"Why don't you workout with them?" mom suggested, as I swiped my keys off the counter.

"Good one."

She chuckled. "It was a bit far-fetched I'll admit."

I rose up on my toes, kissing her cheek. "I'll see you later."

"You're too nice!" she called after me, as I opened the front door.

"Don't I know it?" I called over my shoulder, before closing the door and heading out for my car.

Not only was I going to fix breakfast, but I was going to voluntarily spend time with Clayton Johnson.

I was truly going soft.

Clayton's car was in the driveway when I got there, but the front door was locked.

So they must already be doing whatever it is that they're doing.

I went around the back, letting myself in with the key under the turtle's shell, and headed into the kitchen.

Dawson perked up when he heard me, but then his head dropped back down when he saw I wasn't Bryce.

"You're not a very good guard dog are you?" I teased, kneeling down to give Dawson a good scratch.

He let out a sharp bark.

"No, no you're not," I said, kissing the top of his head before heading into the kitchen.

Dawson followed me, probably expecting a treat.

"Okay, but don't tell Bryce," I said, tossing him a treat out of the container on the counter.

Bryce had bought the ingredients for the organic pancakes, like I'd told him to, which was actually surprising.

I turned on my Pandora radio station, singing around the kitchen as I made blueberry pancakes.

I wasn't the world's best cook, but I could make the essentials. Like blueberry pancakes.

As I plugged in the griddle I heard the front door open.

"How did it go?" I called, leaning over the kitchen counter.

Clayton came into view. His face was sweaty, his shirt clinging to him.

"Oh, not you," I dismissed.

"He's coming," Clayton informed me, heading to the refrigerator. "He's just being dramatic."

Sounds like Bryce.

"I'm not being dramatic," Bryce declined, as he came into the kitchen. "I'm just currently dying."

Clayton tossed him a bottle of water. "Good."

Bryce rolled his eyes, cracking open the bottle of water.

He was considerably more sweaty than Clayton, his face flushed.

"The pancakes still have a few more minutes before they're ready," I said, with an apologetic smile.

"That's fine because we still have to do abs," Clayton said, before heading out the side door.

"Have fun!" I called after Bryce, blowing him a kiss.

Dawson followed them outside, and Bryce gave him a good rubdown as he shut the door, Dawson letting out a few excited barks.

Dawson loved it when Bryce gave him any sort of attention.

I flipped the pancakes before opening the blinds in the kitchen, watching as Clayton and Bryce did ab work and Dawson excitedly ran around them, waiting for attention.

Clayton was saying something to Bryce that made him laugh as he caught a weighted ball.

I never understood what Bryce saw in Clayton. The two of them played travel ball together and had bonded over baseball and video games before I'd met either one of them.

So when I started dating Bryce, it was like taking on a package deal. With Bryce came Clayton.

Clayton was arrogant, sarcastic, and the complete opposite of Bryce. And I hated everything about him.

But despite that, I couldn't help but smile as I watched the two of them. It was true friendship to come over at 8:00 in the morning to help your best friend train for travel baseball season.

~*~

"It's so quiet in here today," Bryce commented, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"That's because Steven isn't here," I said, looking over at him.

"That's right."

I looked over at Steven's empty seat in Art class before looking back at Bryce. "Speaking of Steven, I have a question."

"Why?"

I rolled my eyes as Bryce leaned back in his own seat, raising his eyebrows. "Because I'm curious. No need for your jealousy."

"I'm not jealous," Bryce declined. "I just happen not to like him."

"How does Steven know Mr. John?"

Bryce picked up his black pencil for a few moments, twirling it around in his hand before looking back over at me. "You don't know?"

"I think I might."

But I don't want to.

"Mr. John is Steven's dad."

In that moment, I felt my entire world shatter.

No wonder Mr. John was always at the baseball fields, but only the ones that both Steven and Bryce played at.

No wonder Steven reacted the way he did when he found out Bryce had cancer.

"I've known him half my life," Bryce said, with a sigh. "He's just not a man that you can hate. His son though? An entirely different story."

"Oh my God."

Steven's dad had Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer.

How do you react to that?

"I thought you knew," Bryce said.

I shook my head.

Bryce didn't say anything else, but he didn't need to.

Steven's dad was dying.

"We have a game today," Clayton said, looking over at Steven's empty seat. "That boy had better show up within the next five minutes."

But he never did.

~*~

"How's the game going?" Bryce asked, sitting down next to me as he sipped on his smoothie.

"It's not terrible," Kylie stated.

"We're getting our asses kicked," Landon deadpanned.

Kylie reached over and slapped him upside the head.

"Did Anderson show?" Bryce asked, his eyes scanning the field.

But we were up to bat.

I shook my head.

"The hell Anderson?" Bryce muttered.

"Is this your dinner?" I asked Bryce, stealing his smoothie to take a sip.

"It's my substitute dinner until I get home," Bryce corrected. "But I didn't have time to find food after Drug Addicts R-"

I slapped my hand over his mouth before he could finish his sentence. "That's not nice."

"-Us," he finished, his voice muffled through my hand.

I shook my head at him, turning my attention back to the game as Clayton came up to bat.

"How's Powell doing at pitcher?" Bryce asked, as he sipped on his smoothie.

"Not terrible," I said, watching as Clayton swung and missed at the first pitch.

Ha.

"Come on," Bryce muttered.

Clayton knocked the second pitch into the outfield, giving him a first base.

Not to go against our own home team, but I was hoping he'd strike out.

"Powell's walked two guys," Landon informed Bryce.

"He's also gotten us this far," I countered. "And we're only down two runs."

"Because Sam can't pitch a ball," Landon muttered.

"Let's see you out there then," I said, with a smile.

"Down tiger," Bryce said, with a laugh.

I crossed my right leg over my left, offering Bryce a smile.

He just laughed, nodding at the coach and heading over to talk with him.

"There's no way we're even going to Districts this year," Kylie said, once Bryce was out of earshot.

"I don't even mind," I said, with a shrug.

"You're the pitcher's girlfriend," Landon pointed out.

"Former pitcher's girlfriend," I corrected. "And it looks good if last year we win State with Bryce on the mound, and this year we can't even make first round of Districts."

Landon muttered something under his breath, shaking his head as he re-focused on the game.

"And next year we'll win States again with Bryce back on the mound," I said, smiling at Bryce as he hopped the fence to join the team in the dugout. "So all's well in my book."

~*~

"Yearbooks are coming out today," Kylie informed me, as I took a seat at our morning table.

"Oh boy," I said, with a nervous laugh.

"I wonder who's taking home The Golden Couple," Caroline said, wiggling her eyebrows.

At most high schools, the Superlatives are limited to the Seniors. But at our high school, they're open to the Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors. So it's fair game across the map.

Last year Bryce and I had taken home The Golden Couple title. So it was game on to see if we could do it again.

"I'm not worried about it," I stated, with a smile. "It's just a Superlative."

"You won it last year," Caroline reminded me. "You can't win it once and then let another couple sweep it away."

"You and Bryce are the cutest couple in this entire school," Kylie defended. "No one is taking that prize away."

"Speaking of the cutie, where's he at?" Kylie asked.

"Being a blockhead jock," I said, nodding over to where the baseball boys were all giving Steven a hard time.

Looks like he finally showed up for school.

"You know, I've always been curious, how did you two end up together?" Caroline asked, raising her eyebrows at me.

I couldn't help but laugh. "What do you mean?"

"Well, no offense my dear, but he's exactly what you call him. A jock. And you're not."

Kylie clapped excitedly, sitting criss-cross. "Story time!"

"Okay, okay," I relented. "It's not really that exciting though."

"Sophie?" Mrs. Wilcott called out.

"I'm in here!" I called back.

We were currently playing Sharks and Minnows in the gym. And I'd willingly let my favorite little 3-year old, Alexander, tag me, and I was currently trying to tag the annoying 7-year old, Max.

"Can you come in here please?"

I smiled down at Alexander. "Do you think you can handle this while I'm gone?"

He nodded enthusiastically.

I exchanged laughs with my co-worker and best friend, Kylie.

"Alright," I agreed. "I'm trusting you." And then I left the gym to head into the adjoining break room, where Mrs. Wilcott was setting up snack time.

"Sophie, remember the two boys I told you about that were going to be volunteering here with us in the afternoons?"

"The baseball jocks?"

She nodded, rolling her eyes. "I know."

Mrs. Wilcott had agreed to let two baseball jocks volunteer at her summer camp in the afternoons, after their morning practices, to help out with their community service hours. She knew one of their dad's, and said she owed him a favor.

"They're in the kitchen getting the drinks for snack, and after they help me set up I thought it'd be nice if you showed them around."

"Why me?" I complained. "Kylie is here. She'd be more than willing to put up with them."

"Because Kylie would drool over them," Mrs. Wilcott said, making a face. "I know you better than that."

I let out a frustrated sigh. "Okay I guess."

"You're going to have to get used to these baseball jocks," she warned me. "You start your Freshman year of high school in August, and jocks are going to be prominent figures."

I just made a face. "They're not really my type."

"Is this what you needed?" a voice asked behind me.

I turned to see an Ash-blonde kid coming out of the kitchen, carrying two packs of juice boxes. He had brown eyes and was well-built; he looked just like I'd expect a baseball player to.

"That's them," Mrs. Wilcott agreed. "Clayton, this is Sophie. Sophie, this is Clayton. His father is the one I was telling you about."

I reached out my hand towards him, and he just stared at me.

Has he never heard of a handshake?

"Nice to meet you," I said, letting my hand drop back to my side.

He just chuckled. "That's the appropriate thing to say after you've checked someone out."

Excuse me?

"Mr. Johnson," Mrs. Wilcott snapped.

"I'm just stating the obvious," he defended.

I could feel my cheeks heating up, and I had the overwhelming urge to slap him across the face.

"What happened to your friend?" Mrs. Wilcott asked.

"Did he get lost?" I suggested. "Likely scenario if he's friends with the likes of you."

Clayton's eyes widened, and he turned around and ran back into the kitchen.

I exchanged glances with Mrs. Wilcott before following Clayton back into the kitchen.

Clayton was removing a chair from in front of the walk-in refrigerator, which he'd used to bar it shut.

"You asshole!" his friend stated, as Clayton opened the refrigerator.

"I'm sorry," Clayton defended, laughing. "I forgot."

Clayton's friend was a little shorter than him with dark brown hair and ice blue eyes. He also looked like a typical baseball player, with well-built arms and a nicely shaped butt.

Sophie Allen, stop staring at the boy's butt.

"Here," Clayton said, handing the boy a towel. "I really am sorry. I didn't mean to leave you in there. Really."

So the jerk does have a heart.

The boy's eyes locked on mine as he wrapped the towel around himself, his lower jaw chattering. "Who's this?"

"I don't know," Clayton declined, looking over at me. "What was your name again?"

"Are you always this rude?" I asked him.

"He is," the blue-eyed boy confirmed. "I'm sorry about him."

I couldn't stop staring into this boy's blue eyes. It was like staring into an ocean. They were so inviting, calm, and homey almost.

"Is this a moment?" Clayton asked, after a few moments of silence. "Are you two having a moment?"

This time I really was going to slap him, but I didn't have to, because the blue-eyed boy did it for me. He reached around the back of Clayton's head, slapping him upside the head.

Clayton just laughed.

"I'm Bryce," he introduced.

"Sophie," I said, a small smile spreading across my face.

"So what are we supposed to be doing exactly?" Bryce asked Clayton, draping the towel across the counter next to him.

"Helping set up," Clayton said, nodding out towards the break room.

"So do you work here?" Bryce asked me, as the three of us headed back to the break room.

I nodded. "I used to go to camp here. And then when I was too old for that, I started volunteering here."

"That's adorable," Clayton mocked.

"Just ignore him really," Bryce suggested, reaching down and opening up flat of juice boxes.

"I'm trying my best."

Bryce chuckled, reaching up and setting the juice boxes on the counter. "Clayton's dad is a friend of Mrs. Wilcott, and we both need the hours for graduation."

"Do people ever call you Clay?" I asked him.

"No," he declined. "I'm not a piece of dirt to be stepped on. So I don't want to be referred to as such."

Bryce just rolled his eyes.

"So where do you go to high school?" Bryce asked me, after a few moments of silence.

"I'll be starting at Durham High this August."

"Bryce too," Clayton said, with a sarcastic smile. "Isn't that cute?"

"Fuck off," Bryce suggested.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Clayton and I are going out tonight," Bryce informed me, as we finished setting up snack. "Every Friday a bunch of high schoolers go out to this diner on Fifth Avenue?"

"Blacktop Diner?" I asked.

"Yeah," he agreed, with a nod. "It turns into like a mini-party scene out back, with music and dancing and it's pretty fun."

I nodded.

"We head out there around 8 if you and your friends want to come."

I couldn't help but smile. "Okay, I'll see."

"Nice job with the snacks guys," Mrs. Wilcott said, coming back in the from the gym. "Sophie, if you could go in and give Kylie a hand with the kids? I'll go ahead and give the boys a tour myself. Apparently I'm not as good at Sharks and Minnows as you."

I nodded, heading back into the gym with a smile.

"And the rest is history," Kylie filled in.

"It's not history," I declined. "You went with me that Friday out to the diner."

She nodded. "You were so nervous."

"I think he was too," I said, with a laugh. "He kept giving me these looks while we danced."

"Did you guys go bowling?" Caroline asked me.

I shook my head. "We didn't do that for a few more months. That became like our own tradition."

I couldn't help but smile, looking over at Bryce as he laughed at something Clayton was saying.

"So it's safe to say that Clayton Johnson has always been a douchebag," Kylie filled in.

"Oh yeah," I said, looking back at my friends. "But they're sort of like a package deal. You take Bryce, Clayton comes along with."

"That's a story I want to know," Britney said, raising her eyebrows. "How did someone as sweet as Bryce get to be friends with someone like Clayton Johnson?"

I just shrugged. "Now that you'll have to ask him."

And then the bell rang, signaling the start of school.

So what did you guys think about Clayton coming over to train with Bryce? And SO MANY of you guys have been asking for the Sophie & Bryce's background story, so thoughts & opinions on that? Was it what you expected? If not, what were you expecting?

Remember, if you ever want to create a book cover/banner, you're always welcome to. And then you can email it to me at [email protected] (along with your Wattpad username so I can give you the due credit).

Teaser: The Superlatives are released! Who won what? And Clayton & Bryce's back story is revealed.