"Behind you dumbass!" Alejandro yells at Adam.

"Don't yell at me I know what to grab!" Adam walks towards the tire in the back.

"Please shut up and fix the tire Ale. Adam pay more attention," I tell them both and open the hood of my truck. Dad told me to bring the guys to the shop today. Since football season is over for Adam and soccer season starts for Alejandro when we get back. We have nothing to do.

Veronica said she was gonna hang out with Alison which is fine. I mean we hang out a lot and she had told me when we first started dating that she needs to have her personal time with Alison. She also said that I should have some personal time with Adam and Ale.

"So how is everything? I feel like we haven't hung out like this in a while," Adam says while rolling the tire to Alejandro.

"Well for me everything has been great. Alison and I are doing great, coach said that there are some scouts from UOC who are coming to see us play this season. I'm hoping they give me a scholarship. Ali wants to go there and we don't want to do long distance." Alejandro began to put the tire onto his car. I'm positive those scouts are going to give Ale a scholarship, he's a really good soccer player.

"What about you Adam? Didn't you say scouts already talked to you?" I ask Adam as I check if my truck needs any changes.

"Oh yeah," I look up from the truck and see Adam fidgeting his hands. Mmm he's never nervous. "I'm in between Colorado or California. It's just hard to decide." Now that he says that, I haven't really thought about what I want to do. Veronica asked me once what I wanted to do after high school, but when she asked, I wasn't in the right mindset.

I want to go to school, trust me I want to. It's just...I don't know. Maybe it's best to wait a year. I feel like I still need to move on. Marisela is still constantly on my mind. Well obviously she's going to be but it's hard. I've been trying each day to go into her room and just look. Three years is long enough, it's just difficult.

"What about you Mateo? Have you looked into any schools?" Ale stands up from his crouched position and grabs a rag to clean his fingers.

"Umm I honestly don't know. I know I want to go but I sort of want to take a gap year," I tell them truthfully. Adam raises his brows and tilts his head to the side. Alejandro just nods his head.

"Well either way you know Alejandro and I are supportive. Have you told Vero?" Adam stands up and walks over to where I'm at. I take a deep breath and think about what to tell them.

Clearing my throat, I close the hood of my truck and lean against it. "No we haven't talked about it. How did you and Ali talk about it?" I nod my head towards Alejandro. Shit, if he was able to do it then I can do it. It shouldn't be that hard.

"Alison was the one that brought it up. She already has all the schools planned out so she told me what she wanted and I listened. She really wants to go to California though, so she's hoping the scouts give me a scholarship. My advice is to just talk to Veronica truthfully. Tell her what you want and listen to what she wants."

He's right. I mean what's the worst that can happen.

"Okay well I'm gonna talk to her soon. I'm not sure when but I'll talk to her," Alejandro walks up to me and claps my shoulder.

We stay in silence for a minute, during that silence all the memories of us three in high school come back to me. All the dumb things we did freshman year, the girls Adam tried to get at but failed, going to Alejandro's soccer game and heading to the diner afterward. I let out a chuckle and the guys looked at me confused.

"Do you guys remember that one time after Alejandro's game sophomore year, we went to the diner and didn't get back to Adam's house till like three in the morning." The guys start laughing at the memory.

"Oh yeah, and Adam couldn't even open the door quietly so by the time he opened it his Dad was already waiting." Ale claps his hands while laughing and Adam just rolls his eyes.

"That door isn't easy to open for your information ALEJANDRO," he says Ale's name louder. "But you know what was even more fun, whenever we went to that party junior year and that one girl what was her name? I don't remember but she kept trying to get with Alejandro so whenever he said no she went to Mateo." Alejandro gasps once Adam is done talking and starts to laugh really loud.

"S- S- Stephanie!" I exclaim through my laughter. God that girl was annoying. I usually don't like calling people annoying besides the guys but she was so annoying. Literally the whole night she kept bugging me about dancing with her.

Our laughs are cut off when we hear a loud engine pull into the shop. When I look up, I instantly recognize the car and groan. Adam turns to see who it is and groans too. Just like dominos fall after each other, Alejandro does the same thing. The person gets out of the car and starts walking towards us. Ale moves to my left side and Adam moves closer to my right.

"Mateo, I heard you and your Dad are very talented mechanics." Reuben smirks at me. He's doing this on purpose. Well at least he isn't bothering Veronica. Rather him bother me then her. "I was wondering if you can check my car, I keep hearing these noises when I turn." He lets me know.

"Okay well let's take a drive so I can hear," I stick my hand out so he can hand me his keys. "I'll be back. If anyone else comes, you know what to do," Adam and Ale nod their heads and start talking about who knows what. Reuben just stood there with his arms crossed.

"Are you coming? I need you to tell me what you hear."

"Oh shit my bad." He begins to walk towards his car and I get into the driver's seat. I turn the car and wait for him to get in. Once he gets in, I put the car in reverse and back out of the shop turning my head to make sure no one is coming. When we're out of the shop, I put the car in drive and begin what seems like the longest three minutes of my life.

The car ride is silent. Whenever I turn, the car does make a noise so I know he isn't lying.

"Veronica must love that you're a mechanic," Reuben breaks the silence and my hand tightens around the steering wheel. "If you really think about it, you're the perfect guy for her. A mechanic, protective, caring. Mmm but sadly that won't last, she will realize that I'm not so bad after all."

I step on the break hard which causes his body to jut forward. He turns his head towards my direction and looks at me with wide eyes.

"What the hell is your problem! My car is already broken, don't break it even more!" He exclaims and I laugh. "There's nothing funny about what yo-"

"Oh shut up Reuben. You're always trying to bother Veronica and I. Just take a hint and leave us alone, you aren't gonna be able to get with her. She doesn't want someone like you. Deal with it. Stop disrespecting our relationship because I'm sure if you were in one, you would be bothered if I did the same. Now if you plan to keep bothering us, you better think twice about doing it. I hope you understand Reuben." I start to drive back to the shop once I'm done saying what I have been wanting to say. He stays silent until I park the car and get off.

I crouch down and look at the front left tire. I stick my hand just above the tire and begin to feel the strut. Yup just as I thought it's broken.

"The strut is broken, you can bring it back tomorrow at twelve. Just be careful and don't turn fast because it can break even more." He nods his head and I begin to walk towards the door. As I grab the door handle, I'm stopped by the sound of his voice.

"Uh what's the strut?"

Jesus Christ.

~

Hello my lovely people! I hope you all had a great day! I just wanted to say THANK YOU FOR 1k!! I woke up today finding out that this book has hit 1,000 reads!!! I am in shock, I love you all very much! This is my very first book that I have published on Wattpad and I never thought that I would hit 1k!! I posted on my Instagram that chapter 1 for "Chasing Goals" will be published a week from today!! On 05•28•21 you guys will be able to read chapter 1 of Alison and Alejandro's story!! Once again THANK YOU SO MUCH! I LOVE YOU ALL!

- kjocelyn81