Atlas Grove. Blondie.

I shake my head walking back down the athletics corridor.

She's an anomaly.

She shouldn't be here, she shouldn't have my attention but she does.

Her Sapphire stolen eyes and platinum hair.

I've observed her from afar, not in a creepy way, but I've never seen her up close like this.

Jesus, that sounds creepy as fuck Blaze- sort yourself out.

What I mean is I've always found her intriguing, she's got the brains and the beauty but she's always alone. Walks around with earphones in, tops her classes and then goes home. No one really knows much about her but then again nobody really knows she exists. People look past her, it doesn't help she's so short I guess but if only they'd look a little closer, they'd realise she was a fine little thing.

These past couple weeks she's been an anomaly in my life, her sweet manner and her soft giggles. She even gave me a reason to break Connors pretty little nose.

Asshole deserved it-

"Hey, Blaze! Where are you off too?" Brady calls after me as I leave the athletics block, the Atlantan sun hitting me on the face- the temperature's cooling down a little for October. I turn to see Brady, Ethan and Rutherford, gym bags over their shoulder trailing out of the building behind me.

"Nowhere, just home."

"We're going down the diner with the girls if you want to come?" Ethan says, head glued to his phone- presumably texting Carrie.

"By girls do you mean... Atlas?" I mumble met with a few snickers from the guys.

"Why... does little Blazey have a thing for the blondes." Brady teases throwing an arm around my neck, I shrug him off and walk ahead, "Come on bro I'm just teasing." He laughs.

"Seriously though Blaze... I mean, you gave her your jacket and beat Connor pretty hard." Rutherford asks catching up with me and Brady.

I beat Connor because he's a posh prick and he deserved it.

"No asswipe, I gave her my jacket because she was covered in milkshake and that shit's embarrassing and I beat Connor, one because he's a prick and two because no guy should touch a girl without permission." I shrug. It fueled me right up when he slapped her ass. I don't care who it was he did it too, I would have hit him if he'd done it to any girl.

Rutherford goes to spew some more bullshit but is pulled away when his girlfriend Emily beckons him away outside the school, she's leaning against his motorbike, helmet in hand.

"I'll meet you guys at the diner." He shouts over his shoulder before he's lost in the sea of hormonal teenagers.

"Hey, dude! You're my ride!" Ethan shouts after him running into the crowd in an attempt to catch up with him.

"Atlas isn't coming." Brady murmurs pulling my attention back to his damp mop of hair, "Seriously though... you seem... I don't know..."

"B I don't like Atlas. One, I fuck and chuck- no strings attached and since you've formed this weird friendship with her that would be kinda hard. Two, she's too shy and naïve and three I'd completely ruin a girl like that." I'd break her and she doesn't deserve that, she's too danm pure for a guy like me... although that doesn't mean I don't want to bend her over the classroom desk every time I see her and fu-

"You know what they say about the shy ones though," Brady interrupts my train of horny thoughts with a wink, "They're always the freakiest."

Cheers B, I really don't need that image in my mind right now, I could do without a raging hard-on in the middle of the school parking lot.

"So you coming?" He says as we reach our cars, leaning back against the bonnet crossing his arms.

"Nah, I'll pass, moms working tonight anyway." I shrug unlocking my mustang, her lights greet me with a flash.

"Alright, see ya bestie!" He mocks in a high pitched voice, blowing me a kiss as he jumps into the driver's seat of his Audi.

Fucking prick. I smile to myself.

I start the engine, firing up the GT's 330 horsepower cylinders, the deafening roar sends infatuated glances my way.

I follow Bradys Audi out of the lot and race away in the opposite direction once I hit the road.

Pulling up to the drive I see moms worn out Volkswagen Beetle parked at the end, so I deduce she hasn't left for her shift yet.

Pushing my keys into the battered lock I move the damaged font door open into the open plan kitchen, living room.

"Mom?" I call setting my keys on the kitchen island.

"Out in a sec!" She calls faintly from one of the back rooms. I pull a bottle of water out of the fridge as she emerges, her scrubs covered in wet patches and golden rubber gloves on her hands, "Sodding taps broken on the sink again." She mumbles throwing some tools onto the kitchen side, "I'm fed up of this shitty place!" Mom moans for the seven hundredth time this week.

When we moved from New York a few years ago, we didn't have much money. My mom's parents helped her with a deposit to buy a place but my mom hates handouts even if it's from her own parents, she's too proud for that. However, with the little money we had and the small sum she's been forced to accept from her parents, we could only afford a shit hole on the edge of town in the sketchiest fucking neighbourhood this side of Georgia.

Mom works so hard and late that she's never really got time to clean or do any much-needed renovations. Being on nurses wages too it's not like we can afford to go anywhere bigger, especially since I'm not bringing in any money. I'd offered to get a job but with football practice and school work it would just be doo much and she needs me to look after Gem when she's at work.

The house isn't awful, we've all got out own shoebox-sized rooms and my mum can afford to put food on the table, she stretches it slightly when she has to pay for mine and Gems extracurricular stuff but she always says she never wants us to go without. She works so hard for us I just wish I could give her more. That's half the reason I need to get into Alabama, I'll have more chance of being drafted and I'll be able to give her and my sister a better life.

"I'll have a look at it later if you want?" I lean against the cool marble top as she scurries around looking for, I presume, her staff ID. It's always going missing- usually, Gemma's got it, she likes to play dress-up with it.

As if on cue, "Blazey!" The pitter-patter of five-year-old feet hit the kitchen tiles.

"Hey shortcake, how was school." I lift her onto my hip as she starts telling me about the things she did at recess, she rambles on about someone stealing a skipping rope. I just nod and smile watching her rosy cheeks light up.

"Would you mind taking a look at it? I won't be home until tomorrow morning." Mom mumbles rooting through her bag, referring to the sink. Her fatigue is already showing on her face, she's young for a mom of my age, she had me when she was only sixteen but her tired face makes her look slightly older. She's a saint after what she's had to deal with, she's a saint for putting up with me- I've given her such a hard time these past few years.

"Sure, I'll do it after I've done dinner." I smile placing a kiss on her temple with a smile.

"Thank you, honey, listen don't stay up too late, eat something healthy and last thing... can you drop Gemma at school tomorrow, I won't be back until eight." She moans fitting her badge to her chest pocket, I nod. It's not an irregular thing dropping Gem at school, I do it a lot. I don't mind though, it's only when the fucking teachers start writing me detention slips for being late- I won't go to them anyway.

She kisses Gemma and mines head and then goes to open the door stopping abruptly.

"Oh, have you heard anything from Alabama?" She smiles sweetly but I shake my head trying to keep my smile.

"Well... don't give up, the first game this Friday! There's bound to be scouts there for you baby. I'd come but I've got to-"

"Work! I know mom it's okay, now go or you'll be late." She throws me a grateful smile and hurries out to her car.

I sigh my eyes finding the Univerity of Alabama letter stuck to the fridge with magnets.

At the end of sophomore year, I'd been invited to spend the summer over there at their football program training camps. It's been my dream since I was a boy to go to Alabama, sure it may have got fogged over a few years ago but since then I've been so focused on sorting myself out so I can go pro.

I thought going to the camps would have boosted my chances of getting a scholarship there but so far I've heard nothing else from them.

It's only the start of football season though I suppose.

"Righ munchkin, what do you want for dinner." I sigh placing her into a kitchen stool, her jet black braids shining under the kitchen spotlights, we look quite similar- same hair and eyes.

"Pizza." She giggles, placing her barbies onto the surface. I scour the freezer and fridge for ingredients.

"You want to make it with me?" I ask her? She nods eagerly getting down to come help me, her tiny body barely reaches my thigh which makes me chuckle.

"Do you know what else happened today Blaze?" She asks with doe eye, trying to cut a tomato, I steady her hands so she doesn't cut herself.

"Uh.. aliens came down from mars and attacked your class... no I've got it... an aeroplane landed in the playground... no wait that's not it... the queen of England came for tea!" I say pretending to think as she lashes into a giggling fit.

"No Blazey! Don't be silly." She scalds trying to be mature, "We had an actual ballet dancer come in and show us some ballet in gym class and now I've decided I want to be a ballet dancer when I grow up."

She says triumphantly, prancing around the kitchen doing some...some sort of ballet. The ribbons in her hair twirl as she nearly falls into the kitchen cupboard.

"Mommy said that if I really want to I can have lessons." She smiles wonkily pulling herself up from nearly hitting the floor.

"I think that would be a good idea." I smile, lifting her up so she can sit on the counter.

"I love you, Blazey." She says attaching herself to my neck.

"I love you too princess." I smile wrapping my arms around her little body and blowing a raspberry on her cheek.

🖤