"Time for the Superlatives to be revealed," Kylie squealed.

"You're way too excited," I said, laughing as we headed to our lockers.

"So did you hear that yearbooks are to be released today?" Bryce asked, sidling up next to me.

"Who didn't?" I asked, as I exchanged my books.

"If we didn't get Golden Couple, I'll sue."

I rolled my eyes.

"Just kidding, I actually hope we didn't."

I turned to face him, raising an eyebrow.

"I want to lose it this year," he explained. "And then win it back next year, like in a triumphant way. Like ha bitches, take that."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't understand you."

He slung his arm around my shoulders, steering me towards my Homeroom. "That's the beauty of it. You don't have to."

Sometimes I question why I bother with him in the first place.

"What Superlative would you want then?" I asked, leaning against the hallway wall.

"None," he said, with a shake of his head. "I want to come back my Senior year and sweep the floor with them."

"If you say so."

"I do."

I reached up and gave him a quick kiss, earning a warning from my Homeroom teacher, before slipping into my classroom.

Once everyone was seated, and the tardy bell had rung, my teacher began passing out yearbooks.

Immediately people began to flip to the Superlative page, seeing who won what.

Mine was one of the first ones handed out. Perks of having the last name Allen.

But I didn't immediately flip to the Superlative page. I first found my school picture, which is just as awful as I remember it to be. Then I found Bryce's school picture, which is just as adorable as I remember it to be.

I wasn't in A-Team's group picture, seeing as though I'd joined so late, but Bryce was in the baseball team's Yearbook photo. And his butt looked nice in those pants.

"I knew you guys would win," the girl next to me said.

Thanks for the spoiler.

I flipped to the Superlative section, and under The Golden Couple were the names Sophie Allen and Bryce Harrison.

In the picture, I was wearing the jersey Bryce had given me to wear to his baseball games. It had his number on it and read Bryce's Girl across the back. Bryce was wearing his baseball uniform.

I had my arms resting on the edge of the baseball fence, a smile on my face and my eyes trained on Bryce. He was in mid-sentence, using his hands to explain whatever it was he was talking about.

This picture was taken pre-brain alien. Pre-cancer. Pre-everything else that had interrupted our lives. This picture had captured the innocence that was our relationship.

"You guys are honestly relationship goals," the girl next to me continued.

I didn't even know her name. But she clearly knew me. And my boyfriend. Which made me a little uncomfortable.

"You guys are always so cute together," she continued. "The way he always walks you to class and the way you come to all of his baseball games. I swear all the good ones are taken."

"I don't think all the good ones are taken," I declined, as I continued to stare at the picture. "I think there's good in every boy and girl out there. But it takes the perfect match to bring out the best in each one of them. And I found mine."

And then the bell rang, signaling the end of Homeroom.

I flipped to the next page of Superlatives as I walked out the door, heading to my first period class.

Worst Cars. Mostly Likely to End Up on Jersey Shore.

I flipped to the final page of Superlatives.

Best Bromance. Clayton Johnson and Bryce Harrison.

The picture was from States last year. Bryce had jumped into Clayton's arms at the end of the game, and someone had captured the moment on camera. Bryce was holding his glove up in the air, a smile beaming across his face. And Clayton had thrown his head back laughing.

It was perfection in a picture. And it was in the Yearbook, forever.

I stopped in my tracks, unable to hold back my laughter as I stared at the picture.

Best Bromance.

"Congratulations Sophie," Myra said, as she passed me. "You guys are too cute."

I sobered up a bit, shouting a thank you.

Where was Clayton when I actually needed him?

I was never going to let him live this down.

I stepped into my first period class.

"You and Bryce are the cutest," Francine said, as I took my seat.

"I think Clayton and Bryce are cuter," I disagreed, unable to hold back my laughter.

A smile spread across her face. "You saw?"

I wiped the tears off my face. "Yes. And I can't find Clayton anywhere. Just my luck, right?"

My first period class passed rather quickly, and I thanked a couple of people as I headed down the hallway.

Finally spotting Clayton as he headed towards me. He was texting on his phone, oblivious.

"Congratulations!" I called out to him.

His head snapped up, and his eyes narrowed at me.

"I think you and Bryce make a really cute couple, for the record."

"Shut it Allen."

"I might even go on record to say that you two are cuter than us," I said, unable to hold back my smile.

I wouldn't have done it if it hadn't made him so mad. But I couldn't help myself.

"Fuck off."

"Hey, I've been looking for you everywhere," Bryce said, coming up behind me.

This moment could not get any better.

"Don't you mean him?" I asked, with a laugh.

Bryce's eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "Maybe? Should I be?"

I exchanged glances with Clayton.

"You haven't even looked have you?" Clayton asked him.

"Yeah, Sophie and I got Golden Couple," Bryce said, with a smile. "I mean, I told you I wanted to do the whole Senior year thing, but-"

"Check the last page," Clayton deadpanned.

Bryce reached into his backpack, giving Clayton a look before flipping to the Superlatives.

"I knew that Jen and Alex would win the Jersey Shore thing," Bryce said, as he flipped through the Superlatives. "They're definitely-" And then his eyes widened.

I could not contain my laughter as I looked at the picture again. It was just perfect. Everything about this moment was glorious.

And then Bryce also busted out into laughter, shutting his Yearbook and smiling at Clayton.

"Fuck off," Clayton ordered.

"Come on bro, you love me!" Bryce called after him, as he headed down the hallway. "Clayton!"

"I'll catch you later," Bryce said to me, before jogging after Clayton.

I rolled my eyes, chuckling to myself as I headed to class.

Blown off for Clayton. And for once, I didn't even care.

~*~

"Maybe like the sunset or a beach, just anything that means something to you," Mrs. Wiley finished.

The assignment was to draw something that you had meaning to you, something that you felt strongly about.

"Are you drawing Bryce?" I asked Clayton.

Bryce chuckled.

"I will stab you with this pencil," Clayton warned.

"You two are the perfect bromance," Kylie said. "Clayton's a dick. Bryce is a sweetheart. Nobody understands why you two would ever be friends. But you two always have each other's backs and-"

"My ears are bleeding," Clayton groaned. "If I hear one more thing about this damn bromance thing I'm going to murder Bryce."

"Why me?" Bryce complained. "If anything, at least murder yourself. That's common courtesy."

"I think the most important part of that was that Clayton's a dick," I pointed out. "If we take away anything from Kylie's speech, it should at least be that."

"Stab you, with this pencil," Clayton reminded me.

"Alright, enough you two," Bryce said, with a laugh.

"So where's Steven?" I asked, after a few moments of drawing in silence.

Clayton just shrugged.

"He was here this morning," Bryce filled in.

"I know, we saw him," I said, looking over at Kylie.

"You were checking us out?" Clayton asked, with a smirk.

"Yeah, don't use that as a plural," I corrected. "You aren't cute. You'll never be cute. And no girl will ever want to date you."

"I clearly remember you checking me out the first time you met me."

"Then how did I end up with Bryce?" I asked, with a smirk.

Bryce just chuckled.

"Speaking of which," Kylie said, with a smile. "We were talking about that this morning."

"Talking about what?" Bryce asked.

"Talking about the first time we all met. And the question came up as to how you two met?" She gestured between the two of them, raising her eyebrows.

"Why?" Clayton asked.

"Because we're interested. As I just stated, you're a dick. Bryce isn't. It's not like you two would gravitate towards each other."

"I hated him the first time I met him," Bryce confirmed.

"See?" Kylie said, holding her pencil up in the air. "We need the story."

"It's not much of a story," Clayton said, with a shrug. "We were like 8 or 9-ish." He looked to Bryce for confirmation and Bryce just shrugged and nodded.

This is why boys are terrible at telling stories. I remember the day I met Kylie.

"Bryce joined the travel baseball team I was on," Clayton continued. "But his mom worked a lot, so he didn't have a ride to get there."

So even back then Bryce's mom was still a workaholic.

"My mom was the Team Mom," Clayton continued. "And we had a little carpool thing. So she'd pick up like three kids, and Bryce was one of them, and then she'd drop them back off after practice."

"And then one practice she dropped me off and my mom wasn't home," Bryce filled in. "So she waited with me for, like, five minutes before calling my mom and my mom didn't answer so she took me home with her."

"I was pissed because we were supposed to go out for dinner," Clayton filled in. "But instead we ended up ordering in a pizza because we had to wait on Bryce's mom."

"Clayton was a dick," Bryce filled in. "For, like, the first 30 minutes."

"And then we ended up playing some video games," Clayton said, with a shrug. "And it became like a weekly thing. My mom would drop the other kids off. Bryce's mom would still be at work so he'd come over, and we'd eat pizza and play video games."

"Clayton became less of a dick," Bryce said. "The more you spend time with him, the nicer he gets."

"Not true," Clayton declined.

But I could see it. Sometimes Clayton accidentally lets his guard down, and you can tell he really is human.

"That's about it," Bryce said, as he switched his black pencil for a green one. "I spent more time with Clayton than I did with my mom, and that was that."

Even though he said it so flippantly, that actually broke my heart.

"What about Kayla?" I asked.

"She was home," Bryce stated, looking up at me. "But Clayton's mom would pick her up too after baseball practice and bring her over Clayton's house so she wasn't home alone in the evening."

"My house was full of Harrisons," Clayton muttered.

I wonder why Clayton wasn't invited to the wedding then.

"Kayla hated Clayton," Bryce confirmed.

"With every being of her soul," Clayton added, with a laugh.

That would be why.

"But she loved my mom," Clayton added.

"Everyone loves your mom," Bryce said, looking over at him. "She's everything you're not."

I couldn't help but laugh.

Clayton just smacked him with his pencil.

It's strange to hear Bryce talk about Clayton's family so affectionately. I've seen Clayton's parents at games sometimes, but I've never actually met them. And Bryce treated them like a second family.

"Coach just texted me," Clayton muttered, checking his phone.

"What'd he say?" Bryce asked, leaning over to check Clayton's phone.

"I'll be back," Clayton muttered, standing up.

"He wants to see Clayton in his office," Bryce said, with a shake of his head.

That was never good.

"What are you drawing?" I asked Bryce, resting my chin on his shoulder.

"A baseball field."

That doesn't surprise me.

He looked over me, flashing me a smile. "And you?"

"I don't know yet. I don't have any ideas."

"Something that means something to you," Bryce repeated. "Something you're passionate about."

"Books."

"No," Bryce declined.

I chuckled, picking my chin up off his shoulder with a sigh. "I don't know. What if I'm not passionate about anything?"

"You are," he said, looking me in the eyes. "You're passionate about things that can't be put down onto paper."

The intense emotion coming from his eyes caused my heart to pound in my chest.

The way that he took casual conversations and made them serious was just one of the many things I loved about him.

"You're passionate about other people," he said, his eyes still staring into mine. "You have a passion for studying, yes, but it's more than that. You want to help people, to make a difference. You're passionate about kids. That's what made me fall in love with you, you know? I was 13 years old, watching as you played Sharks and Minnows with a bunch of little kids, a smile true, genuine smile on your face. Most people wouldn't spend their days organizing events and playing games with little kids. But you have a passion for it Sophie Allen. And as I watched you run around with those little kids, tackling them to the ground, I fell in love with you."

It was like the world had stopped around us, my heart pounding in my chest as my eyes bore into his.

"Is this a moment?" Clayton's voice asked. "Are you two having a moment?"

My eyes broke off from Bryce's. I still felt dazed, his words swirling in my head.

"Why do you have to be such an asshole?" Bryce asked him, clearly irritated.

Clayton just chuckled, offering Bryce a smile. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"

Bryce just rolled his eyes, going back to his drawing.

But even Clayton Johnson couldn't ruin this moment for me. I was unable to bite back my smile as I picked up a pencil.

"What did coach want?" Bryce asked Clayton.

"He's not starting Steven at tomorrow's game," Clayton informed him.

Whoa, what?

"He's not?" Bryce asked.

"Steven hasn't been to practice all week," Clayton informed him. "He didn't show to yesterday's game. Coach can't back-up starting him."

That's true.

"Damn," Bryce muttered, leaning back in his seat. "I mean, not to feed Steven's ego, but we need him on that mound for Districts."

"Sam isn't going to get us there," Clayton said, with a sigh. "And I don't want to go out on my Senior year without even advancing in Districts. That's bullshit."

"Where's Anderson right now?" Bryce asked.

"I know what you know."

Which is what?

Bryce stared up at the ceiling, letting out a sigh.

"It's not like he'd even be ready for Districts," Clayton continued. "He hasn't been to practice in a week. He's continuously skipping conditioning sessions. We're fucked."

Bryce looked over at me, and I just shrugged.

Sounds like a lose-lose situation to me.

But maybe this was Steven's plan all along. Come here, screw the team, leave.

He looked back over at Clayton. "Looks like we're going to have to take care of that then."

So what did you guys think about Sophie & Bryce winning Golden Couple? If they hadn't, I'm not sure I could've kept the title of the story. What about Bryce & Clayton with Best Bromance? Did you see that one coming? And Clayton's reaction? What about Bryce's reaction? And then the reveal of Clayton & Bryce's backstory? It wasn't that exciting, I know.

So in case you haven't heard, we hit 100K subscribers. I cannot even begin to describe my level of excitement. I am so thankful to you guys for your continued support. And I just want you guys to know how much I love each and every one of you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You guys mean the world to me.

Teaser: Bryce does the unthinkable when it comes to Steven. And that's all I can say so I don't spoil it.