Page 4 of False Start

Ah, school. I do love school. I love this town. I’m going to miss it like crazy when I graduate next month and then leave for college after summer. But at least I’ll have my best friend with me.

“Get off me.” Austin shoves me away when I wrap my arm around his shoulder.

My very grumpy best friend. I laugh, “Aw, don’t be like that.”

Austin’s light-blue eyes narrow in my direction as he fills his backpack with the books he needs from his locker. “We’re way later than I wanted to be.”

“And yet, the bell hasn’t even rung yet,” I point out unhelpfully, but I’m still grinning because it’s cute he thinks he can be mad at me. It wasn’t my fault my bed was all nice and warm, even after he left it this morning. Anyone would have fallen back asleep.

He closes his locker door, and I’m sure he’s about to rip into me again for making him late, but he tenses briefly when we both hear a familiar voice coming from behind us. “Uh-oh. Did he make you late again, Austin?”

Van.

I grin as I turn around to greet her. She’s dressed for spring in a pair of short jean shorts that could probably get her in trouble and a Big Bend Bears jersey I gave her from my freshmen year.

“You know it,” Austin says. “He’s your problem now.”

Van laughs at that, amused, I guess. “Yeah right. We both know we share custody.”

I roll my eyes. “You both know I’m right here, right?”

They just share an amused grin with each other. I’m a lucky guy, if I’m honest. My best friend and my girlfriend get along really well. Usually, their time together is spent making fun of me, but I’m a big boy. I can take it.

It’s clear too that Vanessa is still pretty annoyed with me for not wanting to move in together our first year of college. But I mean... come on. That’s crazy. Yeah, we’ve been dating for a while, but we’re still really young. I’m not ready for that kind of commitment, and I really think she’ll understand when she’s done being pissed.

We all start walking down the hallway toward our first classes of the day. I don’t have any classes with Austin until the afternoon—the fucker is usually in the advanced courses—but I do have one with Vanessa first thing.

“I can’t wait for college. No more waking up early.”

“Who’s going to tell him?” Vanessa asks Austin, nudging him in the arm with her elbow.

He just shakes his head and sighs. “He can probably schedule most of his classes for the afternoon.”

“I’m pretty sure college football practice starts at the ass crack of dawn a lot,” Van says, and I frown.

“Well, fuck.”

They both laugh at my annoyance. I see a couple of people I know and nod to them as we pass, making our way down the hall. Yeah, I’m really going to miss this.

“You going to go to some of the football games with me?” Van asks, and I realize she’s talking to Austin. We’ve stopped walking because we’re right outside his first class. “We can make fun of the jocks together.” She waggles her eyebrows at him, and he smiles.

God, I love that smile.

It’s one of those things that’s hard-won, but so damn beautiful when you get to see it. “Yeah, I don’t know about that.”

“You know Austin and the sports,” I say, grabbing him around the neck and ruffling his hair. He laughs but pushes me away.

“Theyarepretty damn boring.”

I scoff, placing a hand over my heart in mock horror. The funny thing about Vanessa is she’s a cheerleader, but she does it in an ironic way, I guess. She wears dark eyeliner and even had pink hair our sophomore year. She’s edgy and cool but really talented when she’s cheering for her favorite player, if I do say so myself.

Before any of us can say another thing though, Austin is shoved into my side when bigass Calvin comes barreling down the hall. I know instantly that he did it on purpose, and being twice the size as my best friend, he could have really hurt him.

I reach out and grab the collar of his shirt and slam him against the locker. “Watch where you’re going, asshole.”

“Vaughn.” I hear Austin, but I just see red. It’s bullshit how the guys at this school treat him. They always have. He’s on the smaller side, and he doesn’t like sports. At. All. He doesn’t quite fit in here, but that doesn’t mean they get to bully him.

Calvin may be as big as his brother, Curtis, maybe even bigger, but I’m meaner when it comes to my best friend. How do they not know that already?

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