The rest of my week is pretty uneventful. Thanks to my brilliant plan, Julia and I spend all of Home Ec in the kitchen, while Matt writes most of the paper, and Kyle watches and pretends he is helping. We don't present till next week but by the end of class Thursday, Matt has already written the entire 5 page paper and made the presentation. I must say, when I looked it over it was really good, I can see why he is a perfect A student.

As we walk out of class Friday afternoon, I am relieved to have made it through the week and actually find myself enjoying this new school. Of course I miss my friends at home, which they're well aware of after our group FaceTime last night. It was suppose to be a cute little ice cream FaceTime date, but it had to end early because literally all of us were crying into our ice cream.

"Everyone is coming to my game, right?" Kyle asks the group for the 100th time today as we walk out of the building.

"Yes Kyle, we have never missed one of your home games yet." Tyler is clearly getting fed up with Kyle constantly asking. I think it's sweet how everyone always goes to Kyle's games, it reminds me how Sash and I used to go to Aaron's. I swallow the lump in my throat and focus on Kyle as he speaks again.

"Perfect! Tyler, as my best friend will you do me the honor of wearing my jersey?" Kyle is trying to be serious but he barely finishes the sentence before falling to the ground laughing. Tyler of course uses this as the perfect opportunity to kick the shit out of Kyle.

"Did this not get old freshman year, Kyle? We all know J is gonna wear it like she has the past two years." Amanda steps in between the two fighting boys and rolls her eyes, taking the extra jersey in his hand and handing it to Julia.

The four of us leave, as Kyle heads back inside the school to change, debating what to do for the next two hours before the game. Finally, we decide to drive to the beach about 15 minutes away and chill there for a little bit while it is still warm.

When we get there Amanda and Tyler decide to walk by the water, while Julia and I sit down and soak up some sun. After a few minutes of silence I look at Julia. "I can feel you watching me, what Syd?"

"You never told me you wore his jersey every game for the last two years." I start to think and I realize she never really brought up Kyle at all. I mean, of course I knew about his existence, he was in Snapchat stories and Instagram posts plenty but I always thought they were just friends.

"I guess it just never came up," she shrugs, not really engaging in conversation with me.

"Bullshit." I say firmly, not letting her off the hook. "How long have you liked him?"

She looks up at the sky and sighs, then remains quiet for a minute. I am about to ask her again, sure she didn't hear me when softly she says, "Three years? Maybe four?"

I am going to bombard her with a zillion more questions, but the two lovebirds come back and sit with us. We leave shortly after they return, stopping to grab snacks at the 7-Eleven by school on the way.

"Kyle is one of the best on the team," Julia tells me while fixing the jersey as we walk over to the field.

"One of the best? He is the best this school has ever and will ever see!" Tyler is beaming with pride talking about his best friend. Despite how he pretends everything Kyle does annoys him, I know that, after Amanda, he is one of the most important people in Tyler's life.

"Seriously you should see him Syd. He broke the school's all time scoring record last year half way through the season." Amanda looks just as proud as her two best friends talking about Kyle. I am so glad I have the four of them; they're just so sweet and supportive, it has made this whole move so much easier.

We grab seats with all the other students in the crowded stands. Many other girls are dressed in school colors and have numbers written on their face. I count at least 3 girls with Kyles number on their face, but Julia seems unfazed; she must be used to it.

The game goes by quickly, much quicker than a football game. Kyle makes 3 goals and the team easily wins. They were right about Kyle, he is by far the best player on our team without question. The students are going absolutely wild as the team walks over.

Julia leaps from the stands as Kyle gets closer, he drops his stuff and catches her, spinning around while she laughs. "How'd I do?"

"Ehhhhh I don't know, I'd give today's performance a 6 at best." She says as he finally sets her down, his arm still hung over her shoulder.

"Always a critique! Anywayssss...there is a party at Tom's house tonight. We're all going, right?" We all say yes and I notice all the girls hanging around us. It is clear that they are waiting for Kyle to pay attention to them but he pays them no mind, still hanging all over Julia.

"Hey Kyle," this girl in a cheerleader uniform, skirt pulled up much higher than it needs to be, comes over literally throwing herself on to Kyle.

"Um hi, Madison" Kyle replies while trying to peel her off of him. I look at Julia who shakes her head and rolls her eyes so hard I actually worry she will cause damage.

"Tom's party, I'll totes see you there, right?" she says, still shockingly stuck to Kyle, totally not getting the hint that he is not about her touching him.

"Yeah, we are um, the whole group is going so yeah I will be there." Kyle is staring at all of us begging us with his eyes to get this girl off of him. For her sake, I hope she removes herself from him before Julia loses all patience, because she is pretty but Julia will happily rearrange her face if this goes on too much longer.

"Perf, I will see YOU there!" She puts emphasis on the word 'you'. Finally, she removes herself from Kyle, winking at him before skipping away.

"NOT ONE OF YOU WANTED TO SAVE ME!! SHE GOT HER COOTIES ON ME!" Kyle dramatically screams as soon as Madison is out of earshot. We all laugh and figure out what is going on with the party.

Once we all agree that Kyle, who has practice tomorrow morning will be designated driver, we all head home to get ready for the party. Amanda and Julia come with me, so the three of us can get ready together. Apparently Amanda's dad is super strict, so she already has a bag packed to get ready at my house and plans to sleep at Tyler's after the party.

Getting ready, I am super nervous. I went to plenty of parties while at Friends Academy but those aren't the same as these. No one had designated drivers, they just rode with their security detail, who took them home at the end of the party. I realize quickly I have no idea what to wear. Usually I would wear something kinda fancy like a black dress from Pretty Little Things and a nice pair of heels but I have a feeling this isn't going to be that fancy.

Julia and Amanda help me decide on a red lace bodysuit, with black jeans, a belt, and black open toe heels. I leave my hair down and go with a dark smokey eye, finishing off the look with a bright red lipstick. I also decide to put a few emergency things in a crossbody and throw on my leather jacket since it is getting a little colder at nights now. Julia and Amanda are both also wearing bodysuits, but Julia pairs hers with a skirt instead of jeans.

Mom brings us up food while we are getting ready and we devour it, despite having gotten snacks like 3 hours prior. As we all sit on my bed talking, I realize how much I love this girl time. I know Tyler and Kyle are part of the group and I totally love them around, but this is nice. I make a mental note to try and get more alone girl time together, just the three of us.

Around 10pm, Kyle pulls up with Tyler and texts us he is out front. I originally was going to invite the guys in, but I know my dad, and instead we just say bye and walk out to the car. A few minutes later we pull up to this giant house overflowing with teens.

"God, Tom started things early today," Kyle says as he parks his car in a spot that probably isn't actually a spot.

"It's the first party of the year, he had to set the bar high," Julia adds, adjusting her skirt as she gets out of the car.

"I wonder what the Halloween theme will be this year?" Amanda looks up at Tyler, who just shakes his head in panic.

"Please don't make me dress up again baby, I am begging you." He is practically begging her on his knees. Maybe Kyle isn't the most dramatic one in the group after all.

As we walk in, the smell of horny teens and cheap alcohol hits me...hard. I look around and there is a troubling number of teens just dry humping on this kid's couches. Reminder to never sit on any of those.

"Warning, the alcohol is really cheap, it is pretty much flavored rubbing alcohol. Stick with beer at least until you are a little tipsy." Tyler warns me as we all walk into the huge kitchen. I look at the many bottles spread across the counter before thanking Amanda for handing me a beer.

"LET'S TAKE SHOTS!!" Julia yells, handing us all little shot glasses with God knows what in it. Everyone throws back the shot and I feel my throat burn, causing my eyes to water.

"That should be illegal," I say to no one in particular but Amanda giggles a little while sipping her beer probably trying to soothe her burning throat. "Also isn't Kyle D Driver?"

Kyle and Julia both take two more shots while Tyler secretly slips Kyles keys out of his pocket and takes them. "This happens every time, I don't really drink. I will have that shot and maybe finish a beer but usually it gets warm and I dump it, so I always drive home."

"Oh... so why did we waste 5 minutes talking about it?" They both shrug as the other two lunatics take their fourth shot. After their fourth shot we all move into where the music is.

Tyler stands off a little to the side while Amanda dances next to him. Julia and Kyle move more toward the center of the room, each with two beers dancing without a care in the world. I choose to stay with Amanda, more watching everything around me than dancing.

A few songs later and I can tell the shots have hit Kyle and Julia hard. They both come stumbling over and Julia throws her entire body weight on me. "Let's play a gameeee."

"J, we've all seen After, we are most definitely not playing a stupid game from some movie you all forced us to watch," Tyler tells her before I can tell her no. I hope that this is gonna be the end and she is going to forget the idea, but I know that won't happen.

"Fine asshole. We will go play a game with more funs peoples because yous are really boring." She grabs Kyle's arm and drags him away sticking her tongue out at us as she goes. Kyle either doesn't care with what is going on or is already drunk but he just follows her without a word.

I get more comfortable and move more toward the middle dancing with the rest of the crowd. Amanda joins me while Tyler leans against the wall watching her the entire time. Neither of them really drink but I end up grabbing a second beer shortly after Julia and Kyle leave us.

I look at my watch and realize it is already midnight. Where did the time go? Also when did I finish this beer? "Hey guys I am gonna go get another drink." They both give me a thumbs up as Amanda leans into Tyler and kisses him softly. He pulls her closer to deepen the kiss and they start full on making out. Wow look at mom and dad getting steamy I think, making myself laugh a little.

When I walk in the kitchen it is almost completely empty, except for someone bent down grabbing a drink from the cooler. The person stands up and turns around as I get closer and I can't tell if I want to laugh or cry when I notice it is Matt. Who would have thought he would be here, dressed in colors too. He is wearing Black jeans, with a pair of white Air Force 1s, and a light gray shirt with a hunter green jacket over it.

"Wow, didn't think this was your scene," I say as I brush past to get into the cooler too.

"It's not, but all my friends wanted to come and I wasn't going to sit home like some loser." He shoots back, turning around toward me as I bend down to grab a drink. I am a little self conscious that he is pretty much looking directly at my ass but I ignore it, knowing he probably isn't looking anyways.

"You have friends?" I ask in fake shock, while trying to open the beer. The ice in the cooler has melted making the drink wet and hard to open.

"Ow, that one hurt a little Barbie." He grabs the drink from my hand and wipes it with his shirt so it's not so wet and opens it for me. I blush a little and look down as he hands it back to me.

"Thanks," I mumble and he just shrugs while taking a big sip from his beer.

"I am not drunk enough for this party," Matt comments, as a girl in a cropped halter top and leather skirt pushes past us to puke in the kitchen sink.

"Actually, I am kind of surprised you drink at all." TJ swore drinking was just a waste of calories, which he is right about. Matt is good so no doubt like most other good fighters he has a really strict diet; usually empty calories from beer doesn't fit into those strict diets.

"I work out an extra hour the days I know I am going to drink, it won't make up for all the calories I will drink tonight but some is better than none." I nod at what he says, catching Julia behind him playing that stupid Suck and Blow game. She is sitting to the right of Kyle, while Madison is on his left.

"So how is training with Chris?" I can see the alcohol taking its effects on Matt. He is more relaxed and his words are a little sloppier. I know for a fact if he wasn't tipsy right now we would not be having a civil conversation.

"It is going really good actually, I could definitely take you." I know I can't but the words leave my mouth before I can stop them. Something about Matt brings out the competitive nature in me.

"How would you know? You've never even seen me fight." He says pushing off the counter he's leaning on across from me and standing up tall

Feeling bold I do the same thing stepping closer to him. "I just know these things, besides if you were so good Rodney wouldn't have suggested Chris be my trainer."

"Oh really?" He steps even closer to me, I have to look up to continue to hold eye contact. He is much taller than my 5'4" self standing probably around 6'2". I notice he has a cut under his chin, I have a similar one from taking an uppercut to the face. It bled forever and I ended up needing 7 stitches.

"Really." I don't know what my end goal is with taunting Matt. I know I can't take him. I also know he would probably never fight a girl, especially me who is so much smaller than him. I guess I just want to get under his skin, like he gets under mine.

"Fine. Tomorrow night, 8pm at the gym. Don't bring anyone." He says super seriously, suddenly checking to make sure no one heard him.

"Is that where you kill me?" I ask both intrigued and confused. His relaxed stance changed so quickly, clearly something has to be up.

Matt steps closer to me to the point we are practically touching. "No one is supposed to know but we have a fight club. The fights are every other Saturday. I fight tomorrow if you really want to see what I am capable of, but you can't tell anyone about this."

"I swear I won't tell anyone." And I mean that. I may not like Matt but he trusted me with this and no matter what goes on between us I would never betray that.

"Also don't come wearing bright pink Barbie." He laughs and steps back to sit up on the counter. I laugh too but I am not sure if it's because of his comment or because I am standing here actually having a decent conversation with Matt.

I now have my back to where Julia is playing, somehow having switched spots with Matt. Something behind me catches his eye and he makes a shocked face. "Yo, are Kyle and Julia dating?"

"No?" I answer, not really sure where the question is coming from. Maybe he picked up on how flirty they are in class too.

"Oh good, because he is sucking Madison's face off right now and Julia is sitting right next to it." I turn around before he can even finish his sentence. Right there, in front of Julia, is Kyle and Madison with their tongues down each other's throats. The rest of the circle cheering them on.

"Fuck." I run over to Julia who is now up and practically running out of the room tears streaming down her face. Tyler and Amanda come running over and we all usher her out the front door. I feel a little bad I just left Matt, but Julia is way more important right now.

"Both of you get her in the car. I am telling that dumb fuck he can find his own ride home and I will drop his car off at home for him." Tyler looks livid as he storms back into the house to find Kyle.

The second we get into the car Julia burst into loud sobs. "I am such an idiot!"

My heart breaks watching her this upset. A few minutes pass and Tyler climbs into the car, slamming the door. His anger is rolling off his body in waves and I see a side of Tyler I didn't even know existed.

We get back to my place and they help me drag Julia upstairs. After they leave, I help her change into PJs and clean her makeup off while she continues to cry. Eventually, she cries herself to sleep and I fall asleep soon after holding her tightly. 

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Sydney and Matts outfits