When the end-of-lunch bell buzzes overhead, I eagerly leap to my feet. The cafeteria has a cold chill to it today, even with the heaters on. It's as if the room is too large for the heat to circulate through properly.

My next two periods are sport, which I'm looking forward to.

"Great. Sport." Heidi grimaces, not sharing my enthusiasm about it.

"I've been waiting for this all day!"

"You're a freak," Kai mutters, shaking his head.

While waiting for my two best friends to get up from the table, spending most of their time grumbling about the fact that we have sport next, I take a second to look for him. I have barely seen Haze all day. I think he's avoiding me, after our run yesterday.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Heidi wiggles her eyebrows at me.

My cheeks burn a scarlet red. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Look at you blushing!" she squeals and pokes my cheek.

I lightly slap her hand away and shake my head, deciding to head to sport and they can either hurry up or catch up later. They scramble to my side. Kai looks sour and Heidi continues to make jabs at me and my transparent feelings towards Haze.

"Heidi, drop it," I beg.

"Fine, fine," she finally gives in. "It's just so cute."

Kai scoffs beside me, but I choose to ignore it. We make our way into the gym. Heidi and I split from Kai, walking in the direction of the girls change room. I slide on my shorts and yank the sport polo of my head. I pull my hair into a tight pony tail and use the mirror reflection to make sure its neat.

"Trying to impress someone?" Heidi smirks, rustling my pony tail as she walks past.

"No!" I protest, shooting her a look.

"You and the new guy, hey?" Carly, a girl in my class grins.

She has dark skin and even darker hair. Her lips pull into a smirk as she notices the colour of my cheeks. I hate that they betray me.

"What? We're friends," I shrug.

"Yeah... friends..." she trails off, exchanging a look with Heidi.

I let out a huff. Clearly, I'm extremely obvious with my feelings.

I exit the room, leaving the girls whispering about me. My steps falter when I see Haze. He's dressed in loose shorts and the sports polo, the sleeves rolled. I gulp. He somehow makes every outfit he wears look so good.

He catches a basketball that is thrown at him. He bounces it lightly and heads towards me. He throws it and it takes me a second to realise I need to stop staring at how attractive he looks, and grab the ball.

I catch it last second and once the leather touches my fingertips, I spring into action. I jog past him, dribbling the ball. He runs beside me, taunting me with his good looks and graceful movements.

"Hi Ellie."

A shiver runs down my back. I shoot the ball. The swish of the net makes me smile and turn.

"Hi Haze."

He catches the ball after it bounces on the floor. We continue to shoot and pass the ball to each other, until everyone is out of the rooms and the teacher calls for our attention.

Mr Casten holds his hands out and I throw the ball to him. He swings his arms to his side, so that the ball is resting on his hip.

"Afternoon everyone. We're going to start with a few laps of the gym to get us warmed up and then it's the choice of futsal or basketball. Have a think about what you'd like to play as you run. Any questions?"

When no one pipes up, he blows his whistle, the sound bouncing off the walls of the gym.

"Let's go!"

He leads the group. I fall in step with Heidi. She pants and groans beside me the entire time, but I don't pay attention. I watch Haze's even strides, the bulge of his biceps, the strong movements of his legs.

God, I have it bad.

When we finish the run, I throw my hands onto my hips as I even out my breathing. We take a vote on what to play and it ends up being a tie. It's decided we play basketball for the remainder of the first period and swap to futsal once the bell rings.

When Haze is elected as one of the team captains, I raise my eyebrows. Mr Casten must see his athletic abilities.

Michael Strand is the other boy chosen. I used to be close with him when I was younger, but we drifted apart once high school started. He joined the mathlete squad and I'm practically allergic to maths, so that was the end for us. We hang with opposite friend groups and have different interests. We still say hello to each other in the halls, but our friendship doesn't branch beyond that, anymore.

"New guy, you choose first," Mr Casten says.

"Ellie."

I grin, pushing to my feet and going to join him.

"Good choice," I joke and he rolls his eyes.

"Don't let it go to your head."

Too bad. It has.

I smile when he chooses both Heidi and Kai. Kai makes a sarcastic, "Yay!" when he's chosen, which we all ignore.

By the time we begin the game, we only play for twenty-five minutes, as we wasted so much time with warm-up and organising teams. I managed to score once, which I was proud of.

When the bell buzzes through the room, we take a drink break and set up the goals for futsal.

"I need to take a quick phone call from the office. Same teams, Haze on the left, Michael on the right. I'll be back in a minute." Mr Casten tells us, before marching towards the small room, attached to the side of the gym.

We kick-off. I run with Haze. We pass the ball to each other. Anita tries to take the ball from me but I ram my shoulder against hers and get around her. I shoot the ball to Haze, who boots it into the net.

I reach up for a high-five. He slaps his hand to mine and I stupidly link my fingers through his, turning the high-five into hand-holding. He jerks his hand from mine in surprise and my cheeks burn so red, I'm surprised they don't catch on fire.

I quickly turn from him and jog back to the centre, hoping no one else saw that.

The game continues and I hang back, avoiding Haze like the coward I am. The other team scores twice, before we take back control.

"Hey Ellie!" a voice calls out.

I look over, just in time to see the ball flying at full speed towards my face. Anita's face is split into a malicious smirk as the ball gets closer.

I screw my eyes shut, knowing I can't get away in time. There's a sound of ball hitting skin, but it doesn't connect with me. I snap my eyes open, to see Haze in front of me, having caught the ball, which is against the rules. Everyone stops as their eyes flicker between Anita and Haze.

He slowly walks towards her. She steps back, her face paling.

"Watch your back," he threatens quietly, before dropping the ball at her feet.

She blinks up at him, looking like she might be sick any second. He calmly turns around and walks back to our side of the field. A loud whistle draws everyone's attention to the doors.

"Why have you all stopped? Let's keep going!" Mr Casten shouts, kicking us all back into gear.

I try to thank Haze, but he doesn't hang around long enough to let me. I finally get the ball. Michael sprints towards me. I kick it towards Haze who traps it easily. He turns, seeing Anita walking towards the goalie, her back to us. I can see what he's going to do. I slow my run to a walk. He boots the ball as hard as he can. It goes straight for her. The ball connects with her back, the smack echoing around the gym.

"Oooh!" a few people say and I cover my gasp with my hand.

She falls to her knees and lets out a cry. That was a hard hit. She gets to her feet and winces, rubbing her back. She looks towards Haze, who is glaring at her with extreme intensity.

"You all right, Anita?" Mr Casten asks her, clearly seeing the situation as an accident.

"Yes..." she says through gritted teeth, sending a look of death towards me.

Mr Casten heads over to the other end of the field. Haze walks towards her.

"Mess with Ellie and you mess with me. Got it?" he snarls at her.

She nods quickly, before rushing away from him.

I watch the entire ordeal, my jaw swinging.

"Looks like someone has their own protector," Heidi smirks, dancing her fingers along my shoulder as she walks past. "Maybe he likes you, too."

***

"Thanks for what you did today."

Haze glances over his shoulder at me. I increase my speed to catch up with him. He nods at me and looks forward.

"No one has ever stuck up for me like that."

He looks down at his feet, as if embarrassed he let himself do it.

I reach out and touch his shoulder. He flinches, looking over at me in surprise. I don't remove my hand. I smile at him.

"I really appreciate it."

His eyes dart to my hand. "All good."

I run my fingers down his arm as I pull my hand away. His Adam's apple bobs up and down as he looks forward.

"Are you going to get Jake?" I ask him.

"Yeah. Otherwise he'll get himself into trouble," he answers me with a sigh.

"You're a good brother," I tease him lightly.

He scoffs, kicking his shoe against the cement pavement.

"What are you doing tonight?" I ask him.

"I do kick-boxing."

"Oh, cool! Can I come?" I blurt.

He raises his eyebrows at me. "You want to come to kick-boxing?" he asks, looking genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, it sounds fun."

"Okay... it's at the community hall at six."

"I'll be there. Do you think I can actually join in, not just watch?" I ask.

"Yeah. It's five dollars each session."

"Okay."

We part ways at the gates, going in different directions to find our brothers.

Once I'm home, I go straight outside to do my chores. By the time I finish and help Pa with his jobs, it's 5:30. I scoff down an apple, before changing into my work-out clothes.

"Kick-boxing?" Ma asks me, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah, I think it will be fun."

She raises her eyebrows. "Well... all right then. Have fun. I'll put dinner in the fridge for you to heat up when you get home."

"Sounds great! Thanks Ma."

I plant a kiss on her cheek and pluck the keys for the SUV from the holder. I sing loudly in the car on the way to the hall, humming with excitement. I can literally find any excuse to hang out with Haze. I'm becoming obsessed.

Most of the spots are filled by the time I pull up and Haze is already inside when I enter. He's over at a table, pulling gloves onto his hands.

"Ellie Browning?" Reginald Hester asks me with a surprised look on his face. "What are you doing here?"

Reggie is one of my Pa's former work mates in accounting. For a tall, geeky-looking man, he does look pretty buff in his work-out clothes. I never pictured him to be the one in charge of this.

"Hi Reggie! I'm here for the kick-boxing class."

"Well, I'll be damned!" he lets out a laugh. "I remember you in ballet shoes and pig tails! How's your old man doing?"

I laugh. "He's good. Great, actually. Keeping himself busy, as always."

"Of course," Reggie smiles. "That's just five dollars for today."

I hand him the note, which he tucks into a box underneath the desk.

"Now, do you know anything about kick-boxing, Ellie?"

"I watched a two-minute 'basic tutorial for kick-boxing' on YouTube this afternoon, if that counts," I shrug.

He smiles at me, the corners of his eyes showcasing wrinkles. "That's a start."

I skip over to Haze and wrap my hands over his eyes. He stiffens in surprise.

"Ellie?" he asks, placing his hands over mine.

I grin when he turns. He shakes his head at me, letting go of my hands.

"You scared me."

"Sorry," I apologise, even though I'm not.

"You two know each other?" Reggie asks me.

"Yeah, I showed Haze around at school," I explain.

"Great, you two can be partners then!" he smiles and right now, I could hug the man.

I'm glad that he isn't judging Haze, like everyone else does. Haze is wearing a long-sleeve shirt and his hair tied back though, hiding away his tattoos.

"Haze, could you get Ellie set up?" Reggie asks.

Haze nods, grabbing my elbow and steering me towards a table.

I pick up a glove and he lightly slaps it out of my hands.

"That's a large, they won't fit," he tells me. "You need these."

He tosses a pair of aqua and white gloves in my direction. I slide my hands into the gloves, wriggling my fingers to the very end.

He picks up two pads and straps them to each of his arms.

Reggie splits everyone into partners. Most people start doing their own thing as Reggie tells us to start with the basics.

"Sorry, am I ruining your session?" I ask Haze.

"No, it's okay," he replies with a grunt. "Hit me."

"Huh?"

"Punch these things," he says and waves the cushion-type-pads now attached to him.

I lightly send a punch to it.

He gives me a flat look. "Come on, Ellie. You can do better than that."

I huff, punching it harder this time.

He rolls his eyes, lowering his arms. He walks behind me.

"Spread your legs."

"What?" I squawk, heat flooding to my face.

"You need to stand like this," he demonstrates, peeling his gloves off as he places his legs in a certain position. I am quickly horrified at where my thoughts went. He leans in, his lips near my ear. "Naughty girl, Ellie."

I wish the ground would swallow me up, right here and now.

Acting as though I'm not completely mortified, I follow his lead.

"When you punch, punch through me, not at me, okay?" he instructs, somehow maintaining seriousness while I'm having a hard time breathing. "You need to have a strong stance because if I come back at you, then you won't have any balance."

I nod. "Yes sir."

He flicks my nose as he walks past, making my heart flutter in my chest. He pulls the gloves on and re-ties the pads.

I stand like he told me to and hold my hands up.

"Now punch me," he demands.

Taking a deep breath, I surge forward and punch. He smiles.

"Good. Now again."

We continue punching like that for a while. I go right, left, right, left. Soon, I have sweat beading across my forehead and running down the back of my neck.

"Now bring your knees up."

I continue to punch and knee the pads, feeling my hits slowly get stronger. When I felt myself grow weak, I picture Anita's face in the pads and soon find strength in my hits again, realising that this could be good therapy.

"Good. That's really good," he tells me with a nod.

We take a five-minute drink break, before swapping roles.

"We should probably swap partners for this," he tells me. "You should take hits from someone your own size."

"No!" I blurt quickly. "I only want to work with you."

When he gives me an amused look, I realise how desperate I sound. I clear my throat.

"I mean, I'm cool with taking some hits. I'm tougher than I look."

He snorts. "Nice cover up."

I roll my eyes, acting like my face isn't on fire.

He ties the pads onto my arms. I hold them up.

"Ready?" he asks.

"Yep!"

I watch his fist come towards me and then suddenly, I'm sprawled across the floor, feeling winded.

"Shit!" I hear Haze curse.

He drops to his knees beside me, yanking his gloves off. He frantically pats me.

"What... just... happened...?" I ask him in a daze.

"I punched the pad and you folded like a lawn chair," he laughs and all my mind can think about is the fact that he has his hand on my arm. "I thought you said you were tougher than you look!"

I wince as I sit and rub my head.

"Haze, give the girl a break and punch lightly, woulddya'?" I hear Reg call out.

"I did!" he defends himself.

He helps me to my feet. I rub my glove against my head.

"Sorry," he apologies.

"No, it's fine. I wasn't standing right. I'll be better next time."

He looks dubious. "Maybe we should swap partners."

"No. I got this." I assure him. "Hit me."

He frowns. "Ellie..."

"Haze, do it!"

With a sigh, he gears up and raises his fists. He strikes out, much lighter this time. I stumble back as I take the hit.

"You can hit harder. I won't fall over again."

He looks like he thinks differently. He continues to lightly punch the pads. After I get the hang of it, he begins to hit harder. When he brings his knee up with sudden force, I stumble back and fall onto my butt, pain shooting up my side.

"Ow," I whine.

He sighs through his nose. "Sorry."

He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me to my feet. Our skin slips against each other with sweat. His warm breath falls across my lips and I tell myself to fall over every time, so we can keep doing this.

He tries to remove his arm from me but I step closer. He gulps, stepping back. I go even closer.

"Do it again," I whisper.

He blinks down at me. Our chests are so close that they're almost touching.

He pulls his arm from me and shakes his head, as if to snap himself back to reality.

"I think that's enough."

"Come on, Haze. I can handle it."

He hesitates, looking torn.

"Come on," I murmur.

He shakes his head and steps back, removing his gloves.

"Why not?" I pout.

"I have to go," he says tersely.

I feel my stomach fall. "Oh."

"Heading off, Haze?" Reggie asks.

"Yeah. I'll see you next week."

"All right," he smiles and offers him a wave.

"Haze..." I reach out to him and he shrugs me off. "Don't go. I'm sorry."

"See you at school," he says abruptly, before stalking over to where his bag his. He dumps his gloves into it and takes off out the door.

I must have overstepped, touching him like that. I sigh as the door swings shut behind him.

"How did you like it?" Reggie asks me, materialising at my side. "I think I saw you on the ground a few times."

"It's fun. I really like it," I force a grin onto my face. My words are true, my feelings are just bruised. I also know it's mainly due to my partner, why I like it so much.

"Good. Will we see you next week?"

"Oh yes," I nod with a genuine smile this time. "You definitely will."