"My mom said she can help you, just call her anytime," Daniel said to Will.

Will was standing in the hidden corner where the teens went to smoke.

Lately, the wrestling team had been trying to persuade him.

Even their coach came to talk to him, and when Will told him he did not need to worry about him because he was no longer his advisor, the look on the coach's face made Will worry.

That is why he needs to make sure his new advisor is on his side — the literature teacher, Miss Vera, and a big fan of his godmother's books.He was sure that one phone call and a dedication in her new book would help him.

Will inhaled from his cigarette.

"Did you have time to check what I asked you on the trip?" he asked Daniel, referring to the moment he had asked him to dig up dirt on the kid from the wrestling team.

"I'm on it," Daniel replied. "I’m trying to figure out their real online account. I asked Morgan, but it seems like he doesn’t know much about them either."

"You talked to Morgan? Since when are you two close?"

"Since the trip. We exchanged numbers."

Will let out a satisfied laugh. "Oh, God… Please tell me you're going somewhere."

Daniel gave a dismissive exhale. "I wish. We talk almost every day, and all he wants is to talk about you. It really hurts my pride."

"Why does he want to talk about me?" Will finished his cigarette. He noticed he still had time before class started, so he decided to stay a little longer.

"He told me you and Taylor have problems. He tried to check what I know. Don't worry, I didn't tell him your relationship is a shame," Daniel said sarcastically.

"At that point, I did not care," Will said, sounding a little snappy.

"Wow... trouble in paradise? Why did you not say anything to me about it?" Daniel said, concerned.

"I wish I knew what was going on in his beautiful mind, but after we returned from the trip he started avoiding me like a leopard. It's just that he's the first friend I met here, and him avoiding me makes me really lonely."

"I'm sorry it's happening to you, bebe. I am sending you a hug from where I am."

"Maybe I could come to you this weekend and we could do something together?" Will suggested.

Daniel exhaled. "I would put a pin in that. When I talked to Morgan and he tried to come up with ways to help you fix your problems, I told him he should let the two of you figure it out yourselves. And all he heard was 'go buy them a movie ticket'..."

"WHAT?" Will said, a little too loud. A few kids turned their heads to look at him.

"I'm sorry! I tried to make him back out, but he said he would choose the movie himself! I saved you from a chick movie. I know what you think about that!" Daniel defended himself.

"Omg." Will sighed and rubbed his hand over his eyes. "And how am I supposed to go with someone who cannot spare me a glance?"

"I do not know, bebe. That is like... you have to go with him. But I really think you two should talk. I did not want to bring it up over the phone, but I have seen a lot of secret glances you give each other when you thought nobody was noticing. Well, I noticed! I started to think your fake relationship might not be as fake as you both want to believe." Daniel said sincerely.

Will became silent for a moment.

"You are really observant," Will said in a bitter tone.

"I know. Many people have said that before you. Frankly, I am a little hurt that you only just came to this conclusion," Daniel said, shifting the conversation to a lighter mood.

Will heard the first bell and sighed.

"Angel, I should go to class. If things do not work out with the movie ticket, I will come be with you. I will talk to you later. Love you," Will said, starting to head to his class.

"Love you too, bebe. Cheer up—everything will turn out okay."

The dedication on the book does its work and his advisor stays Miss Vera. But sadly for him, she told him he needs to stay in Spanish class. And after he told her he is fluent in Spanish every time she sees him in the hallway, she talks to him in Spanish.

From Taylor's point of view, avoiding Will wasn’t easy. He could stop himself from looking at him or talking to him, but nothing could stop him from thinking about him.

It was getting harder to keep his blood in his head and not let it travel down.

He tried to keep himself busy by practicing every chance he got. But he discovered it didn’t help as much as he’d hoped—especially when, during the last practice, he didn’t fall quite right and ended up straining a muscle in his hand.

He was sitting on the bench with a gloomy look on his face. He had finished the extra laps the coach gave him, since he couldn’t really play with just one hand.

“Try to take it easy this weekend. When you get home, put some ice on it. You can go first and take a shower,” the coach told him.

He nodded and went to the shower. Nobody else was there, so he didn’t need to bother his teammates.

By the time he finished getting dressed, his teammates had already entered the locker room.

"Good, you are here!" Morgan said as he saw him. "Wait for me and we will go to the cars together. I have something to give you." His face was full of excitement as he skipped to the shower room.

The sun was starting to sink as they left school. As always, they had parked next to each other. Morgan turned to him with an unreadable expression, and it seemed to surprise him when he took his hand.

"It has been clear that you have not been happy for the past few days," Morgan said slowly, as if he were considering what to say next.

Taylor's eyes widened, and he pressed his lips into a thin line.

Morgan continued, "I do not like seeing you anxious. I miss the carefree version of you. I think Will is really good for you, and I do not know what has been going on between you lately, but I want to help fix it."

"You do not need to worry about it," Taylor said. His mouth was dry, so his voice came out hoarse.

"You're my friend! Of course I need to worry. And I can see it is affecting Will too. I considered asking if we should go on a double date again, but Daniel said I should let you figure it out on your own—and Megan agreed with him."

Morgan stopped to take a breath and looked at Taylor.

Taylor's expression was completely horrified.

What kind of conclusion did Morgan reach?

He clearly thought about it seriously if he went as far as to consult Daniel and Megan.

Daniel knows the truth about Taylor and Will's relationship.

Since when have Daniel and Morgan been talking?

And what would happen if Daniel accidentally let something slip?

Taylor pulled his hand away from Morgan and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Sorry, does your hand still hurt?"

"Not as much as before. But that’s not it. They were right—Will and I should fix our own problems, so you don’t need to worry," Taylor said, trying to keep a determined look on his face.

Morgan pulled out his phone.

"I gave it almost a week and nothing changed between you two, so I booked you movie tickets. You can thank Daniel for picking the movie," he said, sending Taylor the tickets.

Taylor opened his mouth to protest, but Morgan was quicker.

"They’re nonrefundable, so make sure to go with Will." He waved and got into his car.

"Love you!" he added casually, leaving a stunned Taylor standing there.

After dinner, Taylor knew he was running out of time—the tickets were for tomorrow, after all.

He picked up his phone, his finger hovering over Will's contact.

Eventually, he pressed it and held his breath until Will answered, his voice slightly panting.

"Took you long enough," Will said.

"What?" Taylor asked, caught off guard.

"I said, you took your sweet time to call me."

Taylor couldn’t tell if Will sounded angry or if he was teasing.

The silence stretched too long for Will’s liking.

"Are you still there?" he asked sharply.

Taylor jumped, surprised. He nodded instinctively, as if Will could see him.

"Why do you sound like that?" he asked before thinking.

"What’s wrong with how I sound?" Will replied, his voice low and slow, like he was trying not to snap.

"Nothing! It’s just—you sound out of breath. I thought I might be bothering you or something," Taylor explained quickly.

"I am not busy. I hit the punching bag to release tension. You think you are the only athlete between the two of us," Will said, and Taylor laughed.

All Will could think was, You are lucky you are sexy.

"Now it comes back to me that you said you know how to fight," Taylor said.

And now Will laughed. "That’s one way to put it."

Will’s laugh gave Taylor goosebumps, and he felt like he’d just been punched in the stomach.

"I..." Taylor tried to apologize but didn’t know where to start.

It wasn’t Will’s fault he was struggling with his own feelings. Will never should have had to take the heat for that.

"I want... No, I need to apologize to you. You’ve been nothing but a good friend to me, and I acted like an ass toward you."

Will did not even try to contradict him.

"You are right. I am truly an amazing friend."

"The best! And because of that, I would like to take you to a movie."

"How generous of you. So, what movie did Morgan and Daniel pick for us?" Will said, half sarcastic.

Taylor gasped in surprise. "You know?"

"Mmm... Daniel told me earlier. Lucky for you, my schedule is free so I can come with you. Is it okay if I bring my car and we go together?" Will asked Taylor. Somehow, Will felt more comfortable bringing his own car.

"Sure, I don't mind," Taylor said quietly. "I'll send you the details. See you tomorrow."

He was in a hurry to hang up.

He looked down and silently thanked the universe that he didn’t have to drive tomorrow—because he wasn’t sure he could, not when just talking to Will got him hard. Like right now.