“Here we go, Panthers!” I cheered, watching tonight's football game at the center of the squad.

“Oh shit!” Cindy gasped as Caleb was suddenly tackled hard, his head slamming into the turf.

The stadium went silent as Harlow and a few other teammates ran from various parts of the field, dropping to the ground next to Caleb as Coach Gray joined.

“I don’t like you,” I whispered to myself, clenching my pompoms to my chest, “But you can’t be hurt.”

No one seemed to breathe; everything was still until Caleb finally sat up, pulling his helmet off. He nodded to tell Coach Gray he was fine, and someone in the crowd cheered, my guess being Caleb’s mother. This led to a cacophony of noise as Caleb jumped to his feet, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders.

“He’s bleeding,” I yelled to Heather, and she looked over, “Caleb! There’s blood on his forehead.”

“He’ll be fine!” She yelled back, “Get in position!”

We did as she said and started a new cheer. While I was able to keep time, I couldn’t take my gaze off Caleb. It didn’t make sense to me that I was staring, but he suddenly looked over at me and nodded, making my face warm as I turned my gaze away.

The game came to a close an hour later, our team barely managing to win. I ran onto the field to see Harlow with Gracie, making Harlow laugh as his entire face was red and covered with sweat.

“Man, I’m exhausted,” he whined, accepting water from Gracie, “Thanks.”

“What the hell was that?” A deep voice carried over, and the three of us looked to the right.

Caleb was standing there, staring at a man who managed to frighten him, something that shocked me. I had never seen Caleb seem so small and scared, gripping the sides of his pants. I realized it was his father as they were identical, and he kept tearing into Caleb, not listening when Coach Gray tried to interfere and calm the situation, which made no sense to me, as we had only won the game because of Caleb making an impressive throw to Harlow, who managed to get a touchdown just before the clock ran out. Harlow and Caleb made for a hell of a duo, as if they were born to play football together, and everyone could see that.

“Dad, I,” Caleb’s voice fluttered over to me, softer than ever, and made the ice in my heart when it came to him crack just a little.

“Shut up,” His father suddenly grabbed Caleb’s facemask and, in an impressive show of strength, threw him onto the ground.

I immediately dropped what I was holding and started to run over, unsure why I was doing this, when Harlow grabbed me around the waist, lifting me off the ground.

“Let me go,” I pounded on his arms, trying to wiggle free.

“Don’t get involved,” Harlow hissed, “It won’t end well for you.”

Caleb took a moment to look over at us before making direct eye contact with Harlow and mouthing, “Thank you.”

“Caleb,” I whispered to no one but myself, “Why?”

Caleb slowly got to his feet, pulling his helmet off as Coach Gray and a few other staff members dragged his father off the field. He quickly made his way to the locker room, his face red as he was embarrassed, and Harlow finally set me down once Caleb was out of sight.

“Gracie, can you stay with Aster? I know you’re friends. I need to get out of my uniform,” Harlow sighed, “I just don’t want them to be alone right now.”

“Mhm. My mom is picking me up in a bit, so we’ll wait out front for you." Gracie hooked her arm with mine, and we went to get my bag, finding a bench in front of the school to wait for our rides home, “Aster? Why were you worried about Caleb? You hate him.”

“I don’t,” I shook my head, picking at a small red bandage on my finger that I had taken from the little box Caleb gave me, “I just don’t like him. But that doesn’t mean I want to see him hurt, and that was bullshit!”

“I know,” she sighed, laying her head on my shoulder, “I like the bandage. I want cute ones like that. Where’d you get it?”

“Oh my… sister,” I lied, not wanting to tell her that it was from Caleb, “Oh! Crap, I forgot my sweats in Coach Equa’s office. Will you be okay here for a minute while I run inside? I’ll be right back.”

“Sure,” Gracie shrugged, smiling as I rushed off with my things and into the school.

It was quiet in the hallway, and only the emergency lights were giving me a guide. The school was still open as there were always activities going on, and I had permission from the Headmaster to use Coach Equa’s office as a place to keep my things during games. I had just grabbed my sweats and left the office, tucking them into my bag without looking where I was going, when I walked into what I assumed to be a wall. Raising my head, I realized it was Caleb, standing still in the hallway.

“Caleb?” I tilted my head, and he turned around, looking down at me.

“Oh. You’re still here,” he scoffed, his voice a bit thick, and I slowly reached up, touching a tear on his cheek, “Wh-What are you… doing?”

“You’re crying.”

“No, I’m not. Guys, don’t cry.”

“Then tell Harlow that because he cries all the time,” I giggled, “How’s your forehead?”

“Why do you care?”

“Because you were bleeding.”

“It’s fine,” he wiped his nose on his sleeve before he caught sight of my right hand, “You… kept the bandages?”

“I did,” I shrugged, “I think they’re cute. I wore the red one because it matched my outfit before the game. I can give them back, though. I keep them in my bag,” I started to grab the box from my satchel, and Caleb stopped me, holding my wrist.

“Just… keep them.”

“Why?”

“Don’t worry about it. I have to go. Also, I don’t like you, and we didn’t have this semi-friendly conversation tonight. Got it?”

“Got it. I don’t like you either.”

Caleb flashed me a crooked smile before hiking his bag further on his shoulder and heading down the hallway to the doors. He turned once to look at me, and I gave him a small wave. He watched me for a second before nodding and rushing outside.

“I don’t like you," I repeated, chewing my lip.

I made a quick stop at my locker, finding a weird note sitting on top of my books. Harlow and I had shared for years and separated the locker by a shelf. Anything on the bottom was his; on the shelf, and to the top was mine. Everyone who knew us was aware of this, which meant that the note was for me.

Aster.

Next football game. Meet me under the bleachers when it ends. We need to talk.

There was no name attached to the note, and I didn’t recognize the handwriting. With a shrug, I shoved it into my pocket and raced out of the school, finding Kieran waiting for us, Harlow already in the car.

“How was the game? Dad and I are sorry we couldn’t be here. We had a bunch of inventory to do for our shops.” Kieran sighed, fixing his glasses before pulling away from the curb.

“We won!” Harlow cheered from the front seat as I fiddled with the note in my pocket. “Caleb got his shit rocked though, surprised he kept playing.”

“Language.” Kieran sighed, “Aster? You good, babe?”

“Hm? Oh, fine. Just tired. I have a lot of homework to do when we get home. Did Dad make dinner?”

“Yeah, your favorite.”

“Lasagna?”

“Yep.”

“Awesome.” I leaned against the window and closed my eyes, my thoughts scattered.

Once dinner was done, I went to take a quick shower and got started on my homework at the dining table. I had a desk next to Harlow’s, but he was always loud when he did anything, and I found it hard to focus even with my headphones on.

“Pai?” I called, and Kieran came over, sitting next to me. “What does this mean?” I pointed to the question and he stared for a moment before drawing a graph on a spare piece of paper, walking me through the equation. “Oh. Thanks.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? You just seem a little… off.”

“I’ll be fine.” I shrugged.

“Alright, but if you want to talk, we’re here.”

“I know.”

“Frankie?” Ren called, knocking on the door to the bathroom my sisters shared. “Honey, are you okay? You’ve been in there a while.”

“Sorry, I’m fine!” Frankie called back.

I let their conversation go and went back to my homework, finishing quickly and deciding to go to bed. Harlow was still working, but I set my headphones to noise-canceling mode and cuddled down, grateful that he had turned off the overhead light and switched to his lamp.

The concern Ren had for Frankie anytime she was in the bathroom for a while flashed back to two years ago in my head, and I slipped into a dream of that period of our lives. Frankie had been sick for a few days, and Ren took her to the urgent care. He assumed she was pregnant, both of my parents did, but it turned out that my 15-year-old sister had stage two uterine cancer. It terrified all of us, thinking Frankie was going to die. We thought that it had been handled when it was decided she would have a partial hysterectomy, everything but her ovaries removed, until Kieran came home to give us bad news.

“They found more tumors.” Kieran sat between Harlow and me, Fern on the couch across from us. “They’re in the lymph nodes on Frankie’s neck and her armpits. It’s been decided she’ll undergo radiation and chemotherapy. She’ll be living in the hospital until she’s in remission.”

“Is she going to die?” Harlow sniffled.

“No. We don’t think so. They caught it early and have hope that the treatment will work. Dad and I will take turns spending the night with her until she can come home. That’s why Mamie was here last night. Ren will stay with Frankie tonight, and after I take you to school tomorrow, he’ll be here. Fern, we hate to ask because you’re busy, but can you finish your classes before the twins get out of school? Do you mind picking them up and bringing them home?”

“Not at all. I can do that before I go to work at the salon.” Fern wiped her eyes, and I moved over to cuddle with her, my arms around her stomach. “It’s going to be okay, bug. Frankie will come home. I promise.”

“When they have games or practice, one of us will get them so you don’t have to. Dad and I worked this all out; it’s going to be okay.”

“Okay,” I whispered, holding my sister tightly as she rubbed my back.

Going to school the next day was hard, as Harlow and I had to share with our teachers what was happening. I was given a free period after lunch, as it was clear I was having trouble processing, and I spent most of that time running laps on the track before sitting on a bench, trying not to cry.

“Damn, you gave up fast,” a squeaky voice called, and I raised my head to find Caleb.

He was still taller and bulky at 14, but not the beast he now was at 16. He had a buzzcut at this point as well, but the same warm brown eyes and a face full of pimples.

“Leave me alone,” I sniffled, wiping my nose. “Just for today. I don’t want to even be near you.”

Caleb stopped before he sat on the ground in front of me, looking at the trees that surrounded the track. “What happened?”

“You don’t care.”

“I don’t, but I also think you need to tell someone.”

“My sister has cancer,” I whispered. “She can’t come home for a while.”

“Is she going to be okay?”

“They think so. But I’m scared. I don’t want to lose Frankie. She’s my best friend.”

“I… I’m sorry.” Caleb whispered, never turning to look at me. “She’ll be okay.”

“How can you know that?”

“Because she has to be for you. I can’t handle how annoying you’ll be if she dies.”

I let out a tear-filled laugh, and Caleb chuckled, finally looking at me over his shoulder. “I don’t like you.”

“I don’t like you either,” He whispered, poking my cheek to wipe a tear away. “Stop crying.”

“Stop watching me cry, then.”

“Fine.” Caleb shrugged, turning back around. “I won’t.”

I started to cry quietly, my face in my hands, and Caleb never moved, sitting with me until the bell rang. He left without a word, and I watched him go, cleaning my face as best I could.

The dream ended here, and I slowly woke up, the bedroom dark and Harlow snoring in his bed next to me. I quietly left the room to get water, finding my parents watching a movie on the couch.

“Hey, bug. Why are you up?” Ren called quietly.

“Just thirsty.” I shrugged. “I’ll go back to bed, don’t worry.”

“Are you okay?”

“Mhm. I’ll be fine.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise, Dad.”