blow over. I wasn't sure how football worked when the wind threatened to carry the ball in all willy nilly directions, but I was even more concerned for the players who were constantly being tugged at by the freezing blasts of air. The team had already started warming up, doing laps of the field whilst changing between lunges, high-kneed runs and jogging.

"About, y'know, Dallas." Mia stared at the ground, avoiding my gaze as she rubbed her arm sheepishly.

I tried to suppress my smile, pulling my coat around me a little tighter. "Oh? What have you been thinking about him?" I asked indifferently, as if I still didn't know what she was getting at.

We arrived at the bleachers and sat down at the very bottom, huddled together to escape the cold. Nobody else was watching practice, as to be expected, so Mia and I could talk freely without risk of being overheard.

Mia was gnawing so hard on her bottom lip that I thought it she was going to split it open, and her blue eyes were even wider than usual. She turned to me nervously and took a huge intake of breath. "I think I'm going to ask Dallas to the Sadie Hawkins Dance."

It took me a moment to fully realize what she had told me. And then I was pumped. I tried to contain my excitement, not wanting to make a big deal of it even though I really felt like jumping up and down with glee.

"That's awesome Mia-" I started, but she cut me off by lifting a hand.

"As friends only. Just to, you know, see if there's anything there. Because I don't think there is." She released the words in one breath, and now I couldn't even pretend to hide the smile on my face.

"Okay. Whatever you say." I said, humoring her.

Mia sighed deeply and ran her fingers through her short, tangled ponytail. The wind had caused my own hair to lay in knots down my shoulders, and I was not looking forward to brushing through my little birds' nest when I got home.

"Hey look, there's the new kid." Mia nodded her head in the direction of the cafeteria, and I followed her gaze. Travis, who we had met earlier in the day, was hunched forward against the wind, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans.

Our staring must have tickled his spidy senses, because he snapped his head towards us and grinned, before breaking into a jog.

"Shit it's windy today!" He called out when he was a little closer and, as if on cue, a huge gust of ice-cold air swept through us. Mia shrieked and hid her face in the collar of her red turtleneck sweater, leaning into me in the hope that I would shield her.

Travis sat down next to me and shoved the dark hair off of his face, his built body providing me a little relief from the cold. "Damn you girls really sit here and watch everyday? That must suck."

I shrugged while Mia nodded sadly, lifting her face from her shirt. "It does. If you'd like to donate to my car funds donation box, you're more than welcome to chip in a couple thousand."

Travis chuckled. "I would if I could. I've got an old chevvy that hardly even starts. It's probably going to go up in a puff of smoke at any given minute; I wouldn't be surprised if I got stuck here overnight. Wouldn't that be the perfect way to end my first day of school."

"The first day is awful no matter what." I reassured him, letting my eyes wander the field.

"Oh yeah, I guess you were the new kid until I came along. Must have been even harder for you, coming from-"

I stopped listening then, because at the very same moment that my eyes landed on the spot where Brooks had just been standing, he got slammed into the ground. Hard.

I stood up from the bleachers, startling both Travis and Mia, who weren't paying attention. My breath caught in my throat as I waited for him to get up and brush it off. But he remained motionless, his neck twisted so that his helmet-covered head lay to one side.

Mia was yelling something beside me, but I felt like I was underwater, unable to hear her as panic rose up in my chest. I pushed my feet forward into a sprint, letting my legs carry me as fast as they could. The team had crowded around him, forming a barrier of bodies that I couldn't see past.

I tugged at limbs and muscles until the barrier parted and I had a clear view of the body still laying on the grass. I dropped down onto my knees next to him and leaned over, my heart pounding as I shoved someone out of my way.

I would apologize later, when I knew that everything was okay.

"Brooks." I breathed, trying to see him through his headgear.

Slowly, his eyes fluttered open, but suddenly I found myself staring into deep blue eyes, and not the dark goldy brown ones that I had come to know.

Dallas.

I released a breath that I hadn't even known I was holding, sinking down into the grass. He was okay and so was Brooks. They were both fine.

I glanced up and saw Brooks crouched in front of me, his attention solely on his friend. I blushed as I realized what he had just been witness to.

Dallas' eyes flicked to me unsteadily, and he blinked rapidly as if trying to make them focus. Coach finally hobbled over to us, growling at multiple boys to get out of his way.

"Are you alright son? Anything broken?" He asked in his deep booming voice, his eyes scanning over Dallas' body to spot sign of serious injury.

Dallas groaned and sat up slowly, tipping his headgear off of his head. "Don't think so Coach, just a bit dizzy is all."

"He might have a concussion. Do you feel nauseous at all?" Mia chimed in from next to me. In my flurry I hadn't even noticed her arrival.

Dallas scrubbed his hands over his face, which was a ghastly shade of white, and shrugged. "A little. Mostly dizzy though."

The Coach grumbled something unintelligible and reached down to help Dallas up. "Take the day off, O'Laughlan. See a doctor." He turned to the other members of the team and waved his hand about. "The rest of you get back out there and get back into it."

As Mia fretted over Dallas, I realized that without Brooks, we had no way of getting Dallas home. I opened my mouth to say so, but Brooks beat me to it.

"Coach?" He called out to the middle-aged man's retreating figure.

The Coach paused and turned around expectantly.

"I'm his ride home."

I was pretty sure that the Coach cursed under his breath, but no one said anything.

"I can take them." A new voice offered, and I looked behind me to find Travis watching the scenario unfold. He caught my eye and smiled. "That way Brooks doesn't have to leave early and the girls can get home sooner too. It's no trouble, really."

Seeing that the problem was no longer his own, Coach turned back to the team and blew his whistle, a string of orders leaving his lips soon after.

Brooks hesitated, glancing from Dallas to Travis as if he were torn. "If you're sure..."

Travis just waved him off dismissively, fishing his car keys out of his pocket.

"It's cool, bro." Dallas said as Mia wrapped her arm around his waist to support him as he stood. "Go back to the team."

Brooks looked at me with uncertainty, and I nodded curtly in confirmation of what the others had just said.

Mia, Dallas and Travis all started towards the parking lot, and I turned to follow them when Brooks' hand shot out and grabbed my forearm gently. Heat shot up my arm, and I wondered if he could feel it too. He stared into my eyes seriously, and for a second all thoughts evaporated from my mind. Why did he have to have that stupid effect on me? I hated him.

"Call me if anything happens, yeah?"

I nodded again, trying not to admire how concerned he was over Dallas. "I promise he'll be fine. But yes, I'll call you if he needs you."

The corner of Brooks' mouth twitched ever so slightly, and my eyes wandered to his full lips without my mind's permission. Briefly, I wondered what it would be like to have those lips pressed against mine, and my hands tangled in his bronze hair. I pushed the thoughts away, forcing my gaze back up to his.

Cut it out.

Brooks released my arm, looking like he wanted to add something. But he must have thought better of it, because he abruptly shoved his headgear back on, his expression no longer visible, and then he turned around and ran back onto the field.