When the final bell of the day rings throughout the halls, I'm already closing my locker to leave. Today's the day that I'm moving into Violet's house. I'll miss my mom more than anything while she's away on her work trip, but nonetheless, I'm super excited. We both left class early in order to start moving my stuff in as quick as possible. 

I throw my bag over my shoulder, making my way outside. It's a weekly routine of ours to meet up by the football field, mainly because of Grayson. He's usually there after school, tossing a ball and practicing with his teammates and friends.

As a bonding experience, their parents make them share a car. As a miracle, despite their hate for each other, they've managed to create a system of who gets the car when. Today was Grayson's turn, but Violet was planning to ask if we could borrow it today instead.

In order to take some stress off our parents, we want to move my belongings on our own.

As I weave in and out of other students, I cut through the grass. I'm already half way to the football field when I see Violet. She's sitting on a bench, scanning the area for me. It gives me a chuckle because she's looking everywhere besides where I am.

When I make it to the bench, she hops up. "Finally!"

I place my bag on the bench next to hers, "so, why exactly did you have to wait for me?"

Violet doesn't even take a moment to think. "Because! You know how difficult Grayson can be. I need backup."

I unzip my bag, pulling out a half-eaten granola bar. I shove it in my mouth, "backup?"

"Yeah, you know... like, in case he says no." Violet mumbles.

"He hates me as much as he does you," I laugh. 

A weird knot curdles in my stomach. For the past three weeks, the secret memory that Grayson and I share has constantly tried to resurface. Although, I'm getting better at shoving it to the back of my mind. I keep trying to convince myself of his words, that because we can't remember it, that it should be as if it just never happened.

"I know, but if we're both there, maybe he'll feel more intimidated." Violet sounds confident in her plan. I get increasingly nervous as it dawns on me that I'm going to have to face Grayson for the first time since waking in his bed.

Violet stares at me as I aimlessly chew my granola. I blink at her, and then all of the sudden she's bent over in a fit of laughter. Seeing her laugh ignites a bubble in my throat, and chunks of my granola go flying as I laugh too.

"You owe me another bar," I crackle as half if it is spewed across the bench from my laughter.

"Half of it was already gone!" She rubs her eyes as her laughter dies down.

"So?" I tease.

After composing ourselves, Violet takes the lead towards the field. I follow directly behind her, almost hoping that her silhouette hides me. How was Grayson going to react to seeing me? Every time I've been over to Violet's since the event, I've been making sure to avoid running into him at all costs. And now... now I was going to him. 

My heart begins to accelerate with every step I take.

As we near the group of boys, their vague outlines become more detailed. It's a group of four. I know most of them from classes we share. Occasionally, I'll see one or two of them around Violet's house, as they come over to hang with Grayson.

Apart of me considers turning around. I could pretend like I forgot something at the bench. Then, I wouldn't have to confront Grayson. As I'm daydreaming about my hopeless escape, Violet stops in her tracks, causing me to lightly crash into her back.

"Grayson," Violet announces his name, swiveling past a few of the guys. As she steps towards her step-brother, she crosses her arms. 

Grayson's back is facing us, his head tilted upward as he looks into the orange, cloudy sky. When I follow his gaze, I find an oval ball soaring through the air. Effortlessly, Grayson takes a few steps back, allowing for the ball to slam into his arms. A perfect catch. 

Craning his neck back, he tosses a glance towards us. His emerald eyes rest upon my face for a split second before darting over to his step-sister. As if we weren't standing here, he turns back around and continues to toss the ball with his friend.

I watch as Violet grows irritated. She passes me an annoyed look and I give her a shrug in return. Grayson's always just done whatever he wants. And if it ends up annoying Violet or me, it's just  a plus.

Painting on her brightest smile, Violet turns towards his two friends that stand near him. "Hey guys," her voice is ecstatic. "Did you know that when Grayson takes a shower, he sings? Not just any normal song, but—"

"What do you want, Violet?" Grayson growls, ignoring the ball that is flying towards him. He turns to face us, the ball hitting the ground and rolling towards his feet.

"How kind of you ask," sarcasm lathers her words. "We need to use the car."

Grayson scoffs, ignoring her again. As he leans down to grab his ball, his dark hair dances with the wind. My body jumps when Violet nudges me in the side. When I look at her, her eyes hold a million words. She wants me to speak up and say something.

What am I suppose to say?

I feel small under everyone gaze, and even more small because Grayson's isn't on me. I swallow before I speak, "We just need to pick my stuff up, because today's the day that I'm moving in for a couple months."

When Grayson stands back up, his eyes land on me. For the first time since waking up in his room, he acknowledges me for more than a second. His dark eyebrows are thick as they remain unwavering, but a muscle in his jaw tenses. My gaze falls to his lips as he opens them to speak.

"No." Is all that he says. 

Well, shit.

Violet tosses her arms up, her eyes rolling. "You're so impossible. Would it kill you to be kind for once?" Pacing around, she suddenly stops. "You know what— how about we settle this with a game of football?

My eyes dart from Violet to Grayson.

"No, you're annoying." Grayson shakes his head. "Go away."

"Awe, is Grayson scared that he might get beaten by a couple of girls?" Violet eggs him on.

I fiddle with my sleeve. Do I have a say in this at all?

Grayson sighs, his cold, distant demeanor suddenly fading away. As he rakes his hand through his hair, he takes a moment to think. "Fine."

Violet's eyes go wide, almost as if she wasn't expecting him to agree.

Grayson continues, "But if my team wins, you not only lose the car for today, but the whole month."

I wince at the ultimatum. Violet and I don't play football. Even when the teams get divided into three on three, and we get one of the guys, we're still at a disadvantage. I almost think I'm hearing things when the word 'deal' rolls off of Violet's tongue. 

Grayson allows us to pick our third player, in which Violet chooses a guy named Chris. He seems ecstatic to be on our team, and I watch him as he watches Violet. It's clear as day to me that he thinks she's perfect. I wonder what Grayson would do if he found out that his friend has a crush on his step-sister.

I share a few classes with Chris. With his long blond hair, a lot of girls throw googly eyes at him. He usually wears it in a small bun, but today it's loose. From what I've seen of him, he likes to be the center of attention. He's loud and confident and usually get's what he wants.

Grayson's team consists of himself, Grant and Justin. Grant is big and burly, appearing nothing like your average high school student. With a build like his, he can pass as a college football player. Contrary to that, Justin is tall and lean— similar to Grayson. He has a head full of unruly blond hair and always seems to have a goofy smile on.

And Grayson... well Grayson is Grayson. With messy dark hair and piercing green eyes, he's the boy that causes heads to turn. Despite being troublesome and defiant, he also brings a well-needed comedic relief into the classroom. Whether it's taunting the teacher or flaunting his failed test.

When he wants to be cold, he will be. But when he want's to play around and have fun... there's nothing else on his mind. In a way, he reminds me of an indecisive puppy. A really annoying puppy... who currently holds the keys to a car we really need.

We take a moment to huddle together. Chris runs us through some game plans and I try to hide how completely lost I am. 

"Just as a heads up, " he says. "Grant is a power house. He'll charge right at you with no remorse. It doesn't matter that you're a girl. Justin on the other hand— he's fast. Like really fast. So if he gets the ball, we're done for. As for Grayson, he's a hybrid of both. He's our star running back on the school's team. Steer clear of him completely."

"Wait so, we're just suppose to avoid all of them?" Violet blinks in confusion.

"That's the hope." Chris laughs. "I'll try to deal with them the best I can, but if they come for one of you... all that I can say is good luck."

Before I know it, Chris claps his hands together. With a few motivating words, we disperse. 

Getting into our places, I watch intently as Grayson kicks a cone into place. Justin is doing the same, marking the touch down areas. It makes sense to only use a part of the field, rather than the whole thing. While I'm sure it didn't matter to the guys, Violet and I needed the handicap. 

I glance towards Violet, who is next to Chris. I watch as they chat, their lips moving in sync. Taking her signature move, I roll my eyes. Of course he planned for himself to be next to her. When all of the cones are finally set up, Grayson's team gets into formation. 

As I stand off to the side, I keep running our plan through my head. The more that I think about it, the more that I realize Chris put a lot of trust into me. Either that, or he just wants to watch me fail.

Did he really think that I could catch the ball and run it past Grayson and Grant?

*****