Caleb got dressed and put the lock on his locker then picked up his duffel bag and walked out into the school corridors. He had to go back to his school locker to get his books. He was heading down the hallway when Sheena walked around the corner ahead of him. She had a look on her face that Caleb was all too familiar with. He braced for impact.

"Didn't you see me waving at you today?" she asked agitated. Sheena put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. "I saw you looking right at me. I know you saw me."

"Sorry I didn't hear you." The look on Sheena's face changed from agitated to angry.

"I was talking to Jonathan, he told me, he told you, he heard me." Caleb looked at Sheena frustrated about the entire situation. He ran his hand through his hair and then rested his hand on his neck.

"Sheena why did you even bother to ask if you already knew the answer."

"Because I wanted to catch you in a lie." Caleb looked at Sheena. This was the type of game he was sick of, and it had been going on too much lately.

"Whatever I'm not dealing with this anymore. Why do you always have to play these games, what does it prove?" Caleb looked at Sheena bracing for one of her smart-ass remarks.

"That I'm smarter than you Caleb. Stop being a dumb jock for once. You're not going anywhere." Sheena's attitude was becoming too much for Caleb, he decided to end the conversation before it got too much more hostile. He pushed passed her and walked down the hallway.

"Whatever I'll see you on the bus!" Sheena stood and looked at him for a second then let out a sigh in frustration as she watched him walk away.

The school day was now over, and Caleb and Isaiah were getting their books out of their lockers to get ready to go home. Isaiah glanced over at Caleb, then went back to what he was doing pulling a binder down out of his locker. "Hey, Isaiah." Caleb put a textbook in his backpack and walked over to him. Isaiah stopped what he was doing and looked at him. "Just wanted to tell you not to listen to Jonathan. He was just being an idiot earlier. I've always thought you were pretty cool." Caleb smiled at him, and Isaiah gave a small smile back.

"Yeah, it's cool. Just bugged me when he pushed me. Thanks for stepping in." Isaiah took another textbook from his locker. He was happy that Caleb was talking to him and couldn't seem to stop smiling.

"No problem, bud." Caleb looked him up and down with his eyes then walked back to his locker, he took one of his textbooks and put it down into his backpack. "So, you coming to the party later?" The smile on Isaiah's face faded as his nerves took over. He had never been to any of the parties in the past because he didn't really get along with anyone that went to them.

"Oh, um, yeah, I'm not sure about that, to be honest." Isaiah paused briefly to try and come up with an excuse as to why he wouldn't be able to attend. "Not sure if my mom will let me." Caleb looked at him slightly confused; Isaiah knew that wouldn't be enough. "That and Casey wants to do something later tonight." The confusion faded from Caleb's face as he spoke, he really seemed to want Isaiah to come along.

"Well, if that's the case, you can bring her if you want." Caleb stopped what he was doing again and looked at him with a questioning look. "Man, why don't you ever come to any of our victory parties?"

"I don't know, to be honest." Isaiah decided to stop making excuses and just tell him. "Not really my thing, you know?" Caleb smiled at him again as he closed his locker.

"Well, why don't you come anyway?" Caleb urged. "I'll be disappointed if you don't." Isaiah could feel the colour almost rush out of his face; he was rather put off that Caleb was trying to get him to come to this party. This wasn't the first time he had turned them down and all the other times he just let it slide, why was this time any different?

"Really? That's a little strange, isn't it?" Caleb suddenly realized what he had said, and his thought process changed, not wanting Isaiah to think anything of the comment, truthful or otherwise. He jokingly punched Isaiah in the arm lightly Isaiah smiled at him.

"Hey, I'm just kidding. It won't be so bad. You'll have a good time. See you later, buddy." Caleb smiled and started to walk away. Isaiah watched him as he walked away. He was almost in a trance at the fact that Caleb wanted him to go to this party so badly and just blatantly tried to cover it up when Isaiah reacted to what he said.

"Okay!"

Casey walked up to the locker next to Isaiah and stared at him as he spoke to Caleb. Isaiah didn't see her approach. As the two of them spoke she could see Isaiah's face light up. Casey was the only one in school who really knew Isaiah's secret. She watched them converse; their body language was of that of two good friends even though Casey knew that wasn't the case at all. Isaiah and Caleb didn't see each other outside of practice and games but Isaiah wanted to be around him more. Casey leaned against the locker and continued to listen to them talking until Caleb walked away. Isaiah put the last of his books into his backpack, his face still lit up with happiness at the conversation he just had. Isaiah closed his locker door and Casey was standing right behind it startled he dropped his pack.

"Ah, shit! How long have you been standing there?" The two of them laughed as Isaiah quickly picked up his backpack and hung it over one shoulder.

"Only long enough to see you light up with joy as he was talking to you. Have you told him yet?" Casey was already pretty sure of the answer.

"Yeah right, 'cus that'll happen anytime soon." Casey rolled her eyes at Isaiah's tone. She knew that it wasn't the fact that he was a guy that he doubted himself but because of his poor self-confidence.

"Hey, you never know! Besides, it would be so funny to see his bitchy, control freak girlfriend get what everyone wants to come to her." Casey was the complete opposite of Sheena. Casey was short and a bit on the heavier side, with black hair and blue eyes, she often would dress in a lot of dark colours giving her an almost gothic look. She wasn't athletic by any stretch of the imagination, but she was extremely intelligent having been skipped ahead a year as a result. She was a year younger than Isaiah but would still graduate with him, but also because of her intelligence and her appearance she was often teased by the other students and Sheena in particular.

"You mean Sheena?" asked Isaiah knowing full well who she was referring to. "I can see why everyone hates her. She's just never been nasty to me personally. I think she sees me as the quiet one on the team."

"She's nasty to me on a regular basis." Casey paused and looked up and down the halls then at her watch. "Let's go we don't wanna miss the bus." Isaiah nodded at Casey and they both started down the hall toward the exit. The high school was a small building, three floors with probably two hundred students. Like the town it was placed in it had a lot of history behind it. Once a textile plant the school had been converted in the early 1900s into a hospital, then in the '60s they converted it into a high school. The building reflected its age, in places, the paint on the walls was peeling or cracked. The lockers they used weren't as old as the building, but it had been a long time since they were replaced. Most of them were bent or had scars from past students. Casey and Isaiah walked out into the front of the school where there was a crowd of students waiting for the bus. Isaiah could see Caleb and Sheena standing with her friends Stephanie and Katelyn. Sheena was getting really close to Caleb, but he still had the irritated look on his face. Isaiah watched as she touched his chest and leaned on him as she talked to her friends.

"Oh my god Stephanie, that guy was so hot why didn't you stay with him?" Sheena seemed to be purposefully trying to draw attention to herself as she hung off Caleb.

"I don't know, I just didn't want to, sure he was pretty, but I don't need a relationship right now. I'm out to have fun," said Stephanie. Isaiah didn't really know a whole lot about Stephanie, but her reputation was not a pretty picture unless you were looking for a one-nighter. Caleb looked at her and fought back the urge to roll his eyes at her comment. Sheena didn't like his friends, but he couldn't stand Stephanie. He hadn't told Sheena but at one of the parties they had been to she tried to sleep with him. "Why are you so quiet Caleb?" she asked.

"Oh, I think he's still mad at me," said Sheena looking up at him, "We got into another fight earlier." Sheena looked back at Stephanie smiling wide as if proud of herself.

"What about?" asked Stephanie.

"I caught him lying again." Caleb looked down at her and then away and pulled away from her. He glanced over at Isaiah who was standing with Casey obviously looking for an escape from her. Jonathan and the other guys weren't out of the building yet. "Come on Caleb, let's not fight like this anymore today please." Sheena reached out and took Caleb's hand and pulled him into a kiss then brushed her hand on his face and pulled back. "All you have to do is say you're sorry." Caleb looked at her as he pulled back from the kiss. The look on his face said he didn't want to be bothered fighting with her anymore he was tired and just wanted to take a nap.

"I'm sorry, Sheena. But you know how I get sometimes when we're going through these games." This was always what Caleb let her feel but the truth was that when he was in the midst of a game was when he was the most at ease and his mind was the clearest. Lately, the only thing that kept him sane was the game and his practises.

"I accept your apology. Now wasn't that easy?" Sheena smiled at him and hugged him. Isaiah looked on and rolled his eyes at them. Jonathan, Chris, Mike and Andrew came walking out of the school and went over to where Caleb was standing. Jonathan brushed up against Katelyn and slapped her on the ass.

"Hey baby, you gonna be at the party tonight?" Jonathan had a big smirk on his face.

"No," said Katelyn offended, "My parents are going out of town." Katelyn glared at Jonathan. Every now and then he would cross the line, she didn't take well to his advances all the time. "And even if I was, what makes you think that you would have any chance with me?" The other guys laughed at him.

"Oh, come on now, you didn't mind it a month ago." Jonathan gestured and grabbed the crotch of his jeans, Katelyn let out a frustrated sigh and walked away from him.

"Jonathan stop being such a pig," said Sheena. The bus pulled up to them and the students began to stand in line to wait to get on. Isaiah and Casey shared a seat two rows up from Chris, Mike and Andrew. Caleb and Sheena are sitting away from the rest of them on the other side and Jonathan was sitting behind them in a seat by himself. The bus driver was focused on his driving. Caleb looked around the bus, he was getting ready to tell Sheena about the party, but he didn't want the backlash. He knew she wasn't going to be happy about it, he just hoped that she wouldn't blow up at him over it. He didn't think he could control himself if she blew up at him again. He looked over at her she was reading a teen vogue magazine and leaning into him. She looked unusually peaceful, and he almost didn't want to tell her but he knew if people just started to show up at the house she would completely freak out and make a scene. She noticed that he was looking over at him and smiled, he smiled gently back at her.

"So," he began, "we're having the victory party tonight at the house." Sheena closed the magazine she was reading and dropped it in her pack and looked at him with a disappointed look on her face.

"Awe baby, you know I hate those idiots being around. I was hoping the two of us could have a bit of a celebration of our own." Sheena had a seductive look in her eyes as she rubbed his forearm with one hand and put her index finger on his chest moving it in a circular motion. Caleb was borderline shocked at her reaction, he certainly expected worse, he kept the tone of the conversation going.

"I know, babe, but they're my friends. And more importantly; my teammates," he explained, "How am I supposed to get my scholarship without them? Besides, just because they're there doesn't mean we can't hold our own celebration in my bedroom." Caleb leaned in and kissed her briefly. She pulled back and looked at him with a little bit of frustration on her face but also smirked at him.

"Why can't you just have fun now like everyone else our age?" she asked.

"I can't say I will, but I can try, right?" Caleb put his arm around Sheena and squeezed her into him gently. If she would be like this more often his life would certainly be easier. Jonathan jumped up from the seat behind him and rested his arms on the headrest of Caleb's seat.

"Hey Caleb, dude." Sheena let out a quiet sigh and Caleb looked back at Jonathan who smiled at Sheena's irritation. "When do you want us to come or the party?"

"' Round seven?"

"Sounds sweet." Jonathan stood up out of his seat and put his arms in the air to purposely draw attention to himself. "Hey everyone, partay at Caleb's house tonight at seven! Bring your friends and whoever the hell else wants to come. Wooo!" Jonathan cheered and the other students on the bus started to hoot and holler, drawing the attention of the otherwise focused bus driver. The bus driver turned around to see Jonathan standing in the aisle his expression was annoyed.

"Hey!" he bellowed, "get in your seat and quiet down back there!" The bus driver looked from Jonathan to the road several times waiting for him to respond. Jonathan looked back at the bus driver and then sat back down in his seat.

"Sorry. I'm done now." Casey watched Jonathan closely as he sat down. Casey knew that Isaiah couldn't stand him, but she couldn't help it, she thought he was hot. His brown hair and blue eyes sometimes captivated her, not to mention the fact that he had the tall and sturdy body he worked hard to maintain. Even though he often abused it with heavy drugs and alcohol, she didn't care it was just sex. She looked at Isaiah who sat next to her reading out of a textbook.

"Jonathan is so hot." A look of disgust came over Isaiah's face as he bookmarked his page and closed his book.

"Casey, he's such an asshole. Why would you even want anything to do with him?" asked Isaiah. Of all the people that Casey could choose, Jonathan to Isaiah was the worst. She even knew that he was the one that gave Isaiah the most trouble when it came to people teasing him, but she didn't always seem to care.

"I don't know he's just hot." Isaiah looked over at him briefly then looked back to her as if to be checking if she was right. He just couldn't see how someone like Jonathan could be attractive to anyone he was a womanizer and borderline alcoholic.