after a debrief with all the coaches on what she would need to be writing about when the game started, maisie went to find some water. truthfully, the whole thing was a little overwhelming to the girl. she wasn't exactly a football expert and knew it would be hard for her to keep up. hopefully some of the guys would be willing to help her after and explain any gaps in her knowledge.

as she reached the water fountains, she couldn't help but notice coach boone hunched over. he had left a few minutes prior, but she figured he was just heading to the locker room to give a pep talk.

"hey, coach. are you-" she cut herself off as a terrible smell smacked her senses. she swallowed hard and pinched her nose, "okay, so... um- is everything okay?"

she wasn't exactly sure what to do. seeing her coach throw up wasn't something she ever expected. the man was so stoic in nature that she wasn't sure he had any bodily functions at all. she was at a loss.

boone turned around, annoyed that the girl had caught him like this. he was hoping to suffer in silence, but clearly the universe had other plans for him.

"i'm fine," the coach replied with a wipe of his mouth, "we don't have to talk about this-"

"yeah, nope, that's what i was thinkin'." the girl replied hastily, not wanting to make the moment any more awkward than it already was. as much as she wanted to comfort or be there for the coach in some way, that was not the kind of relationship they had. they were almost strictly business and maisie intended to keep it that way.

she quickly turned on her heels and made her way back to the field. whatever moment coach was having was nothing she needed or wanted to involve herself in. when she approached the field, she noticed that her photographer had finally showed.

johnny, the best photographer on her newspaper, smiled, "hey, maisie-"

"you're late." the girl responded harshly, crossing her arms over her chest. one of her biggest pet peeves was tardiness. it drove her crazy to be late and she found it best to hold everyone to that standard.

"i know. i'm sorry," he spoke, trying to smile his way through the girl's anger, "my camera was out of film and i had to run to a store to get some, but it won't happen again."

typically maisie would've just taken the photos herself, but she knew she couldn't keep track of the game and take pictures at the same time. johnny had always been pretty good with a camera and she figured the boy wouldn't let her down.

"i-it's fine," maisie dropped the conversation, deciding she could die on that hill another day. she saw coach boone coming back from the locker room, and decided they needed an introduction, "come on."

they approached the intense coach, a polite smile painting both the teenager's faces.

"coach, this is johnny richards," maisie introduced the boy, mostly so boone wouldn't be caught off guard by the random boy on his field, "he's my best photographer."

"good to meet you," coach replied, giving the boy a firm handshake, "gonna get some great action shots?"

johnny nodded, a determined look on his face, "absolutely, sir."

boone smiled and thanked the boy, before heading off to debrief with the other coaches.

maisie couldn't help but notice all the adoring fans and parents that were entering the stands. the girl watched as the opposing school entered the field and the away stands started to cheer like crazy.

when the titans walked out, they were not met with such enthusiasm. maisie opened up her notebook attempting to scribble down notes with only the lights that the stadium could offer. it was dim, but it would have to do.

•

the game had started off rocky, but the team still managed a win. though high school games were typically only about two hours, there had been enough drama to last a lifetime. petey had been placed on the bench, as well as alan. alan's dad was none too pleased and it was something maisie wanted to address. she wanted to make sure the boy was okay.

they hadn't really talked since their awkward hallway interaction, when maisie saw him with taylor. however, she didn't want to let that effect their relationship. things may have been strange between them, but at the end of the day they were a truly great pair of friends. she wouldn't sacrifice that over feelings of jealously or stupidity.

as everyone was piling out of the locker room, they couldn't help but notice the girl who had been standing in the cold.

"pulitzer!" julius exclaimed with a grin, wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulder, "you comin' out with us tonight?"

maisie had never been one to paint the town red. she wasn't much of a party person, but she figured these guys weren't the type to go crazy. plus, she liked the prospect of hanging out with them in a space that didn't involve yard lines.

the girl knit her brows, looking up at the boy who had so kindly greeted her, "going out where?"

julius simply shrugged, having no real answer for her. so far the plan was to walk around town and possibly disturb the peace. it wasn't maisie's typical friday night, but she couldn't exactly turn the boys down.

"wherever the night takes us," alan replied, having heard the brief conversation as he was leaving the locker room, "you coming? yeah, she's coming. let's go."

maisie smiled at the boy's assertiveness. she found it insanely attractive. however, she was still on a mission. he seemed to be in good spirits, but it might have been a facade.

"fine," the girl rolled her eyes, but still had clear intention to get what she wanted, "can i talk to you, bosley? alone?"

a few howls came from the boys in the group, all of whom were now pushing the cornerback and laughing at him. alan laughed along, pushing the boys arm's off of him before finding privacy with the girl.

"what's up, mais?" alan asked as they walked along the sidewalk. part of him was still wondering what was going on between her and sunshine. it was all he could think about during the game, and it had distracted him almost entirely.

"i just wanna make sure everything is okay," she started, glancing over at him with cautious eyes, "i heard your dad yelling and everything, so i was just wondering if you're doing alright."

alan's face fell, trying to debate if he wanted to confide in the girl. he thought it was kind of her to care, but that didn't mean he wanted to dump all of his emotional baggage onto her. after all, he liked the girl and didn't need to give her any reasons to stray.

"i'm good," he replied, self consciously looking down at the ground, "you know, he does that stuff a lot, so i'm used to it."

maisie frowned, suddenly feeling pretty bad for the boy. she knew what it was like to have a slightly uncaring parent.

"yeah, but like... i don't know. it'd be okay, if you weren't okay. you know that right?" she asked, cautiously reaching over and placing a hand on his arm.

the boy stopped in his tracks, turning to look at her. he felt nothing but the rapid beating of his heart as she touched him. it was surprising, but he deeply appreciated the girl and her ability to be serious. he had been starting to think she was all jokes and teasing.

he smiled, making sure to look her in the eyes as he spoke, "you know, you're actually really sweet."

maisie scoffed, shaking her head at the boy. she had been called a lot of things, but had never once been described as sweet, "i am not."

alan laughed, refusing to believe her. whether she wanted him to or not, it was at this moment that he truly saw her. he saw her for everything she was, not just what she put out in the world for others to see. to him, he had finally gotten to sides of her that felt unreachable.

"you are. you just don't want anyone to know about it," alan replied, giving her a small punch on the arm, "keeping up the tough guy act, huh?"

she wanted to respond, but she knew the boy had seen right through her. seeing that he was actually okay, not just faking it for the sake of saving face, she laughed off what could've been a truly vulnerable moment.

"well, where are we going anyways?" she changed the subject, beginning to walk on the path to their cars.

he looked over at her and rolled his eyes. he knew the serious moment could only last so long and he felt like he had pushed his luck. still he'd take what he could get, if he could just keep walking with her.

"i don't know," he replied, knowing he just couldn't go home quite yet, "wanna just drive around?"

maisie looked over at him with questioning eyes, "without the guys?"

truthfully she didn't care if she she ever saw the guys again, if it meant the two of them could drive off into the sunset together. however, that was the reply of a person far crazier than she, so she refrained from telling him that.

"yeah," the boy answered definitely, giving her a playful smile, "that alright?"

feeling her heart threatening to explode, maisie couldn't help the smile that began to paint her face, "yeah."

alan smiled at the ground, not wanting the girl to see just how happy she had just made him. he didn't want to seem too excitable for fear of scaring her off. he was going to have to deal with a lot when he faced his father, so he wanted to spend his last fleeting moments with the girl he'd been gathering courage for.

they approached his car and he opened the passenger door for her. maisie half considered the fact that she was leaving her car in the school parking lot, but didn't want to say anything. she just wanted to stay with him.

"you know, i haven't asked about you yet." the boy stated as he began to pull out of the parking lot.

he had been worried for her since her article had come out. he saw how people looked at her and how they treated her because of her viewpoints. he wanted nothing more than to ward off every bad force in her life, but knew that was impossible. all he could do was make sure she was okay and try to make her feel better if she wasn't.

"about what?" the girl replied, unsure of what he was talking about.

he looked over at her, giving a look that said he didn't believe her clueless facade. part of her had an inkling of what he meant, but it wasn't something she wanted to talk about if not completely prompted.

"i'm sorry about everyone at school," alan said earnestly, truly apologizing for the actions of others, "they're all just a bunch of bigots, anyways."

maisie let out a nervous laugh, knowing that was true. still, it didn't make her any less uneasy.

"it's just weird, i guess," maisie replied, deciding she was comfortable enough to be vulnerable. she hadn't really talked to anyone about what's been happening, but she was okay with alan being the first, "like... i don't know. i wasn't really trying to be the face of anything, you know? i just wanted to write something important, like something people cared about."

"people do care," he curbed her insecurities. it made him upset to think that she had dismissed her merit because of a few critics, "it's a great paper, mais. the people here they just... they don't get it."

maisie looked over at him, a closed mouth smile painting her lips. she appreciated what he was trying to do for her and it actually was making her feel better.

"clearly," she replied, letting out a sigh and glancing out the window, "you really like the paper?"

an amused smile found its way only alan's face as he glanced at maisie. she had never seemed so timid before. he found this side of her endearing.

"you're a really good writer, maisie," he answered, waiting until she met his eye line to continue, "like, actually talented-"

she cut him off with a laugh, hiding her face in her hands from embarrassment. it felt strange to be begging for compliments and even stranger to be getting them head on. she enjoyed the praise, but didn't like how red she could feel her cheeks getting.

"come on, stop," he laughed with her, reaching over and gently pulling her hands from her face, "you've got a good voice, maisie, and you're doing the right things. don't let any of those hicks tell you otherwise."

the girl looked down at his hand, which had not left yet left from hers. her heart was beating out of her chest, but she liked holding his hand too much to make it stop.

"okay, but you have to do the same," she replied, looking over at him with a serious gaze, "whatever your dad tells you... you know, just don't let it bother you too much. okay?"

alan kept his eyes on the road, not sure he could comply. his dad just seemed to have a special way of getting under his skin with only a few words. he had never been particularly good at blocking him out. when he didn't answer her, maisie squeezed his hand.

he rolled his eyes, looking over at her through lashes, "fine. i'll try."

she smiled, giving him a small nod before placing her eyes on the window next to her. he took his hand back, knowing it probably wasn't smart to make a left turn without it. under different circumstances it would've bothered the girl, but at the moment there was nothing that could shake her. for the first time in awhile, she was perfectly content.