"I'm open!" I yelled, holding my hand up to catch the ball that was flying towards me.

I let out a loud grunt when I was tackled, and I flipped my way into the end zone.

I stood up with a laugh, holding out my arms. "Touchdown, baby."

Brian brushed his hands off on his pants, looking back at Francesca in the stands.

"Do you think she saw?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

I dropped the ball with a smile, brushing past him. "Yo, Fran!"

She looked startled as she looked up from her homework, smiling when she saw me. "Hey."

I walked over to the stands, leaning against the gate. "Hey, did you see that tackle?"

"I-I didn't," she sweetly said, "I'm sure it was great, though."

Brian smiled, making me shrug and walk back over to him. "Sorry, champ."

I rested my hands on my hips and leaned my head back, but caught a glimpse of Zach standing at the gate with an annoyed look on his face.

I let out a sigh, closing my eyes. "Fuck."

"Zach's actually a decent guy," Brian said, "I know he doesn't, you know, hang around us-"

"No, he's a dick," I deadpanned, grabbing my shirt from the ground. I threw it around my neck and jogged over to him, stopping in front of him.

"Hey," I greeted, my hands on my hips.

"Did you finish that packet?"

"U-uh, yeah," I said, wiping the sweat off of my chest with my shirt, "come over here."

I ran off the field and over to my backpack, squatting down. I unzipped it and dug around for a few minutes, finding it crinkled up in the bottom.

"You know, if you had any form of organization, you'd probably be able to find things. And they probably wouldn't look like this."

I looked up at him, my eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I'll look into it."

I stood up and held it out to him, keeping my eyes locked on his.

He grabbed it and looked over it, shaking his head. "Henry, this isn't right."

"Okay, well, I tried," I said, folding my arms over my chest.

"No, you probably half-assed it so you could come play football."

"Zach, I fucking tried," I firmly said, my eyes glued to him, "I did my best, God."

"Your best isn't good enough, then," he shrugged, looking at me, "I don't know what to tell you."

I laughed, shaking my head. "You know, if you got paid to be this much of an asshole-"

"Listen, Henry. I'm not jeopardizing my chances of getting into an actual good school because of you and your shitty time management."

"Zach, it's one fucking assignment," I argued, shaking my head as I knitted my eyebrows together, "and who says I don't want to get into a good school?"

"Oh, I'm sure you do, but you don't need a decent GPA. You don't need decent performance. You're a meathead, and you're gonna get in to wherever the hell you want by being a meathead."

"You don't know shit about me, Zach," I spat, "for your fucking information, I've never been good at any form of science. So no, it wasn't just blown off to come be a meathead, as you called it."

"And your rich parents couldn't afford tutoring?" He deadpanned.

"That's not my fucking point," I said, eliminating the space between us, "I'm not as stupid as you think I am."

He smiled, shaking his head. "You've yet to do anything to prove that."

"You're an asshole."

"Yeah, I know," he said, "you never stop reminding me."

"Come on, tough guy," I chuckled.

He clenched his jaw, his eyes darting down to my lips.

In an instant, I felt my stomach flip. The breath seemed to be knocked out of me as I looked down at his lips, and both of us were completely taken aback by the moment.

We stood in silence, the world simply didn't even seem to be spinning around us. He held a confused, yet angry look on his face, and I know I did, too.

"I-I-I'll fix it," he adamantly said, stepping away from me.

I kept my eyes locked on him, nodding. "Y-yeah."

I could see him gulp, making him nod and walk away.

What the hell was that, Henry?

~*~

"Josie," I groaned, "I hate them."

"Come on, you look scholarly and hot. Guys love glasses."

"I hate them," I muttered, closing my locker.

Josie raked her fingers through my hair, fluffing it up a bit. "There. Total hottie."

I tilted my head over, biting down on my lip. Josie's spirits had definitely been down, but I wasn't sure how to go about asking her if she was okay.

"Are you okay?" I blurted.

She looked at me through the mirror on the door of her locker, applying her lip gloss. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

I shook my head, pushing my glasses further up my nose. "No reason. Just wanted to check."

Eros approached us, smiling over at me as he wrapped his arms around her. "Hey. Wanted to drop by before practice and tell you I love you."

She pecked him on the lips. "I love you."

Josie and Eros's relationship was no longer a secret, no matter how much certain individuals hated it. Hero was happy, I wasn't surprised, and Henry could barely look at either of them.

"Hey, come over after practice," she said.

He nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead before jogging down the hallway.

"Things still shaky with Henry?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Yes," she said, "and I hate it."

I shot her a sympathetic smile.

"I mean, I hate him sometimes, yeah," she said, "but he's my twin. I can't stand him being mad at me. And that he is."

She sighed, leaning against her locker. "Oh well. Bell's about to ring, my love."

I smiled. "See you after class."

"Yep."

I walked towards my class, keeping my head lowered. I couldn't stand the thought of anyone seeing me in my glasses anymore.

I walked into my classroom and sat at my table, letting out a sigh as I pulled out my binder and books.

"Coffee?"

I looked up at the voice, but gasped when I saw Brian standing in front of me. I quickly pulled my glasses off of my face, squinting up at him. "H-hey."

I could barely make out the sweet smile on his face, but it was most definitely there. His perfect dimples, his gorgeous smile lines.

He chuckled and sat next to me, placing the two cups of iced coffee on the table. He grabbed my glasses and softly slid them back on my face, shooting me a clear smile.

"Sorry," I muttered, biting down on my lip.

"I like them," he softly said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I hate them," I said, "but thank you."

He smiled and slid my coffee over to me. "They had two for one at the caf."

"You didn't have to," I said, smiling over at him, "but that was really nice of you."

He nodded down at my notebook, resting his head in his hand. "Did you do the homework?"

"Of course," I said, "d-do you need it?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "No, surprisingly, I'm not your typical jock. I actually do my homework."

My eyes went wide. "R-right. Of course, I-I didn't mean it that way-"

Just his face cut me off. The soft smile, his head resting in his hand. He looked welcoming, kind, perfect.

I let out a breath, clearing my throat as I looked away from him.

"You didn't tell me your birthday was coming up soon," he said, smiling over at me.

I looked over at him, resting my chin in my palm. "I'm not big on birthdays."

"Well, I am," he said, smiling down at me as he stood up, "I'm going to get the packet, okay?"

I nodded up at him, letting out a sigh as I watched him walk towards the front of the classroom.

~*~

I continuously walked past the door of Dad's office, waiting on him to notice me.

I let out a sigh, looking up at the ceiling as I walked past it one more time.

"Josephine," he said, and I peeked into his office.

I shot him a crooked smile when I saw him looking at me over the rim of his glasses, making one of the corners of his mouth quirk up into a smile.

I let out a sigh and walked into his office, standing at the entrance.

"Nice PJs, Cher."

"I totally got Clueless vibes," I said, pointing back at his door, "by the, you know, pacing I was doing."

He smiled, nodding down at the chair in front of his desk. "Come on."

I walked through his office, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My matching pajama set, my hair in a ponytail on top of my head, and my huge, fuzzy slippers.

I sat down in the chair across from him, pulling my knees into my chest. "Hi."

"Hi," he greeted, pulling off his glasses.

I let out a sigh, resting my chin on my knees. "I guess an apology is in order."

He leaned back in his chair, nodding. "Yeah."

"Listen, I'm sorry," I said, letting my legs fall, "I guess I'm just, I don't know. Going through literally everything at once. And I mean, I can admit it. My life has been really easy. I don't know how to handle these things."

He nodded, chewing on his bottom lip. "Well, Josie, I appreciate and accept your apology. But you've got to figure out how to handle these things, okay? Life doesn't stop. It keeps on, no matter how overwhelmed you are. Things keep happening. It doesn't stop for you."

"I know," I said, hanging my head.

We sat in silence before I looked up at him. "Do you hate me?"

"So much," he said, shaking his head, "you're my worst enemy."

I smiled, biting down on my lip.

He let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Kid, I love you more than words could ever, ever describe."

"I don't hate you," I said, fighting tears, "even if I made it seem like I do. I don't hate you."

I bit down on my lip as I felt a tear roll down my cheek, making me quickly wipe it away.

"I never thought you hated me," he softly said, his hands folded on his lap.

"I've been a jerk to you," I said, shaking my head, "on top of literally everything else you have going on."

He smiled, shaking his head. "Nothing your old man can't handle."

I pulled my knees into my chest again, biting down on my bottom lip.

"And I get it," I softly said, "you and Mom aren't together anymore. I've come to accept that."

He didn't say anything, just kept his eyes locked on mine.

"And even if there will never be another Mom, even if no woman could ever even think about holding a candle to Mom," I said, wiping my cheek, "I want you to be happy."

He smiled a warm smile, nodding. "Thank you, Josie."

"I still think you and Mom are meant to be, though," I muttered, resting my chin on my knees.

He smiled. "You should go to bed, kiddo."

I sighed, nodding. "Yeah."

I stood up, holding out my arms. "How 'bout a hug?"

"How 'bout it?" He said, standing up with a smile.

I wrapped my arms around his middle, closing my eyes at the feeling of his warm hug. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, resting his head on top of mine.

"Stop growing up so fast," he muttered.

"You first," I whispered.

He pressed another kiss to my head, gently rubbing his hand over my hair. "I love you. And your temper. That comes naturally."

I smiled up at him. "I know how to get my point across."

"That's a way to put it," he chuckled, looking down at me.

I smiled, scrunching my nose when he tapped it.

"You should talk to your brother," he said, nodding down at me.

I sucked in a breath. "I already mustered up one apology. I don't think I can do two in one day."

He laughed, nodding. "You are your father's daughter, kiddo."

I smiled. "And proud of it."

~*~

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