"That was insane." My jaw dropped. Who knew that football could be so interesting? As far as I was concerned, it was boring and too complicated to keep my attention. Even though I really didn't know most of the rules and everyone around us was constantly screaming, I still found it to be fun.

Millie hooked her arm through mine and laughed. "See? That's what I've been trying to tell you. Our team is hella good, which makes it way more entertaining."

"Yeah, but the other team was better. They won." I pointed out. Most people on our side of the field were still cheering, but only in the way that good sports did.

"So what? Our team has already gotten further than anyone thought they would. The fact that their season lasted this long is an accomplishment enough." Her hair was pulled back into a half-up ponytail, and with each small gust of wind, it lifted upwards like an otherworldly ghost.

When we first arrived, Millie immediately questioned why I was wearing Sam's sweatshirt again. I told her the lie Sam concocted, and she just laughed at how ridiculous we were. For once I felt like she might have actually believed my lie, which was a small relief that I gladly took.

As for the football game, it was stressful but enjoyable to watch. Our team lost, but only barely. When they first came out onto the field, everyone around us burst into screams and chants. I was probably deaf after it.

But watching Sam out there made it worth it. He kicked ass. The most consistent thing about Sam was his drive to do his best in every way, even when it came to making me angry. Which was probably a flaw just as much as it was a strength.

Through most of the game, Millie and I talked. We also ate too much food for our own good. Either way, I had a lot more fun than ever thought I would. Too bad it was the last football game of my senior year.

The both of us stood with the rest of the crowd. Then we began down the stairs closest to the end of the bleachers. Due to that, we were able to overhear a conversation that was most definitely not meant for us.

It was Jocelyn and her best friend again, both dressed in their cheerleading costumes and stood on the ground beside the bleachers. What was the other girl's name again? Millie told me the last time that we witnessed one of their weird interactions, but I was so awful at remembering the names of people I didn't commonly interact with. That extended to celebrities as well.

"What the hell has been your problem recently?" She was saying to Jocelyn, who seemed way more lost and confused than I ever saw before. That was the second time I noticed her with any expression other than pure mal-intent.

"It's just a joke. Why are you taking everything so seriously?" Jocelyn replied, her words strained.

I glanced at Millie, who glanced at me. There wasn't anyone trying to walk down the steps behind us, so we just stood there and listened. It wasn't our place to be a part of that conversation, but we were both nosy. And it was not the sort of thing we expected to hear from a girl like Jocelyn. Why wasn't she searching for Sam instead?

That was when it occurred to me that I never asked Sam about her. What was their relationship? Were they ever together? The idea of that irked me. But Sam didn't belong to me. We were only testing out a trial period, I had no right to dictate who he surrounded himself in.

So why did the idea of him with someone else bother me so much?

"Because you've been weird recently and I'm sick of it." Her words were harsh. I cringed from my spot above them, and Millie did the same.

"I'm not acting weird, you're just suddenly irked by everything I fucking do." I was starting to get worried that they were going to begin physically fighting or something. Jocelyn struck me as the type who could probably slap very well. The other one didn't, but who knew.

"Well if you were normal it wouldn't—"

"What the fuck are you two looking at?" Jocelyn was suddenly looking up at Millie and I, screeching at us from a distance. Her hands were balled into tight fists.

I grabbed Millie's wrist and practically dragged her down the bleachers and in the other direction. Being caught eavesdropping was too embarrassing to go towards Jocelyn, especially when she was on the verge of fighting someone. What was up with those two? They were best friends for as long as I could remember, and as far as I was concerned, they were two peas in a pod.

Fortunately, neither of them stormed after us or made a huge scene in front of the remaining crowd.

"That's the second time we've seen them fighting." Millie pointed out, taking her wrist out of my hand and glancing back in the direction we came from. Her brow drew softly together. "What do you think is going on with them?"

"Who knows." I shrugged.

Millie pursed her lips. "Call me petty, but it's oddly satisfying to watch those two argue."

"What's Jocelyn's friend's name again?"

"You are truly hopeless, Sawyer."

From there we went our separate ways, because even though my mom was definitely home by then, I wasn't ready to join her. Besides, Sam asked if I would wait for him in his car. Maybe I was enjoying our time together too much. But what else was I supposed to do? I told him that I would give us a proper chance, so I was doing just that. And I also told Millie that I drove myself there so that she wouldn't be suspicious.

When I spotted his car I took out the keys he told me to take. It felt wrong to have access to something so important to him. If I wanted to, I could steal his car or wreck it. I could do whatever I wanted to his miscellaneous belongings strewn about inside. The fact that he gave me that level of power stressed me out.

It reminded me of when he handed me his phone so effortlessly. Why was Sam so trusting? Wasn't he worried about what could happen? Clearly his doglike loyalty was not his best quality. As much as I thought it was endearing, it still worried me to no avail. The idea of immediately putting all of my trust into someone who didn't exactly make my life easy for years freaked me out. Sam was not like that at all, though. That was somehow even more worrying.

I sat down inside and waited for Sam to join me. He was supposed to go to some massive party celebrating the end of their football season. Instead of doing that, Sam insisted on spending time with me. He really didn't listen to reason. As much as I felt weird keeping him from the more important matter, it was also oddly flattering.

My head rested against the cold window as I watched people flood out of the parking lot. I knew it was going to take a while for Sam to join me, since he told me he was going to shower first. Plus he was probably coming up with an excuse to give the other team members. I didn't turn on the car or anything like that, because then people would notice me. That would not be easy to explain.

It was probably ten to fifteen minutes later when there was a sudden knock at my window. I jumped out of my skin, instantly expecting to see one of those druggies. Fortunately, I was met with the sight of Sam and his dorky smile.

He walked around to the other side of the car and took a seat. "Did you miss me?"

I rolled my eyes. "It hasn't even been that long."

"You make being romantic absolutely impossible." Sam sighed, but his smile didn't fade. "What'd you think about the game?"

"It was way more interesting than I would have guessed. You guys are insane."

"Sucks we didn't win, but it was still a lot of fun. I'm going to miss football season." He wiped away a fake tear.

"Me too. My dad is going to become even more annoying."

"Is he a huge football fanatic?"

"You have no idea." I deadpanned.

With a laugh, Sam turned the car on. Most of the parking lot was deserted as everyone left to celebrate a successful season. It was pitch black out save for the bright lights on the field, and the street lamps along the road.

"So where are we going?" I asked him.

"Somewhere romantic."

My cheeks instantly flushed. I didn't say anything.

The car ride was quiet until Sam decided to turn on the radio. It automatically connected to his Bluetooth, which was playing whatever he last listened to. I knew some songs, and I didn't know some others. Regardless, I wasn't the one who liked to sing along. So it was probably better that Sam knew them over me.

He was such an awful singer, but for whatever reason I really didn't mind. Was that what it meant to be in a relationship? No matter how many notes he missed, I didn't want to tell him to stop. Sam was having fun just being alive. It didn't seem to matter that his life was constantly being threatened. Maybe he was just extremely good at hiding his fear and fretting.

I watched as black silhouettes of trees and houses and other cars passed us. The longer Sam drove, the farther from the main street we became.

"Where are we going?" I asked again, a little worried that we weren't going to be safe there.

Sam stopped singing so that he could answer. "Not much further. And we won't be there for too long, so don't worry."

As much as I wanted to protest, I decided not to. We were driving up a hill with a small field on top. There weren't any houses immediately nearby. Sam pulled the car to the side of the road. Then he looked at me. "In June and July this field is always full of these purple lupines. Whenever my mom would get upset with me for something growing up, my grandpa would take me here to pick her a bouquet. Sometimes there were also buttercups and dandelions. My mom forgave me every single time."

His side profile was relaxed as he stared straight ahead. I leaned back in my chair and gazed out of the window at the dark field. "When my mom got pissed at me, I would go to Millie's house until it all blew over. I still do that."

"Does it work?"

"Nope. She usually just gets more pissed off, then follows it up with a lecture about how I can't just run away from my problems." I admitted.

He laughed. "Sounds very efficient."

The quiet fell back over us for a little while. His music was still playing, but he had turned it down so that it was only a soft hum in the background of our individual thoughts.

"My grandpa also took me here to teach me things. Like how the universe works and why our stars exist." Sam said.

"No wonder you're such a nerd." I couldn't help myself.

His eyes met mine as he lightly punched my shoulder. "I will never be ashamed of being smart."

"You shouldn't be ashamed of it. I wish I was smart."

"You are smart." Sam frowned.

I laughed. "No, I'm definitely not. Do you have any idea how long I spend trying to understand assignments? Especially math."

"You study everything at least once a week with Millie, and once a week on your own. Your grades are mostly Bs, and you always have a C in math. I'd say you're doing great."

Hearing that caused me to sit straighter, and I cast a weird look his way. "How the hell do you know all of that?"

"Maybe I'm a stalker." Sam mused.

"You know that's not very funny given our current situation."

He sighed, reaching a hand over to me and pressing his palm gently to my cheek. His warmth instantly transferred to me, and I tried to ignore the comforting feeling of his skin against mine. "I'm only teasing, Sawyer. I've just paid more attention to you than you thought."

Realizing how stiff I was against his touch, I told myself that relaxing wasn't going to hurt. I leaned against his palm just enough for him to notice, and our eyes found each other in the near pitch-black of the car.

There we were, hidden beneath the dark blanket of night. It was only broken by the vague haze of buildings down the hill, and the soft peppering of stars through the windshield. Maybe Sam wasn't all that smart after all, because being parked out there like that was definitely not safe. But we were just dumb teenagers getting to know each other, and maybe I liked the way he ditched the whole world just to spend a few hours learning more about me.

The dampness dripping off of his golden curls. The nearly faded yellow of healing bruises. Sam's tender touch, and my attempt at vulnerability. We were both learning what it meant to be with someone, and for the first time since our trial period began, I thought that maybe it really was possible.

Who knew what was going to happen next, or how our relationship would change with time.

All I knew was that it didn't matter right then.

•O•O•