"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late. Sorry! I'm late-" I kept apologizing as I made my way -fast way- down the mall towards the street. People glared at me as I passed them, but I couldn't help it, I was LATE.

Well, you may think I could have helped it by not being late, right? It isn't that easy. This morning I got a call from Sophia, the owner of the ice-cream shop where I work three afternoons per week and one day of the weekend. Apparently her daughter got appendicitis over the night and needed someone on the shop at noon until her sister made it here and I could leave. The joke? She was late, so now I was late. And considering how rude I was to Nate yesterday me being late would be unforgivable and might cost me the whole interview.

Gawking I halted the moment I reached the front doors, glaring hard at the aggressive rain pouring mercilessly. Damn! When did a sunny day turned into this? I didn't even have an umbrella with me! For no having, I hadn't even picked up my jacket due to the beautiful summer day we were having earlier.

The bell tower not so far from the mall began gonging. It was already 4 pm.

Forgetting about the rain, I jumped in the street, determined to reach Barner's in time. And I did.

The bar was just a couple of minutes from there and running like I was I made it even quicker. But not everything was good, no. I'd caught every freaking single drop. Each one of them. Attached to my attire, hair... I entered Barner's panting like a mad woman and looking like one.

Some people glanced at me weirdly at my arrival and to my mortification they were some Roosevelt's student. Just great.

Struggling to keep my blush down I looked around for Nate, but instead my eyes met with some known blue ones. My heart immediately raced at his sight and in return he frowned, clearly confused with my appearance and excused from his friends making his way here.

Here!

Nooo! Why do I always have to make a fool out of myself?!

Pretending I hadn't seen him, I neared the closest stool and pulled my drenched bag on it. Luckily it was waterproof so my belonging were safe, but I couldn't say the same about the rest of me. From the corner of my eye I kept seeing him getting closer and closer and I inwardly threw a tantrum. Why me?

"Hailey?"

Fighting against my urge to keep panting, I pretended to have a normal breathing pace, turning baffled -as if I just saw him there. "Justin! Hey."

He sent me a brief smile, but his eyes slid down my form as he took in how was I dripping, leaving a small pool at my feet. I could almost sense the manager's glare on me. My cheeks burned. "Is... Is everything okay?"

So cute.

But it only made me blush harder. "Yeah, sure, why would you say that?" my voice too high to pretend nonchalance but still I tried. Freaking idiot.

"Well..." he bit his lip nervously and pointed at me and only then I dared to follow his gesture... regretting it immediately, of course.

My clothes were all soaked and attached to my body, the bra quite evident through the light shirt. Horrified and utterly embarrassed, very aware of how exposed I was right now -especially in front of Justin- , I tried to peel the cloth from my skin.

"Um, I... just-" my face burned and I covered myself as well as I could. At least Justin had the decency to look away, but I still feel every other pair of eyes on me and a faint giggle poorly muffled.

I'm sure Karen would never have found herself in such a humiliating situation.

"Here you go." the new voice came along with the sudden warm of a thick cloth over my shoulder, startling me; but effectively cutting part of my cold inside and the suffocating feeling of vulnerability. To my utter surprise, it was Nate that stood there, a hundred watt grin spread on his lips. Several drops where tangled in his dark mane, but not even close to how drenched mine was. "Got caught up in the rain as well?"

Such a nice gesture took me completely out of guard.

Him?

Being nice?

To me?

It felt too weird to be true after everything and my pride was yelling at me to pry that cloth off my body and throw it at him.

If it wasn't so cold, or if my clothes only weren't transparent by now; I would have. But the thing is that... they were. And he'd been the only person who decided to hand me his jacket when I once again made a fool out of myself.

So hesitantly I slid properly on the garment, absorbing the lovely heat coming from it and wrapping myself in it since it was large. Even larger than Matt's since the current quarterback was a couple inches taller. But comfortable and comforting.

I immediately felt better and sighed. "Thank you."

His eyes examined me and one of the corners of his mouth curved. "Now is when I tell you that how sexy you look?"

I blushed to the tip of my ears and made a face. Ladies and gentleman, Nate Herond. "I'd rather you say nothing."

Justin cleared his throat, mortifying me further since I'd almost forgotten he was there as well. "So... wanna hang out with a us a bit?"

I didn't need to look to know the glare Karen was for sure giving me, and I knew from past expirience that Justin being this sweet would only lead me to more pain, but my heart couldn't help but fluttered at the proposition. I shook my head, motioning towards the quarterback and myself. "We got work to do."

"Work?"

"Work." Nate responded before I could and to my utter infuriation took my wrist, my bag with his other hand, and pulled me towards one of the free booths. "If you excuse us."

He let go as soon as we reached it and I glared down at him as the guy sat carelessly, leaning backwards like he owned the place and didn't have a worry in the world. Which was probably right.

"That was extremely rude." I complained, sitting as well; but my eyes diverted towards where Justin's form was retrieving to his table and sighed, pulling my hair up to tie it with the elastic in my wrist. "Not like I expected anything else."

His relaxed facade fell for a second, jaw clenching. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I don't know." I shrugged one shoulder, taking out my stuff as sarcasm drifted from my tone.

"I apologized." he snarled in disbelief, like I was the deranged one for not getting over it.

True, he did apologize. One hangover text the morning after saying, literally, 'Im srry'. Sue me for not taking it seriously. I did what every rational person would have done in my situation: I blocked him from all my accounts.

I couldn't say he was very touched by this since that was the one and only time he did try to contact me. So no, I didn't buy his shit. Instead I felt my teeth gritting with rage and forced my arms crossed so hey won't see the white knuckles from forcefully fisting my hands. "Okay."

I opened the notebook over the coffee table as the waitress came to take our orders, ignoring the glare he was giving me. I mean, after everything, if someone had the right to be mad at someone that for sure wasn't him.

"Look, I've thought about this interview. Usually Logan would direct it towards your matches, but since Mrs Glennson handed it to me, I was thinking of doing it under a different angle." I bit my lip, letting him take in what I was saying.

He frowned unsure. "Like what?"

"Well... I would like to focus it more on what you like about football and what it means to you."

"Wouldn't it be too personal?"

I cleared my throat, tapping the notebook with the end of my pencil, nervously. "Isn't that the whole point in the interview? I mean, everyone knows you're good at it and how many wins you've achieved, but what is unknown is what motives you."

"Motives?" he tasted the word like he was unsure how to feel about it. "I didn't know I was supposed to have motives..."

"Well," I lifted one unstable shoulder, keeping my unease at bay. "You're not supposed to, but there's always a reason why you started, right?"

"I don't know..." his lips pursed and I had to remind myself I don't find him attractive. "What are your brother's?" he suddenly asked, snapping me out my stupidity.

"Matt's?" he nodded and I shrugged. "Uh, I guess in his case it was like a second nature, you know? He practically was born attached to a ball. I guess playing let him be who he really was."

I shook my head, talking about him made me nostalgic; but Nate still looked unsure so I needed to convince him. I couldn't show any skills in an interview asking how many matches he'd nailed.

No, I had to dig deeper. And I need Nate to be on my side.

"Everyone knows football was like breathing for him and they respected that." I proceed easily.

Nate hummed, looking oddly interested as his fingers tapped the table cloth. A distracted smile played on his lips. "You really miss him, uh?"

Miss? I missed him so damn much ever since he left for college that it felt almost like a lost.

Yet there was no way I was telling him that, so instead I cleared my throat, shifting in my spot and redirecting the topic:

"Yeah, so, you see. If they know you a little closer too, they could relate as well. It would made you look more deep, and focused, and if it has a great reception you can even used it for your applications and-"

"What?" his eyes lighted, sparkling with interest. "It could help me with the application?"

Everyone knew Nate's family wasn't the wealthiest, and due to his interest and what I remember from that unmentionable night, I'd dared to believe he might need any help he could use. So I nodded eagerly.

"Of course. It would be like and essay of your career. I'll allow you to use it, I'll sign whatever you need. But please don't make me transcribe one of your games." I almost pleaded, thinking about Logan Dawson's usual works on the sport section.

Nate thought about it for some seconds, my fingers crossed under the table, and a wave of relief washed over me when he finally nodded. "Okay."

"Yes! You won't regret it. I would be ten thousand times better than a usual record."

I was so enthusiastic for a moment I forget I was mad at him and began writing notes on the corners of the page, organizing what will I ask. When I looked back up I was surprised to see him smiling and it took me a moment to realize it was matching mine.

I was quick in wiping it away. "Okay, so when did you first start playing?"

The sudden seriousness cut the air like painful tension, but I won't let my defenses down again. He didn't deserve my good mood, so yeah, maybe now the rude one was me. He recomposed quickly, tho, and soon enough the interview was rolling rather easily.

He answered obligingly almost everything, his dreams, aspirations, beginning... but then suddenly I asked for his parents and he shut down all at once.

"Pass."

"What?" my brows knitted together. Everyone knew his father had left them a while ago and ever since then his mother'd been with another man that the quarterback didn't like, but was it that much not to mention something so important in this? "Are you sure-"

"My family is off the board." he spat and I immediately leaned back, startled by this and sent him a wary look. His eyes widened, realizing his brusqueness and shook his head, leaning back as well, glancing around but no one seemed to have heard. "I'm sorry."

"Alright..." I glanced down at the paper, going over everything. "Then I guess we've gone through it all. I got no more questions that those. I guess I'll work on this between today and tomorrow and that'll be it."

"Tomorrow's the match against East Rober." I nodded absently, but at his pause, I glanced up at him, meeting his intense gaze instantly and feeling my stomach twitch. "You should come."

My heart hammered. "Oh, I..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know you said you didn't want to talk about the games, but it could be good if you see me play before writing."

"I've already seen you play."

Nate just shrugged. "Then what's one more time? You also could get a few pics."

I was confused. Go to his match? This was odd and I couldn't help but mistrust him. Either way, he did have a point, I could use it to write a better and more profound article amoung the interview. Mrs Glennsons's gonna be proud of me.

Hesitantly I nodded. "Alright. I guess it won't do us any damage."

He smiled at that and my chest constricted. Did he want me there? But as soon as I thought it, I detached it with an inward headshake.

You're delusional, Hails. Why would he? He'd already proved how little he care of me.

"Great," his brows lifted. "It's over then?"

"Yep." I began packing up my things, not believing I actually went through it without the massive urge to strangle him. I mean, he was infuriating, but not as much as I thought. "Nice, I guess I'll see you."

I hang my bag on my shoulder and went to exit the bar, but sighed when I realized the storm outside only had gotten worst. Just great. I halted by the doors, considering whether should I wait for it to pass or call someone.

"I'll take you home." Nate's sudden offer stunned me further than the unexpected weight of his arm on my shoulders, making me jump out of my skin.

I pulled away, taking off the still damp strands from my forehead. "Needless. If I call Taylor..."

"She surely will leave everything to come looking for you." he rolled his eyes. "But I'm already here. Do you really want to bother her?"

"And it doesn't bother you?" I asked in a low voice, struggling between self-consciousness and astonishment.

He smiled sideways and again his gaze went down below my neck. "Why would it bother me?" The green of his eyes seemed to burn and I furiously blushed again.

This close I could see where the awe came from. Under this orangish bar's light his usually dark hair look almost red and it was almost mesmerizing how every line of his face was perfectly dranw. His cheekbones, the sharp jawline, those green eyes... The only imperfection might be the slight tilt of his nose -from some old broke, I guess-, but if anything it only made him more interesting. More mundane and genuine. Such a shame.

Damn Nate.

I wrapped the jacket further around me, crossing my arms and ignoring the burning that left his gaze in his wake. My tongue was locked, but once I diverted my gaze I managed to slur out: "Don't say those things."

"Why not?"

"Because you make me feel uncomfortable. It's disgusting and I don't like those jokes."

"Who said it's a joke?" Ignoring the tickle for some sick reason his innuendo awoke in me, I fixed my eyes on the wall, away from him, so as not to see his bravado. I just wanted to go home without facing his cockiness. Was it so much to ask?

I bit my tongue and clenched my fists. First of all I had been educated to be kind, and I was sure that throwing up the lady's coffee next to us did not fall into that category.

Breath deeply. Calm down, Hailey. It's only Nate's doing what he does best: making fun of people.

"Well," I muttered "Thanks for the..." compliment? mock? "Whatever this is." I summed up. "But seriously, I'll call Taylor."

And with that I shoved my hands into the pocket of my soaked backpack to get my phone, but Nate snorted and snatched it away from my grasp. Too incredulous to get angry I still reached out; but before I could recover it or protest, he smirked and slid in in his back pocket.

Seriously?

"I can take it back" I menaced, but his grin didn't falter.

"I dare you to."

My heart squeezed. "Okay, I was bullshiting." I forced out an innocent smile, handing out one hand. "Can you give it back please?"

Nate's grin shifted to a winning one and instead of placing the phone on my outstretched palm he took it in his. My eyes widened in bewilderment as chilling sparks climbed up my arm from where our skins met. "If you want it back, get in the car." he insisted and tugged me towards the door. "Run or get drenched. Your choice."

I casted one last quick look at Justin's table. Our eyes met but he quickly turned away from me and smiled adorably at his girlfriend. My insides plummeted, but Nate didn't give more time to concentrate on that shattering feeling in my chest when the next second he pulled us out and the rain poured over our heads.

I tripped over my feet as I tried to match his run. We slipped a few times and almost eat the floor a couple more.

I was laughing by the time we reached Letty. Don't ask me why, it was just... the situation was so unreal and abstract I couldn't but laughed, worst when we entered it and took in both our appearance. We look awful.

I couldn't control it, no matter how bad I wanted to stop it. The fact that his contagious chuckles were filling the place as well didn't exactly help.

"W-we... we look like tramps or something." I stuttered between breaths, willing myself to stop laughing for once. It wasn't right for me after everything. As I remembered, the humor was evaporated from my system, drop by drop. "My phone." he handed it over and once recovered I glared at him. "This is kidnapping."

Sensing my growing seriousness Nate, huffed, regaining his breath as well before turning the key making the engine roared under us as Letty came alive. "Why do you keep doing that?"

My eyes narrowed. What was he talking about? "Doing what?"

"This." he gave a swift side glance full of... disappointment? rage? "It's like you're forcing yourself to stay mad at me. I've apologized, can you just get over it? We both did things we-"

"We both?" my blood boiled. How dare he?! I never did anything! I let out a humorless laugh now. "That's why I can't get over. You... what you..." I couldn't even finish the sentence.

As that night came back to me, the feeling overwhelmed everything and I had to blink to prevent the sudden wetness in my eyes. I abruptly adverted my gaze out the window.

This is ridiculous.

"Hailey, I'm..."

"I don't wanna heard it." I hated how my voice broke in the end as my throat closed.

For the rest of the route no one said anything, and not even the radio was able to cut through this thick tension. I could sense he wanted to say something, but I was still looking out the window. The moment my family's farm appeared after we left the borders of the hometown I almost sighed in relief.