“A story?”

“Yeah, a story from back when we were at Kadic. About us. I do not have a preference as to the tone, just tell me a story.”

Peyton paused, thinking it over. What story would be fit to tell his girlfriend of the time she could not recall? What did you tell in that situation? She could not remember anything in that time, but it still made it a difficult decision. He wanted the story to be perfect, but what story fit that? Then it hit Peyton. He knew the perfect story.

***

It was a cold autumn day. A whistle echoed through the air as crinkled variety colored leaves settled to the ground. It was 3:14. futbol practice had been going for ten minutes, and currently they were running drills to practice goalie blocks. Peyton Scott stood in the goal, blocking most of the shots that came his way. One of his fellow teammates, Devin Emerson, was currently holding the futbol, preparing for his next shot. He also made sure to take the shot at this time. Both boys looked over as the door to the closest building. Three girls exited, discussing something from the class they just left. Peyton focused in on the girl in the center of the trio, with bright red hair and vibrant green eyes. She was Peyton’s best friend, Crystal Messier. They had been friends since they had first attended Kadic, and were practically inseparable when they had free time.

Crystal looked up as she and her friends walked past the futbol field. Devin took a few steps back before taking the shot. Peyton smirked, preparing his usual routine. He would catch the ball then wave to Crystal right as she walked past. Peyton held his hands in position, knowing exactly where the ball was headed. He watched Crystal from the corner of his eye when something caught his attention. Peyton turned his head slightly, trying to figure it out. Something about Crystal looked different today. Crystal smiled at Peyton and waved. Peyton smiled back and waved, before taking a futbol to the face. Several winces and “ohhhs” could be heard from across the field. Peyton rubbed his nose before laughing, waving off his concern teammates and flashing a smile at Crystal. Crystal sighed with relief and continued on to her dance class. Practice continued as usual for the rest of the day with no more issues.

The next day came as usual. Peyton and Devin were out once again for practice at 3:14. Devin and Peyton had made sure everything was okay before going out on the field today. They were on the same page, in sync, and everything was in place. Both boys glanced over as Crystal and her friends left the building. Devin turned his attention back to the futbol. He took a few steps back, then charged forward and connected his foot with the ball. It was a great shot, but easy for someone like Peyton to catch. Devin followed the shot and watched in horror as the ball slammed into the side of Peyton’s face again. Peyton stumbled back a few steps and rubbed the side of his head, but flashed a reassuring smile at Crystal, allowing the girl to move on.

Devin frowned, knowing something was up. For several months now, Peyton had performed that move flawlessly, but suddenly he wasn’t able to catch a ball and wave to his best friend? Devin watched as Peyton was escorted over to the physical trainer to get checked for a concussion. He crossed his arms and huffed when suddenly the captain of the team, Bryan Jenkins, came up to him.

“Devin, is Peyton sick or something? Is he stressed out? Is there something on his mind? Why has he not been focused during warm ups the past two days?” Devin shook his head and shrugged.

“I don’t know, captain. He says he’s fine and everything else in practice would indicate so, but he’s just failed such a basic move he’s been able to successfully perform for months. I kick him the ball, he catches it, then waves to Crystal. It’s simple, smooth, and he’s never had issues with it before. But… you’re right. Something’s up. Should we confront him about it?” Bryan waved his hand in a dismissive fashion.

“No, let it slide for now. However, if this happens again, I’m having a talk with him. We have a game Sunday and it is not something we can afford to lose. Peyton is our best goalie and if his head is in the clouds then we are going to suffer. Do you understand?” Devin nodded sharply.

The next practice arrived quickly. Once again, Devin and Peyton had talked prior to the practice. They had gone over everything and made sure they would not falter today. So 3:14 rolled around, both boys in position. The doors to the building opened, and out came Crystal and her friends. Peyton looked over at Crystal, Devin hit the ball, and Peyton tried to focus on the ball, but he couldn’t, and he saw stars as the ball slammed into the side of his head. Devin winced and looked over at Bryan. The team captain’s arms were crossed and he looked very displeased. He walked over to Peyton and helped him up, saying something that only Peyton could hear to him.

“We’re going to meet about this after practice,” he said. Peyton swallowed roughly and nodded. Practice ended too soon for Peyton’s liking. After the team broke from their final thoughts, Bryan signaled for Peyton to follow him. Walking with his tail between his legs, Peyton told Devin to go on without him, and followed Bryan to the conference room of the locker room. Bryan shut the door behind Peyton and gestured for him to sit down. Peyton sat down and Bryan sat across from him. Bryan folded his hands, took a deep breath, and looked at Peyton silently, waiting for an explanation.

“Sir, I don’t know what’s wrong. I’m fine other than that one move and I-” Bryan held up his hand, stopping Peyton.

“Don’t lie to me, Peyton,” Bryan replied, causing Peyton to stiffen slightly. “I am trying to do what’s best for the team. You are our best goalie, and I don’t want to lose this game Sunday. But I will risk it if my goalie has decided to disrespect me by lying.”

“But I am not lying! I don’t know what’s wrong. I just… get distracted.”

“By what, Peyton?” Bryan watched as color flushed Peyton’s face. He looked away from Bryan, biting his lip while trying to come up with an excuse or explanation that would satisfy Bryan. Bryan began to mentally analyze the situation of Peyton’s trick. “Is it the girls, Peyton? Are they distracting you?” Peyton remained silent, but the way he seemed to grow more uncomfortable at the suggestion, meaning Bryan was on the right track. “Which one is it, Peyton? Is it Lily?” No reaction from Peyton. “Verona?” No reaction there either. “Crystal, then?” Peyton shifted ever so slightly. It would have been unnoticeable had Bryan not been looking for it. But it was a dead give away. There was something going on between Peyton and Crystal.

Bryan tapped his foot against the floor as he thought it over. What could it possibly be? The two were best friends. Crystal always came to Peyton’s games and Peyton always attended her dances. They were inseparable in their spare time but it was well known that the two were just friends, nothing more. Had they possibly gotten into a fight? No, they still seemed to be in a friendly situation since Crystal always stopped to check on Peyton after he took a ball to the face. Was one of them dating someone knew? Peyton certainly wasn’t. Crystal wasn’t as far as Bryan knew. Then it hit him.

“Peyton, what is your current relationship with Crystal?” Peyton stiffened slightly. He shrugged almost apathetically, but it was obvious he was forcing the calm facade.

“Oh you know, best friends. That hasn’t changed.” Bryan narrowed his eyes observing Peyton’s expression. Peyton’s facade wasn’t very strong. It was easy to hear the pain of the statement in his voice and the way his eyes were not focused on Bryan only furthered the image. It was just as Bryan suspected.

“Peyton.” Peyton looked up at Bryan. “Do you like Crystal?” That seemed to strike a nerve with Peyton. His eyes widened and he began to panic, trying to come up with a response.

“Well y-yeah. I have to if we’re best friends,” he managed.

“No Peyton.” Bryan saw Peyton look down at his lap. The man wasn’t stupid, he had known exactly what Bryan had meant when the question was posed. He didn’t want to answer. “Do you like like Crystal?” Peyton fiddled with his thumbs in his lap for a minute before sighing and putting his face in his hands with a loud groan.

“Is it that obvious?” Peyton asked through his hands. Bryan sighed. He stood up and walked over to Peyton, taking a seat next to him. Bryan pat Peyton’s shoulder.

“In my interactions with you, not really. But after you get hit in the face with a futbol three days in a row when you’ve been able to perform that same move flawlessly since the beginning of the year, it was easy to figure out something was up.” Bryan looked at Peyton sternly. “You are going to ask her out, right?” Peyton opened his fingers and glared at Bryan.

“Why on earth would I do that?”

“Well, you like her, don’t you? Seems like a simple enough explanation for me.”

“Yeah but… she doesn’t like me that way.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do, all right?” Peyton snapped, slamming his fists against the table. He tightened his fists and breathed hard, gathering himself. “Sorry. It’s just frustrating. I can tell she only wants to be friends. And I can’t let the fact that I want to… that I want to be more than just friends ruin our friendship.” Peyton shook his head. “I don’t even know when it happened. It just did. I heard her laugh and it was like bells on the wind. I started noticing all these small details about her and I can’t help but get all nervous around her now. And it sucks because she’s not…” Peyton put his head back into his hands then slammed his face against the table.


“Careful. It’s a miracle you don’t already have a concussion. There’s a reason Devin’s our penalty kicker.” Peyton groaned against the table. Bryan put his hand on his chin and thought it over. What could they do? Peyton was convinced that Crystal only wanted to be friends but was that entirely true? This was something worth looking into, for Peyton’s sake. The team was family after all, and brothers helped brothers.

“Tell you what,” Bryan prompted after a moment, “how about we try to help you out. We futbol players have to stick together, do we not? Helping each other out is in our code of honor.” Peyton turned his head so that Bryan could see his disbelieving stare and raised eyebrow. “Don’t give me that look. We’re going to get you with Crystal. If she isn’t already into you now, then she will be by the end of this year.”

***

“After that, the futbol team did everything they could to set you and I up. It wasn’t big things, just small details like getting me stuff to give you or giving me tickets to an event you would like. Small things. I would like to think that maybe it helped in our relationship, but I don’t know what you were thinking at the time.” Peyton chuckled and sighed. “They were actually going to help me confess to you the night of the meteor shower, but uh… well things didn’t exactly…” Peyton’s expression darkened and he shook his head. “I lost you and the others the week before. I was so shell shocked and with everything that went on following that, I ended up leaving the futbol team. They were still friends but I just… I didn’t feel welcome anymore. Not that it matters anymore. I have you and that’s all that really counts.”