"That's it for our First Half! Stick around for our halftime performances from our fellow Borahae High Dancers and a farewell tribute to Our beloved seniors for their senior night."

From the south end of the field, the scoreboard read 48:12 in bright orange digital numbers. The bobcats were really playing their asses off tonight and it was definitely showing in their score. As the heavy breathing and sweaty players exited the field for their halftime huddle, The crowd on the home side cheered them on, keeping them hype and spirits high all the way till they reached the field house, and the very last player was inside.

""Bob-cats! Bob-cats! Bob-cats!" Amaya's exaggerated voice roared with the crowd, cupping her hands around her mouth as her dreadlocks bounced against her orange vest. Despite nearly freezing from lack of propper clothing, she made due by being as energized as the crowd.

A gust of wind had picked up by now, and I was holding both my arms and my brother's arms around my body for warmth. The game was very interesting and amusing so far, but I couldn't. in well with the rest of the crowd as they shouted their respective chants and cheers.

From the sidelines, a group of girls dressed in pretty purple uniforms and glittering face paint moved to the beat of the music that roared through the speakers after the bobcats scored. They drew in the crowd's attention as they moved, bringing smiles to their faces and even a few whistles of admiration of the girl's beauty.

One of them looked very familiar. I recognized that forced innocent smile and that contradicting doll face. Since the last time I saw her, her appearance has been altered and what looked like a change in attitude. This time, she had more makeup than before, and tight curls that cascaded from the top of her high ponytail.

As she switched between different theatrical faces, I caught a small glimpse of the detailing of her make up. On the right side of her cheek, she had the number 14 in black puffy paint and a big paw print on the left in bright purple puffy paint. The contrasting spirit she displayed before right now compared to earlier seemed very on brand yet paradoxical.

"Go Bobcats! Aye, Go Go, Bobcats!" The dance team sang, waving their arms and moving their feet to the upbeat, bass booming song that the loudspeakers played.

It was kind of hard not to nod your head to the beat, but I was too cold to want to move. To the right of me, Amaya was standing and dancing with whoever she sat with on the other side of her. She had the biggest smile on her face, grooving to the rhythm of the beat without a care in the world.

"Get it Maya!" I cheered, watching her with a bright smile of my own.

Her dancing partner, who turned out to be an older woman, twirled her in a circle then grabbed and placed her hands in Amaya's to return to a 2-step. They laughed together till the music subsided and the dancing team were rallying afterward. They both laughed as they caught their breaths, thanking each other for the experience following with a hug. It was sweet. I've always admired how friendly and outgoing Amaya was with other people, and watching it happen before me felt like a privilege.

"You good?" I leaned over to ask her, watching her fan herself like she was having hot flashes.

"Whew, girl... Heck Yea. Andrea can move, shoot maybe even better than those purple girls out there." She rocked back and forth, fanning herself vigorously. "I need some water. Come on while the lines are still kinda short."

She stood up and walked past me, brushing against Julius's body and the few others below us, of course with verbal excusing herself. Following her lead, I scrambled to get up, grabbing a hold of Julius's hand and following her down the stairs, making sure the jacket covered my stomach.

"Amaya, Hold on, Damn." I called out to her, hoping to catch her attention.

"I'm going to hurry and get in line before the stampede comes." she practically skipped toward the concessions.

I shook my head and smiled, making sure I had a tight grip on my brother's hand so I didn't lose him in the field of people and students who were in line and kicking it in the area. Once we were closer, immediately, the spellbinding aroma from the different foods caressed my senses. Coming into view were numerous lines for different items of food from bacon wrapped hot dogs and baked potatoes, to funnel cakes, churros, and kettle corn. Not too long after, Amaya was at the end of a line that looked to be for bacon wrapped hot dogs and kettle corn.

"I'm going to stay in this one, I want a hot dog." he said, Pointing to the booth with her thumb.

"How much are they?" I asked as Julius and I walked up to her. I assessed the menu banner that hung from the bottom of the e-z up gazebo, and mugged when I saw the price.

"Girl, they're like $7." she said, mirroring my face.

"Uh-uhn, What else is over here? I'm not spending all my money on a damn hot dog. I still need to get Julius something to eat." I said.

"You're right. I'm still getting one but there's–"

From the left of me, a tall and lean guy with the strongest scent of Axe body spray radiating from his whole body came into my line of sight.

"Don't eem worried about it, ma. I got you." he smiled, standing closer to me than i would like , flashing his lighter than white teeth.

Ma?....Ick.

Amaya and I were rendered speechless, sharing quizzical looks on who this dude was. Amaya turned attention back to the front of the line and faked a concentrated face while looking over the menu again.

"I'm sorry.. What?" I asked, leaning away from the scent of his overly minty fresh breath.

He looked me up and down, not so subtly and repeated his statement. "I said I got you. You wanted one of these lil hotdogs right? I'll get one for you and your lil bro."

"Um, no...you don't have to do that." I said.

Ignoring the devious stare my brother gave him, he rubbed his hands together like a fly, turning his head to the side like he saw something just to flash me with his one earring and chuckle obnoxiously before turning his attention back to me.

"No really it's fine." I tried again, looking past him to make eye contact with Amaya.

"C'mon, why you playing, girl?" My stomach started to turn when he stepped closer to me, overtly licking his lips and making me take one step back from this predatory feeling. "I can see your thick ass likes to eat. Let me do that for you."

As if every siren isn't already going off.. A big bright red flap figuratively rose from the ground all the way till it reached the top of his head and waved proudly like the flags do during the national anthem. My heart started to race as he invaded my personal space even more, and I was fumbling my words. "Dude, can you please back up."

"Why? Do I make you nervous?"

My mouth moved but nothing came out. Every ounce of space he invaded made the screeching sirens scream louder.

"Why you nervous?" He asked again, trying to seem smooth.

Coming to my defense like the savior she is, Amaya stepped out of line with one hand on her hip and a stank face that was enough to make anyone self conscious.

"Sir, why don't you and them fake ass chains get your ass on somewhere, cornball ass.. We don't need your punk ass monopoly money."

His attention shifted to her and he tilted his chin up, digging his tongue in his cheek. "Damn friend its like that?"

Keeping the same face, Amaya moved her neck like a snake and bucked her eyes. "Im not your friend nigga, and yeah, it's like that. Bye."

He looked between me and her, and even glanced at Julius who bucked at him like a pit bull. Taking the hint, he took a step back and nodded his head.

"Aight, your big ass aint need no hot dog anyway. Man I'm out."

I gasped, a heavy feeling weighing me down as he walked away. Wasting no time to move on, he wrapped his arm around one of the pretty and obviously skinnier school dancers in passing, making a notable gesture to me as he sweet talked her. kind of shit was that?

"Fuck him! I didn't know we were still in the early 2000s." Amaya dismissed, rubbing circles on my back. "Shid, you weren't big when he looked at you like a shiny gold star. Anyway, You good?"

"Yeah," I sighed, not surprised by the unfortunate events. Even though his comments had an effect on me, I still couldn't help but crack a smile at how played out he was. "He smelled like the Axe body spray they took off the shelves for being too toxic."

"He did, huh." Amaya laughed. "Girl, did you see them buckaroo ass veneers?"

"Oh my gosh, yes! And that ONE earring." I laughed harder, taking a step forward in line.

"Jay jay."

"Girl those fucking chains looked like they came out of the quarter machine at his barber shop."

"What fucking barber? His hairline was pushed back like this far." I laughed, letting go of Julius' hand to demonstrate the measurements of his hairline.

"Jay Jay. I have to pee."

"He was such a dustyyyy." we both cackled, idly moving with the flow of the line.

"Jay Jay, I'm going to the bathroom."

Wiping the exaggerated tear from my eye, I overheard Julius's quiet voice say something. "Huh?."

"I'm going to the bathroom."

"Ok, I'll get you something."

Turning my attention back to mine and Amaya's clowning session, I didn't pay any mind to the small child that left my side. Who would've thought that from this point, I would lose complete knowledge of My baby brother's whereabouts.

"Jullius?"

"Julius!!"

"Ju Ju!!"

I yelled, rushing in a frenzy between the bodies that crowded the concession area. It's been 5 minutes since we started looking for him and he hasn't turned up yet.

When we reached the front of the line, I asked him what he wanted but got no response. Immediately I was alarmed. Julius usually always answers when we talk to him and to my dismay, he was nowhere in sight. My heart sank to the bottom of my ass and my breath caught in my throat.

"Where's Julius??" I frantically tapped Amaya's shoulder, and the look on my face must have given it away.

My fucking baby brother was gone.

"JULIUS?" I yelled, leaving the woman at the cash box as worried as we were.

"Julius?" Amaya yelled, looking around the legs of the people who could block his view.

We scattered, looking near the concession stands and branched out to the visitors side all the way till we met back at the bleachers. We ran up and down each one, carefully scanning everyone's face until one of them looked like a brother.

"Oh My god, My moms going to kill me!!" I panicked, holding the sides of my face and staring blankly as my knees started to buckle.

"You don't think he could've gone on campus do you? "

"I don't know." I whined, tears pricking my eyes. "How would he even get on campus, the fences are locked!"

"We can go look before Halftime is over!" Amaya suggested pulling her phone out to check the time.

Looking around again, a tear threatened to fall before I settled for her suggestion. "Ok let's do it."

As we made our way down the stairs of the bleachers, the loud spears crackled and the announcer's animated voice filled the atmosphere.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that's the End of our Halftime Series, Everyone on their feet as we kick off our second half! Everybody give it up for our very own BORAHAE HIGH BOBCATS!"

Amaya and I both froze where we stood, stirring down at the football field, holding the most shocking looks of relief. There he was... My baby brother Julius McCall bursting through the giant inflatable Big Cat that resembled our school's mascot while holding the hands of None other than number 14 himself. Jungkook Jeon.

The crowd went crazier than the first time, enjoying the sight of the unknown little kid running onto the field with the school Wide Receiver. I, however, had tears spilling from my eyes, thanking god him or herself that my brother was safe.

Whipping her head around, her wide eyes brightened with her smile, showing the same relief I did. A hysterical laugh tickled us both, turning our attention back towards the field to watch Jungkook walk my brother over to the side lines, and hand him off to one of the nice water girls in exchange for a water bottle. My heart jumped when he whispered something to her and she nodded her head in understanding. She smiled wide at my brother and walked toward the edge of the field with him in tow like a successful trade off.

"Jada, come on. Let's go meet them on the field." Amaya spoke up, bringing me from my frozen state.

Quickly we made it to the sidelines, telling the security guards that we needed to get past the fence to get to him.

"Oh, the kids are yours?" He asked.

"Yes! My baby brother!" I corrected, my eyes pleading to let us through.

He stepped out of the way to open the small gate and allowed us entry. "Go ahead."

"Thank you!" I said.

"You're awesome!" Amaya said, rushing past as well.

Catching up to the girl and my brother, I immediately crashed into his body lifting him off the ground and twirling. His childlike giggles increased as I kissed his little face.

"You little turd! You scared me! What the heck" I yelled, placing him on the ground and fixing his Spider-Man jacket.

Off to the side stood the girl and Amaya who thanked her for escorting him. The girl shook her red hair, expressing her gratitude as well and admitted to being equally concerned. Looking past us to check on the game we were missing, she kindly let us know she needed to get back to the field and finish her duties.

"Thank you, again," I said. "What was your name?"

A sweet smile spread on her lips. "It's Melanie, and I'll be sure to extend your thanks to the players as well."

"Thank you, Melanie."

I grabbed Julius hand again and the three of us watched her lightly jog back to the line of buff players that took up at least 20 yards. Looking as professional as her crew, she pulled a bottle from the little carrier she held, and chucked it to one of the heavier players. While he babysat the bottle, she kneeled before one of the 5 gallon water containers and filled the ones that were close to empty.

"Mel!" The player called, immediately tossing the bottle at her which she caught one handed. "Good Lookin out."

I felt silly being so drawn into their interaction, but I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't fascinated.

"No worries," she answered back. Still completing her task. Tilting her chin up, she called out to another familiar player that just so happened to be back on the sidelines. "JK! you good on water?"

Panting with his hands on his hips, the tall and Built player turned his head to the side and spit on his mouth guard that connected to his face mask. "Nah, I'm straight."

"You sure?" She asked, keeping her attention to the bottles.

"Yeah," he breathed. "But you can shoot some ice."

I wondered why he needed ice, he didn't look hurt nor did he show any signs of injury. It was not of my business though, so the thought left quicker than it came.

We basically looked like misplaced desk lamps where we stood. Amaya was tuned back into the game, acting so giddy now that we had front row seats. She bobbed and weaved to look around the tall players, and continued to cheer whenever the team on the field scored.

I was sure we were drawing attention to ourselves and I stood correct when one of the security guards who hung out on the side lines as well walked over to us. He politely informed us that we needed to either move to the other side or go back to our seats because there were high chances of us being in the way of any out of bounds impact.

Of course we went with the first option because Amaya and Julius didn't want to pass up this opportunity. We sat on the bench that held water containers, taking everything in. It already felt like VIP to be on the field, now we were even closer to the player and their water team. We were so close that I heard the familiar star player obnoxiously crunch on the ice he asked for like a damn horse.

The thought itself made me laugh. I tried to hold in my laughter because I didn't want to seem like the crazy girl laughing at nothing, but I was pathetically losing the battle the more he chewed.

"What so funny." A familiar voice sounded suspicious of my humor.

Following where the voice came from, I looked behind me, wondering how he got there so fast. Tucking my lips in, I attempted to stifle my laughter. "Um.. nothing."

Holding a piece of ice in his white gloves hand, he squinted his eyes behind his face mask. "Mhm."

*crunch*

Turning my back to him, My eyes bulged out of my head and I could've sworn I popped a vessel in my brain by how hard I tried to contain my laughter. He watched me struggle, knowing full well why I was laughing and smirked himself.

"A guy can't eat ice?" He asked, his voice slick with a smile growing from my contagious laughter.

"It's not that," I croaked.

"Mhm. Why are you laughing at me and my ice?" He asked, coming around the bench.

I tried to avoid him, keeping my attention straight ahead and he used his index finger to poke my arm.

"Dude!" I snapped playfully, taking in the sight of his face that was grungy with dirt and sweat.

"I asked a question." He said smiling. "Is he your brother?"

"That's not your original question and yes."

"He's a cool little dude." He nudged his chin in Julius' direction.

"Thanks," I said. "He's cooler than me."

"You don't know that."

The small cups of black coffee behind his face mask shined underneath the stadium lights. The light friendliness and enthusiasm in them was a contrast to the last I saw them. Similarly to Stephanie, who coincidentally was no less than 15 feet behind me. Their auras were easy to read.

Finally thinking of a comeback, I opened my mouth to say something. Nothing came out though. The barking sound of a man a few yards away made me jump and snap Jungkook into action.

"JEON! GET YOUR ASS IN THERE! SEEMS LIKE YOU GOT TOO MY TIME ON YOUR HANDS!"

"YES COACH!" He shouted back, promptly running onto the field and leaving me where I sat.

Back out on the field, his enthusiasm seems even heightened than before. As we watched the play run its course, I watched him scramble around the field doing his job by preparing himself to catch the ball that launched in the air shortly after, and spiraling at a rapid speed until it landed in his hands like they were the target destination.

"LETS GOOOOO!!!" The players jumped and screamed, cheering on their teammate with as much energy they could muster.

"TOUCH DOWN BOBCATS!!!!!!"

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Don't leave your car windows rolled down over night in the winter - Author 😇