Beep. Beep. Beep.

I groaned as I blindly searched for my phone with my head still face down in my pillow. It was 7am and time to get up to get ready for another fun day at practice.

As for last night, it was a wild night as Miles and I read our books in silence for an hour before going to bed. Very sexy and scandalous, I know. That book kept his mouth shut for a full sixty minutes and I couldn't have been happier.

After I located my phone, I swiped the screen to turn off the alarm. Laying in bed, I stared at the ceiling, not wanting to get up. This was an all too familiar routine. Miles was still fast asleep on his side of the room. I've found that he doesn't set an alarm for himself and is under the impression that I would be waking him up again like I'm his mother.

With much apprehension, I pushed myself up to a sitting position. Muscles in my legs and shoulders cracked and popped like an old person and my back ached to the point that I wanted to double over in pain. There was no way I was going to make it through the day without some assistance.

My backpack was sitting at the end of my bed with my various toiletry bags inside. Mom had packed me a special bag that held a couple of few bottles of medications that I might need. Crawling to the end of my bed at a snail's pace, I grabbed my backpack and searched around for the cosmetics bag they were in. When I located the little tote, I unzipped it and began pulling out bottles. The orange containers had large white labels on the side, identifying what was inside.

Claritin, anxiety pills, eye drops, and Advil spilled out first. The painkillers were next, which I took and popped the lid off. I poured two of the blue and yellow capsules out before screwing the cap back on.

I grabbed the water bottle that was in the side pocket of my backpack. I placed the pills on my tongue before taking a swig of water. I just hoped I would be feeling their effects soon.

I had about 45 minutes to get myself ready and down to the cafeteria to be on time for breakfast. I headed to the dresser first to pick out clothes for today's practice. With little interest, I plucked a pair of gray pants, a royal blue T-shirt, a socks, sports bra, and a pair of panties out of the drawer.

A soft grunt came from Miles's side of the room. He was still asleep, which means yet again I needed to wake him up. I might as well make this enjoyable for myself. I grabbed a thick pillow that had fallen from his bed and crept over to his side without awaking him. Raising the pillow over my head, I let out my war yell before smacking him square in the face with it. As soon as the feathered stuffed linen hit his head, Miles's eyelids snapped open.

"Hey!" he yelled, trying to defend himself with outstretched hands.

Even though he was awake, I couldn't help but add in a few extra slaps with the pillow. Might as well get even while I had the chance. Once Miles realized that I was not planning on stopping anytime soon, he grabbed on to the pillow and yanked it out of my hands. He stared down at my weapon of choice in disbelief.

"What is wrong with you?" Miles asked exasperated. His blonde hair was disheveled from the pillow assault and almost made me want to reach out to fix it for him. Almost.

"Nothing," I said with a straight face.

"You were beating me with my pillow."

"Just waking you up."

"A simple 'hey Miles, wake up' would have worked."

"Where's the fun in that?"

Miles rolled his eyes, giving an annoyed groan before lifting the comforter to cover his face.

I took that as my cue to go to the bathroom. With my clothes and small fabric bags piled in my hands, I left the room. The hallway was silent with absolutely no activity or noise coming from any of the rooms. I went inside the bathroom and closed the door before setting all my things on the counter.

I rummaged around in my bags to find some sunscreen and my tooth brush before I put on some makeup and tied my hair in to a thick braid with a wide head band holding back the fly aways. It was 7:52 when I finished everything else I needed to do to get ready for the rest of today. My teeth were brushed and flossed and deodorant had been applied.

Before changing into my clothes for today, I locked the bathroom door and tugged on the handle to ensure no one would be walking in any time soon.

I stripped off my pajamas to replace them my uniform. The pants were an older ones, so they were a little tighter than yesterday's. If you have never put on a pair of slightly snug baseball or softball pants, imagine putting on a pair of skinny jeans just out of the dryer. You jump and wiggle around as you attempt to squirm into the pants. When I finally got the waistband up to the appropriate place, the door started rattling, making me jump in surprise.

"What the fuck?" a voice muttered outside. The handle was shimmied around some more as the confused person tried to figure out why he could not open the door. I quickly zipped up the zipper and buttoned my pants to not keep them waiting on the bathroom.

A few more voices joined him in saying "what the fuck" over and over again and banging on the door. Could the stupidity get any worse? Yet it did, when I heard a body come crashing in to the door. Yes, they were now trying to break down the door. With pajamas carefully folded into my arms, I snapped open the lock. The door flew open and two guys tumbled onto the tile floor at my feet.

Nathan and Danny looked up at me from the floor with irritated scowls. I couldn't help but crack an amused smile at the sight of their tangles limbs and angry faces.

"What?" I said looking down at them with my hand on my hip.

Nathan pushed himself off the floor, mumbling something about the thickness of the door. Not surprised, he was the one who decided to try to ram the door with his shoulder.

"Why'd you lock the door?" Danny snapped, while getting a hand up from the floor from Gabe.

"I was changing," I replied, stepping out in to the hall where Eli, Gabe, and Tyler stood awkwardly watching us. "Hey guys." Giving them a small wave and grin, I looked back at the other two who still looked rather disgruntled.

"It doesn't bother me to change in the same room as you," Danny said propping himself up on the door frame. He crossed his arms over his chest and casually crossed one foot in front of the other. He was the perfect picture of Mr. Cool.

"Well, it bothers me," I retorted, giving him an icy stare.

"Maybe around these clowns, but if it was just you and me, I think you would be just fine," Danny said smoothly, not fazed by my narrowed eyes.

"Hmm, I don't think so." Without much warning, I swiped my foot to hit Danny's foot that was so carefully crossed over his other. He stumbled to the side from my low swipe and I turned on my heel and walked down the hall back to my room. The four others guys let out loud laughs as Danny righted himself and gave them death glares to shut them up. His failed attempt to be flirtatious was also laughable, but I kept moving down the hall to my room so I didn't have to engage any further with him.

The door was unlocked when I tried the handle, so I stepped inside and closed the door. Miles was buckling his belt as I came through the door. A lazy grin grazed his face as I put my stuff down by my suitcase and backpack.

"Ready?" he asked grabbing his phone from his bed spread and shoving it in his back pocket.

I nodded in reply, looking around the room to make sure I didn't forget anything.

We grabbed our bags from the closet before heading down the hall to the elevator. Dylan, Walker, Jackson, and Harrison were already in the middle of the hall waiting for the elevator to pick them up and bring them to the first floor.

"Hey," Dylan called to us as we approached.

"What's up?" Miles responded giving them a half wave of his hand.

Miles and I took our places next to the four of them to wait for the elevator. Walker greeted me with a bump to my shoulder and a soft smile, which I returned. Feeling the heat of someone's eyes, I noticed Miles' watching me from my periphery.

"What're you looking at?" I asked him, my eyes staying looking straight ahead.

He looked slightly surprised that I had caught him. "Nothing," he snapped quickly, looking forward as well.

My eyes stayed trained on the elevator doors, but I just couldn't help myself. "It's not good to lie you know."

Miles opened his mouth for a retort, but the elevator doors opened and I stepped inside not waiting to hear what he had to say. Everyone else filed in behind me, leaving Miles closest to the front.

"You need to push the button, Miles. That's how the elevator works." I called from the corner, continuing to harass him.

"I know how an elevator works," he grumbled to himself. It was almost too easy to get under his skin at this point. He grunted before hitting the button hard with his finger. I rolled my eyes at his immature behavior, while Jackson made a face at his back which made me giggle.

Miles whipped around and glared at Jackson and me. Jackson glanced sheepishly at his best friend before looking at me with a guilty expression. I suppressed the giggles as we hit the bottom floor and walked out of the elevator. Miles walked briskly out and through the front doors.

I wasn't quite done yet and I felt like I still had some getting back to do, so I followed after him, catching up to him as he pushed the dorm's doors open.

"What?" he snapped as I made my presence known.

"Nothing," I said breezily keeping pace with him.

He continued to look straight ahead and ignore me. I kept right next to him as he trudged along, eventually through the cafeteria doors and to the table.

The room was about half full when we walked through the doors and headed to the meal line. This morning I grabbed a bowl of oatmeal and began spooning the toppings on top. Banana slices, raisins, apple pieces, pecans, peanut butter, and a splash of milk were piled high in my dish as I went to the team table. Miles had gotten to the table first, but I decided that I would leave him alone for the time being. I sat down at the opposite end of the table.

I couldn't but continue to watch him though. Miles shoveled down his cereal with overflowing bites. I took smaller bites and observed him through my eyelashes. The angry wrinkles in his forehead and narrowness of his eyes suggested that he was irritated about something. Is he angry at me? Did I push him a too much this morning? I don't think I did anything wrong. I sighed internally and continued to eat my breakfast.

Slowly, the other guys began to trickle in to the dining auditorium. The team grabbed their meals and sat down at the table. Jackson went to sit next to Miles, but Miles even ignored his best friend when he tried to say something to him. What was his deal?

The rest of the guys led by Nathan and Danny got there just as I was finishing up.

"That offer is still on the table," Danny sang out as he sat down, referring to what he said earlier this morning.

"Go fuck yourself," I grumbled, rolling my eyes.

"Harsh," he gasped, holding a hand over his heart.

"Did I hurt your feelings?" I cooed at him in a high pitched voice.

A couple of chuckles and snorts escaped from around the table. Danny looked around with a withering look on his face. The look however didn't wipe the smirk off of my lips.

He flipped me off with a self-satisfied expression on his face.

"Good one," I said tipping my chair back.

"Go fuck yourself," he snapped, repeating my own words.

"And you're unoriginal. Go figure." Danny pinned with me a threatening, which I easily brushed off. "You're not gonna win," I finally told him, trying to make him stop embarrassing himself.

Danny in reply shoved a large piece of toast in his mouth. His black hair spilled on to his forehead and covered parts of his dark hazel eyes. Danny was more than an attractive guy, but his less than stellar personality thus far, left much to be desired.

I set my elbow on the table and placed my chin on my palm when it became apparent that Danny was done arguing with me. No one was eating very fast and there was still thirty minutes before practice started. I turned on my phone to find a message from Ellie. I unlocked my phone and navigated to her text.

I smiled at the text message and quickly tapped out a reply.

I hit the send button and looked up.

"Why are you so happy?" Miles asked sipping the last bit of his orange juice.

"Just texting my friend," I replied setting my phone on the table.

When the words came out of my mouth, all the eyes at the table snapped up and stared at me.

"What?" I said looking around at the table occupants.

"Is this friend of yours a girl?" Danny asked suddenly very interested in what I had to say.

"Uh, yes," I replied not understanding where this was going.

"What's your friend look like?" Nathan piped up.

I squinted in confusion at him. The guys looked at me, waiting for an answer. Then it clicked.

"Hell no. My best friend is off limits," I said immediately, shaking my head.

"Come on, just show us a picture. I have not seen a female in so long, except for you," Gabe pleaded. He gave me puppy dog eyes with his large coffee colored eyes.

"It's been like three days," I said still resisting.

"Pretty please," Eli joined in.

They collectively pouted at me and I was losing my patience.

"Fine," I muttered. I knew if I kept saying no they would never let me hear the end of it.

Nathan smirked at my waving of the white flag and leaned forward.

I grabbed my phone and started scrolling to find a picture of Ellie and me. I found one of us at the last football game of the year. We were standing in front of the bleachers in school colors. Our arms were wrapped around each other and my head was tipped back laughing at something she had said. Her mouth was open in a wide smile. It pretty much described the relationship. We made each other laugh to no end. It had been that way since we were five years old. We just understood each other better than anyone else did.

Ellie was about half an inch taller than me with long slim legs and muscular, gymnast arms. Her hair was a dirty blonde that was naturally wavy and framed her almond shaped green eyes that looked more similar to a cat's.

Before showing the guys, I zoomed in a little closer, so it was more focused on her. I flipped the phone around and let them see the picture.

They all leaned in to get a better look.

"I call dibs," Nathan yelled immediately, putting his hand up.

"Dude, I didn't know we were calling dibs. I definitely have first call dibs here," Danny said crossing his arms over his broad chest.

The rest of the team began to chime in about their opinions on who was getting dibs and how the rules of dibs work.

"None of you are calling dibs on my best friend. Forget it," I said standing up and grabbing my bowl. I shoved my phone back in my pocket to stop them from checking Ellie out any further.

"Oh come on. What sport does she play? Cheerleader? Soccer player? Figure skater?" Nathan asked excitedly.

"Volleyball player?" Danny said raising his eyebrows suggestively.

I couldn't find anything to throw at him, so I concluded to give him a nasty look. "No, she's a gymnast, moron," I snapped.

"Even better. Leotards," Nathan said with a triumphant grin.

"Cut it out. You guys are disgusting."

"Wouldn't your friend be glad to be fought over?" Logan inquired with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"No, she would probably beat the absolute shit out of all of you or I'll do it for her."

The guys responded with shrugs of their shoulders. Idiots.

"We're going to be late to practice if you guys don't hurry up." I turned around and headed to the trash can to set my dishes on top. After dumping the untouched parts of my oatmeal in the trash, I headed outside to the field. The sun was beating down on the pavement to a degree where I swore I could see steam rising from the cement. It was going to be even hotter than yesterday.

I got to the field and started stretching my tight muscles from the torture of last practice. Everyone else was still meandering over from the cafeteria and didn't seem to be in a hurry. I was about half way through my usual stretches when I heard crunching on the gravel. I had no desire for small talk with almost any of my teammates, so I didn't bother lifting my head to greet them.

"Hey," Walker called out as he approached. At the sound of a voice that was actually pleasant to hear, I looked up to give him a wave.

Walker set his stuff in the dugout next to mine and came out with his cleats in hand. Mine laid next to me still laced up from yesterday's practice. Walker sat down a few feet away in the grass to begin untying his own cleats and putting them on.

"What's up?" I said causally, rolling into a different position to stretch my back. I laid on my stomach and put my palms flat to the ground, then pushed up. My back popped and ached as I stayed in the cobra position for several moments.

"Just sore from yesterday," he replied, stretching his fingers to touch his toes.

"Same."

"The face contortion you're doing right now makes it pretty obvious."

I whipped my head up to look at him. "Face contortion?"

Walker cracked a smile and nodded. "Especially when you're stretching your back."

"I'm not making weird faces."

"You are too. This is exactly what you look like."

Walker scrunched his eyebrows together and crinkled his nose dramatically before puckering his lips and narrowing his eyes. I couldn't help but giggle at the ridiculous expression he had on his face.

"I don't even think I am capable of making that face."

"I might have been exaggerating a little bit, but I was pretty close," he said laughing along with me.

We sat in the grass and laughed until we had tears practically running down our faces. When our giggles would finally subside, I would look at Walker and he would make the face again, sending us both back to laughing. Walker and I laughed until our stomachs hurt and could only lay in the grass on our backs looking up at the sky.

"Hey. What are you guys doing?" a voice called from the dugout.

I rolled on to my side to sit up and shield my eyes with my hand to look at the person talking. It was of course my moody roommate who just so happened to be extremely nosey as well.

"Nothing. Walker just did something funny," I said dryly.