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The following story is adult in nature and does contain consensual sex between high school teenagers within the age of consent laws where the author livbes in the Midwest US. Themes of underage drug and alcohol use are depicted along with illegal parties and contains all the high school drama we dealt with. All characters contained within are property of the aurhor and my not be used in your stories with out the authors express written consent. Some songs are copyright to The Goo Goo Dolls/ Warner Music Group Simply said this story is not for mintors under the age of 17 or antyone offended by the tehemes contained within. You have been warned. If you are okay with this than buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Chapter 1 - The Last School Year

It was a crisp fall day when school started that year. Nate sat outside Alyssa house as he blared on the horn to let her know to hurry up. Alyssa the lioness ran out of the front door a popstars hanging out of her mouth with a bac pack on one shoulder and a coat half on the other as she ran for the car. She opened the door and got in setting her back pack at her feet and putting her coat on full as she said, " Sorry I overslept." "On the first day of school? Thats a record." Nate replied as he backed out of the drive way and headed down the street. Apache Falls was a small town tucked away in the woods of Minnesota in the middle of the state, but to these two they called it home.

"I must have forgot to set my alarm last night. Was busy trying to get my clothing ready for school today." She said. The cheetah chuckled, "Go figure, you look like a garage band groupie from the 90s. Though like I'm one to talk." "Last year. I can't believe how fast life goes by. Seems like yesterday we were playing in the sandbox in my backyard." Alyssa Said. "I know life is a fast and fragile thing. I necer dreamed I'd be where I am today. But at least we are one step closer to the rest of our lives." Nate said as he turned the corner onto the main thoroughfare that would take then to East Heights High School.

Nate pulled into the student parking lost as he found a safe place to park his eagle in the back of the lot where very few people parked. His AMC belonged to his grandmother and she gave it to him when he got his license so he was very protective of it. He found a spot and pulled in and parked as the two of them got their backpacks and exited the car and walked towards the school. "So have you heard anything from Serah?" she asked quietly kniwng how touchy of a subject it was. "No," he said "And I'd rather not. Not after what she did to me. I mean it wasnt so much the breakup i that disguised me but she humiliated me in front of the entire school." "Some people are snakes waiting to strike." Alyssa responded.

The two of them walked into the school quietly after that conversation. Nate clearly didn't want to discuss what happened. They were early for school regardless so they walked to the cafeteria where there was coffee and donuts waiting for early students. Despite this Alyssa was still late this morning as they now had only 30 minutes before class instead of a full 45 minutes. They got their coffees and donuts, paid and walked to one of the tables in the back where they sat down. "Wonder where the others are" Alyssa thought out loud. And before she could take a bite one of their friends showed up. "So did this mangy overgrown throw rug hit very traffic light on the way to school today?" "Oh ha ha very funny Ace. Theirs exactly two traffic lights on the way from my house to school and you know it." Nate said. "Actually i forgot to set my alarm clock" Alyssa said "He was waiting outside my house." "You're a bad influence on her bro." Ace said. "I blame you." Nate responded. They all just laughed.

"So you both looking forward to the last year of high school?" "Well to be honest i wont miss having to wake up early to drive myself to school anymore. "Nate smirked. "News flash" Alyssa said "You still have to do that in college." "You had to tell me that." He said. "For now I still have a couple summer projects to finish." "Like what" Ace asked. "Well i didnt get all the upgrade parts for my locomotives in time so im still working on them but at least by the end of the week ill have everything ill need so i can finish them off and bring them to the club for breaking in." "Cars, Model Trains, Guitars.....it all leads back to tech. Surprised tour not hacking your report cards." Alyssa laughed." "Never crossed my mind." said Nate. "Why would he Ive seen his AP History grade he sets the curve in that class." Ace said. "Flattery will get you no where what do you want/" Nate asked. They all has a good laugh at that.

At that moment the first bell rang for the say warning classes would start in 10 minutes. They groggily got up from their table and walked out tossing their trash along the way. They hit Nate's locker first where he unlocked the padlock and opened the door. He handed Alyssa her English textbook as she hung her jacket in his locker, They shared lockers often and kept text books in each others locker depending on how close their class was to the others locker. A coinvent idea. Nate grabbed his calculus book and than shut and locked the locker. The two of them split ways as they headed to their first class of the day. Nate walked into his first class of the day "Well Well Well look what the cat drug in, himself. WhatsApp bro" Nate slapped hands with the Red Panda and turned it into a street hand shake, "What's up Kenji How you doin?" he asked. "I might have got us all a gig " He said. "Oh? Where at?" "Their looking for bands for the homecoming dance. Figured we'd throw our hats in the running for that gig." he said. "Suppose it couldn't hurt. We haven't had much luck with gigs lately so I'm okay with it. We will have to ask the others for sure." he remarked. "Absolutely. We can ask them at lunch. I confirmed with Ace and Naomi about their lunch period this year. Seems they got 6A lunch period. same as me. I Just need to know yours and Alyssa's." he said. "6A . seems we all got the same lunch period this year." he remarked.

They Took their seats as the final bell rang for the first period. The final year had officially began. A year that would test the limits of the bond these friends shared. The day drug on and on, almost like it would never end. But halfway through the day rhey were all in their 5th period classes. Naomi and Allyssa had study hall, Nate had AP History, Kenji was in Algebra II and Ace was in shop. the friends felt like the day would never end and it was only the beginning of the year. It was a small back woods town where if you werent on the highway to the Twin Cities you would miss this small town. That interstate was the lifeblood of a 3000 population town. But these friends had each other to make it worthwhile living here.

The high school severed at least 3 small towns in the county so there was a good chance that everyone knew everyone else or at least wemt to middle school or elementary school with someone else. Yet that never stopped the usual school yard cliques from forming that always do in high school. Never so true than at lunch time. Period 6A had them all in lunch where they all sat at a table in the back of the cafeteria. Nate wandered in from one of the lines, his tray piled high with two slices of pizza, a hot dog, a pile of fries, two soda's and a cookie. He plopped down at the table next to Alyssaie who smirked and said, "Where the hell do you pack all that?" "What? Cheetahs have high metabolisms. Be sides I'll race a train later and burn off some calories." He said. "Either that or burn some of the fat off his brain." Ace said laughing. That got a laugh out of the group as Nate said, "Okay har har dee har har. Jokes aside now that we're all here, we need to discuss the offer the school admins made about us performing the Homecoming dance. Are we all in for this gig?" "I'm cool with it" Alyssa said, "What about you guys?" "A gig's a gig." Kenji said. "Better than what we usually get." Naomi chimed in. "Than it's settled. I'll email the school adminisitration that we're in for the event later." Ace said. It seems after years of trying to get every gig they could the band was finally getting something a bit more worthwhile.

About two hours later the final bell rang. Nate and Alyssaie stopped at both of their lockers to collect books for homework before heading to the front door of the school to head to the parking lot to Nate's car parked in the student parking lot. It was a chilly fall day but nothing a good fur coat couldn't handle. In fact for a cat used to warmer climates Nate's grown accustomed to Midwest weather. After alll it would be a while before he hunkered down under a warm and cozy hoodie. After popping his seat forwards and storing his backpack in the back, He put the seat back and got behind the wheel with Alyssaie doing the same. "Well that first day didnt go so well." Alyssa said. "Let me guess homework overload on day one?" Nate asked. "Of course." Came her response. Nate pulled out of the spot and exited the school property turning onto the road that led to their neighborhood. It was a small town they lived that hosted the high school so it would only be a short trip. At least for now. Alysia's neighborhood was an opposite block from Nate's just separated from the forest trees. Nate's side of the tree's was a housing area of big cats known as Pride Row. A Cauldesac street with houses full of big cat families. It had a reputation for being a dangerous place but that was a rumor unsubstantiated. Truth is they only got aggressive if you came in and disturbed the peace. It really was a quiet peaceful street in the neighborhood.

Nate pulled into Alyssa's driveway and she got out after grabbign her backpack and said "See you tomorrow" "Later Chess," He said as he backed out of the driveway and headed back the way he came only this time he took the turn off the main road and headed into his part of the neighborhood. Pride Row was not like your typical low income neighborhood/ In fact it was a middle class neighborhood, but so named because a lot of big cats migrated here decades ago and made this street home. Nate pulled into his driveway using his remote opener for the garage door and pulled in. A Ford Windstar sat in one of the bays, "Looks like mom's home from work."

Nate's family relationship was a bit of an odd one. I suppose some backstory is in order here. You see when Nate was born he was born to a meth addicted birth mother who left the hospital with him when he was born after they booted her out and went to a drug house to smoke up. It was 10 degrees out that March. She left her new infant son in the car freezing to death while she lit up. The upside to this story iws that drug house was on the days raid list by the sheriff's department. When the raid happened she along with her meth dealers and buddies were all arrested. It was than a depty looked into the car to prep it for a tow and saw the infant. Barely clinging to life, the deputy smashes the drive's side window, unlocked the car doors and got the carrier with the infant out and into his warm cruiser, He that took off for the hospital knowing that it would be too late for an ambulance.

Once at the hospital Nate barely clinging to life was taken to be put in one of those infant chambers they use for premise. Doctors siad he wouldn't live the night, How wrong they were. Nate not only survived the night but the nurse on staff told a fellow nurse who was a friend of heir's who worked the ICU floor. Tabitha came down on her break to visit this infant she was told about and the little man stole her heat. Tabitha was an ocelot not a cheetah but that didnt matter tro her. When she found out he would be shipped off to a foster home when recovered she moved as fast as she could to petition the courts for adoption with the backing of hospital administration. To cut a long story short, the papers were signed and Tabitha brought her new son home.

Every opportunity she gave him He took. While she wasn't a helicopter parent she was always in his corner. When the schools fucked him over they heard mama bear coming a mile away. No one in her mind would ever hurt her son. She spent a lot on him too. Like for little league Making sure he had decent equipment. Paying for guitar lessons when she got him his first guitar. And finally she bough an above ground pool for those hot summer days. But despite that she made it clear he was loved and no matter what anyone said, Family wasn't about blood it was about unconditional love.

Nate walked in the door form the garage, "Mom, I'm home." "In the spare bedroom, one second." Tabitha walked out of the second bedroom. This house had three, Nate's room was opposite of the guest room and his mom's was off the living room. "Sorry about that," she said, "So how was your first day?" "Well despite a certain lioness being late this morning, homework overload on the first day. However our band was asked to play the homecoming dance by the school, Guess someone saw one of our gig's over summer and liked so we said yes." "That's fantastic. You guys have really been pushing every chance you get to make this band work, eventually it will pay off." "One can hope. We've been picking at this for years and it seems like we go no where always stuck in reverse." Nate said. "Patience be the spoils for the victor." she said. "By the way mom what were you doing in the guest room? Cleaning?" he asked. "Oh yeah i forgot to mention, your aunt Liz got evicted after the divorce and so i told her She and her boys could move in while they look for a new place." Tabitha said. "Come on mom, Tyler and Damion are 10 and 14. Their rowdy and obnoxious especially when Tyler' sugared up. My personal space is going to be violated for sure now." Nate protested. "No it won't. I told your aunt Liz to keep them under control. Besides you shouldn't be rude to your cousins." She said.. "Yeah if they'd leave me to my personal space and not touched the stuff in my room." he huffed under his breath as he walked to his room.

The way his room was set up is he walked in at the far end of the room around a corner was an L shaped bunk bed with his computer desk under the top bunk and his futon mattress on the L shape. next to that was an entertainment system that housed his game systems and tv with a storage shell for DVD's and games next to it. along the far wall on the o ther side of the desk was an HO scale layout module system that had three tracks and housed his trains, it also doubled as a DCC programming track. Next to the back of the mdules was the cloest door which you saw as you entered his room. On the wall next to the bedroom door was a set of Ikea dressers, with shelves above it that housed his collectables And trophies. The wall over his bed have several signs on them "Burlington Northern, Chicago Burling and Quincy, Great Northern, Northern Pacific, Spokane Portland and Seattle, Dallas and Fort Worth, Colorado and Sourthern, And Frisco. On what should have been the top bunk he didnt have a mattress on it as he used it for box storage of various things./ His carpet was gray plush and his walls were sky blue. It was his santuary and he liekd it how it was.

The desk under the top bunk sat his Computer setup which ironically was his PlayStation 2. More on that later. And over that dresser's wall were railroad logo's, Burlington Norther, Chicago Burlington and Quincy, Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Colorado and Southern, Fort Worth and Dallas, and Frisco. To the side of the closer door was his minifridge and Microwave that sat on top. This way if his blood sugar dipped too low he had east acess to something to bring it back up. Believe it or not this was his mom's idea. Since he had a srrage drawer under his futon he kpt his clothes in there and teh dressers, The colest being used to house his baseball and airsoft gear and winter clothing.

It was a small room but to him this was his sanctuary and the last thing he wanted was his cousins invading it, especially with the collectables and trophies on the top shelf above the deck. But this was his mom's home, here name was on the title deed so she could invite anyone in she wanted. At least his door has a lock on it. He say down at his desk as above mentioned was his PlayStation 2 on top of a system selector stand and hooked into a Sony PlayStation branded monitor with his network adapter plugged into the router which went into the modem which went into the wall outlet. He has a zip drive plugged in and a special memory card. See his system was different besides playing disc games he had it rigged with a special memory card that temporarily changed the vies and acted as a mod chip. He has a 16TB internal SSD thanks to a sata conversion on the adapter which houses all his emulators, game saves if allowed, and his copy of yellow dog linux making this PlayStation 2 a full computer system. Along with a mouse and keyboard and a motion camera rigged as a weld cam and a 4.1 speaker system he was in business. His memory cars were digital and had 9 pages of storage and he has wireless controller adapters for his wireless Xbox controllers.

He booted up into the operating system and pulled up wordpad to start working on his AP history report. First day of school and already doing reports geez. but homework was homework so he started researching his topic. He began working and by the time he looked up from his typoing, it was almost 5PM. He heard the door ring and commotion so he poked his head out of the door to his bedroom to see his mom letting his Aunt Liz and his cousins Damion and Tyler in. "Oh he we go," He said to himself. Its not like he bullied his cousins or disliked them he just didn't like their behavior. They were always pestering him when he was trying to do things. Now this was going to be an uphill battle and he just got caught in the crossfire.

"Well look whose here, instead of at a motel." Nate said closing his bedroom door . "Oh shush noy, im not putting my sister and her boys up in a motel when there's room here." Tabitha said. "Oh its's fine it's just going to take some adjustments from all of us. I do appreciate it. I knew there was no way I could keep the house on my own. I just rode it out as far as we could go." LIz said. "Speaking of which Damion's transferring into Apache Heights High and I was wondering if he could ride with you." Liz asked. "Sorry, i have a small car and I already car pool Alyssa in the morning to school i don't have room for anyone else not even my friends.." "Bus stops at the end of the street." Tabitha said knowing she wasnt going to make Nate put up with Damion's Shenanigans.

And it got so much worse depending on who you ask. Damion had grown his hair out into cron rows and started wearing his pants so low you could see his underwear. "Man why I got to be on the bus with these ghetto kids?

Damion said. "Yeah try to refrain from calling people at school ghetto, it's not going to end well......fpr you at least. Ive been there for the last four years and i know who to avoid and who to talk to. And if you think being in high school is easy now you got another thing coming." Nate said, "And while i don't necessarily get along with you, if anyone gives you crap, you come find me you hear, I'll take care of the situation, and no mom this will not end in someone's head being hit like a home run." "Alright well enough of that let me show you were the kids will be sleeping first and than we'll have dinner." Tanitha said. Nate collapses on the living room couch as his mom showed the boys around. Aunt Liz sat on the chair opposite the couch as Nate said, "So when did you start raising a little gangster wannabe?" she rolled her eyes and said, "Its that damned MTV, they run so many rap related reality shows he got sucked into them and now he thinks he's a hardened criminal." Nate scoffed, "That attitude is going to get him beaten up in that high school. He's going to find kids tougher than him." "And your going to let that happen?" LIz asked. "No," Responded Nate, "My goal as much as I dislike his attitude, is to keep him from getting beaten up. I mean its not a dangerous school but it's still not the place to be acting a fool in. Because that student body will eat him up amd spit him out. I should know." "That reminds me, your mom told me what happened with Serah last year and how she set you up in front of the entire school. That was pretty horrible for her to do. Did everyone forget about it over summer?" asked Liz. "Most have but I haven't heard anything yet. It was after all the first day after summer break. I don't really care anymore. My friends all know the truth so it is what it is I guess." Nate said.

about an hour later as the boys were settling in Nate was laying facedown on his futon while listening to music when his mom called from outside the room just as the door bell rang "Nate can you get that? That should be dinner." "Yeah I got it," he groaned as he walked out of his room and towards the front door, "Any tip money because I'm broke til payday." he asked. "No i paid the delivery tip on the website." Nate opened the door to hear Iglesias Pizza. Three boxes were handed to him two large and one medium and a couple 2 liters of soda. "Have a nice day sir." The driver said. Nate closed the front door as he walked to the table and set the pizzas down. "Okay everyone I hooe this goes down well as I didnt have time to prepare a proper meal." Tanitha said, "One medium deep dish Chicago style spinach, mushroom and fera pizza for Nate and a large cheese and meat lovers for the rest of us." "Wiat why does he get his own?" Protested Damion. "Because he's the only one who eats' deep dish and besides consider it an apology. He knows for what." Tabitha responded. "What's the matter cuzzo? Afraid that a green vegetable might kill you?" Nate said pouring a glass of soda. "Okay boys, enough. Damion lay off your cousin. Nate your 17 act your age." Tabitha put the pizza's on the kitchen island counter as she served up the plates. "Dig in everyone. I know it was a long drive so eat up there's pleanty." She said. Despite the tension and rocky start to these living accommodation's, good times were had by all.

Halfway through dinner Nate spoke up, "Damion when you get to school meet me at the cafeteria, I;ll show you to your classes tomorrow and that's all I can do my friends and I booked the auditorium for band practice tomorrow. We should be home by five pm, which means stay the eff out of my room." "Why would I go in there anyways, it's like a sea of geeks in there." "Oh I'm so sorry it doesn't fit your fake thug aesthetic." "Yeah well it's not like you have to share a room with anyone." he retorted. "Boys enough. This is getting a bit out of hand now. Nate stop picking on your cousin, and Damion you and Tyler stay out of his room." Tabatha said. "Mom I'm not picking on him just this fake gangster attitude." "Drop it." 'Mom, I jus-" "I said drop it." she snapped. "Fine it's dropped." Nate said. "Ugh Liz why did we have boys? What were we thinking?" She asked. "Hey I still have another one so I dont feel all that bad for you." Liz said as they both laughed.

That same night on the other street Alyssa was being hounded my her older sister who was home from college after graduating and gathering her stuff to prepare for a move to St. Paul for her new job. "So How was your first day?" Kimberly asked. "Eh, kind of s8rreal to think this is our last year." she said. "So Howse Nate been? I heard from mom and dad what you told them that Sarah did. I think that was her name." "He's not wanting to talk about it, and I can see in his face it still stings. I just don't know what else to do besides give him some space and time to heal." Alyssa said. "What you mean you still haven't told him? You've been fawning over him for years." Kimberly replied as they walked down the hallway. "WHAT! No what are yo uptalking about. I would never. He's my best friend. that's. ick." "Sure it is. You cant fool me I see how your eyes light up when you talk about him or look at him." She smirked. "Look okay maybe i have a teensy tiny crush on him. But you don't date your friends. Bad things happen if the relationship falls apart. That's common knowledge. And besides I don't want him to think or treat me as a rebound." Alyssa said. "Alyssa. Just listen to your heat. If it's meant to be you'll know. Besides if you don't move fast you may miss your chacne." She responded.

That night was not so quiet, A fall storm came through the town complete with thunder and lightning. It was midnight and Nate was passed out face down on his fution bed snoozing away. Cracks of thunder made themselves present. It was a freak Thunderstorm indicative of fall in that area of the county. Nate was the type that when he was exhausted he could sleep through a train wreck. Nate's bedroom door slowly creaked open. Tyler came in carrying his blanket and a pillow as he approached the futon. He poked Nate in the shoulder whispering so he wouldn't wake the house, "Nate, you awake?" the constant shoulder poking woke him up as he groggily said with his eyes closed, "Go back to bed Tyler." "I can't, the thunder's scary and Damion's making fun of me." Nate sighed, "Alrifht, you can sleep next to the bed but don't touch anything. I promise the thunder won't het you. Not even the lightning can get you in here. So just relax and try to sleep." Nate passed back out his tail hanging down over the side of the bed. Tyleer put his pillow and blanket on the floor next to the bed and rolled on his side. After another loud crack of thunder Tyler einstincly grabbed Nate's tail and hugged onto it for safety. He fell asleep that way all night. When it all came down to it Tyler always saw his cousin as a safety blanket.

That storm raged through the night but had subsided by 6 AM. It was about than that Tyler got to hear what Nate used in his CD alrm clock. As Drawing Pool's Bodies hit the speakers at exactly 6AM, Tyler suddenly sat up with a look of panic on his face. seconds later Nate's arm reached behind him and slammed the button to turn it off as he sat up, "Sorry cuzo," Nate said, "I forgot to tell you about my alarm. We have school at 7:30AM, so I'm usally out the door by 6:30AM," Nate opened the bedroom door as Tyler groggily wandered back across the hall to his room. Afterwards Nate hit the showers getting ready for the morning. He was usally quick about it since he spent more time using a blowdryer on his fur to dry it off proper. From there he got dressed grabbed his backpack and headed into the kitchen to grab a poptart before heading out to the garage to get in his car. But as he did he heard a knock at the front door Strange, mom wasnt due back from third shift yet and she had the key and alarm code. He opened the door to see Alyssa there with her hoodie on and her backpack chewing on a poptart. Kids they eat the healthiest of breakfasts.

"What are you doing here?" Nate asked. "Didnt wanna be late today so i got up early got ready and walked over here." she said smilin. "Okay come on in we can uses the garage entrance to get to the car.. Which trekked the through the living room and out the door to the garage. Nate opened the locks they got in and after the garage door was opened they took off. It was still an hour before class started as the pair sat in the back of the cafeteria drinking their coffee before heading to the lockers to get the books for thier first period classes. It was now just a typical day at the high school. Before getting his books he met up with Damion as he showed him where everyone of his classrooms was for each period. After that he went back to get his books. Word was abuzz about the homecoming dance in September next month. One student who was so excited asked everyone around him who they were taking, But Nate simply said, "Our bands going to be the main performance act. We're taking ourselves." Ace had filed the request and it was approved by the school's events committee. It helped that Ace's mom was a member of that committee as part of tje PTA work. So the the group of friends was excited a gig with over what could be a 100 people, which they had never done before. Even more interesting, was the fact the school had professional sound equipment, so they would be fully wired up and using floor monitors for the lyrics and chords. Except Alyssa. As a drummer she would have an overhead monitor most people could not see that she could read.

So around lunch they all met at their usual table, "Okay," Nate said, "We need to get the set list figured out so it can be submitted for the monitors. I was figuring we could at least start off the set with Let Love In, and immediately roll into Black Balloon." Naomi nodded and said, "We haven't had much time ro run Come Back Home. Might be a good one to add. I love the lyrics for that song. Nate I don't know where you find the talent to write songs but that's definitely a good one." They had all agreed to that statement. "So what do we end with?" Nate asked as they neared the end of their setlist placement. "I know", said Alyssa, "Caught in the Storm. should be the final song. I have always loved that song, I love perfuming it and it reminds me of someone special." Alyssa was subtly trying to hint at the fact growing up with Nate she developed a crush and had fallen for him and now that Serah was out of the picture she wanted nothing more than to be with him. But Nate, ever the oblivious one missed the signal. Though he never was one for cluing in on flirting. Regardless, they finished their lunch and their planning and Ace said, "Alright, that settles it. We finally got a decadent gig; I'll have this submitted by the end of the day and we should all use Nate's garage for band practice since its the biggest." "Ill have to pull mom's vehicle into the driveway but it should be cool." Nate said.

The rest of the day ran slow as the hours ticked down to the end of the school day. Nate had passed Damion in the hallway saying "Hey man," but not gettinga reply. "Well that was strange" Nate thought. "Was that Damion?" Alyssa asked, "I though he went to Ridgemont." "No my aunt had to let the house go and short sold it, She couldn't afford it after the divorce so my mom said they could stay here while they save for a new house. So he has transferred here this year." Nate said. "He's never given you the cold shoulder before." she said. "Well he's got this idea that's he is some ganster gangbanger rapper. And when he showed up yesterday I did point it out and call him out of his Bull. He proceeded to pick a fight with me. Further more Tyler's gotten a bit bigger and has mellowed out some. So there's some good to this." Nate added.

By the end of the day Nate and Alyssa were walking to his car across the parking lot when he suddenly said, "Feel like coming over and hanging out this afternoon?" "Sure" she said with delight in her eyes, maybe now would be the chance to tell him she thought. "Sure" came her response as they opened the car doors and got in. They would be back before the bus. So hopefully Nate would be able to avoid interactions with his cousin, for now. He started the engine and they pulled out of the student parking lot. After maybe 10 minutes of travel they were home. Where Apache Falls sat their high school handled 3 towns in 2 counties, 2 in their county and 1 across the county line. so during school hours traffic was busy. But they got home as Nate puled in down his street. and as he approached the drive way he reached up to his visor and pushed a keycode and the garage door opener. This was so the alarm would be disabled when the door went up. He pulled into the garage and immediately reversed the button push locking the garage door and arming the alarm again.

After they got in the house Alyssa flopped down on the couch as Nate said, "Want a soda?" "Sure", she said as Nate opened the fridge door and pulled out two soda's.. He sat down on the couch nest to her handing her soda over and said, "Seems we'll be the only ones here for once, Till the bus gets back with Damion." he said. "Yeah, it's peaceful, Been a long time since we just hung out with nothing to do, I think we were in middle school chilling in your pool out back." commented Alyss. "I remember that. That was a fun summer we had, getting into trouble hanging out by the pool," he said before he was interrupted by her, "Pulling my leg so I would land in the pool. You tard." they both laughed. "So...." Alyssa said, "I wanted to tell you something." "Oh? Nate said." "We've been friends for a long time," she said, "And you're one of the best friends I've ever had." But before she could continue The front door opened. Damion had a key which automatically disabled the alarm system. He walked in closing the door behind him but not even bothering to reset the alarm. "Well look who it is." Nate said "You forgot to russet the alarm code." "Yeah whatever. I forgot it." was the response

Nate was about to say something when Alyssa held his hand squeezing it softly whispering, "It's not worth picking a fight over a silly 4 digit code." He whispered back, 'i guess you're right." as he got up and walked to the front door to enter the code. Nate walked back to the living room and sat back down on the sofa next to Alyssa, "So you were going to tell me something?" She shook her head and back pedaled. After all Damion came home and ruind the moment, "It's nothing, I forgot what I was going to say." Seems like it never was the right time. She was getting more and more frustarted. Everytime she wanted to tell him something came up and interfered. "Okay than" he said. "Hey you think you want to stay for dinner?" he asked her. "Sure why not, its not like my parents don't know where i'd be. It's usually the library or here. And besides they can calll my cell." "Wiat you two have cell phones?" Damion said shocked. "Yeah we got them over the summer." Nate said/ "How come the school lets you have them?" "Uh because they are on silent and in our pockets during school." Alyssa said. "And besides its not like we used our electronics in the open anwways, Thats why we have bluetooth earbuds, especially for winter, with a hoodie hood up no one can tell and no the school doesnt care if we have hoods on since its usually cold in the cafeteria." Nate said.

"Well you didnt tell me how big that high school was." Damion protested, "I have classes on two floors it's hard as hell getting there." "We all do," Alyssa said, "It takes practice but eventually you learn the fastes routes, Thats why Nate and I share lockers with our books depending on which class is nearby." "It's almost impossible." Damion protested, "Nah you're just nto used to a big high school like this, even our baseball field is a bit above standards. Though it still has the outward appeared of a typical high school field." Nate said. "Oh hell he hasn't even seen the football field or the basketball court in the back gym." Alyssa said. "Wait theirs a back gym? So what the hell is the front one for with the basketball hoops." he said. "Practice." Nate simply responded. "And mostly that's the gym they use for the wrestling team matches." Alyssa added. "Which btw, first lesson," Nate said, "Avoid the football jocks at all costs, even the baseball team doesnt want to deal with them. Apollo is the star quarterback. That equine thinks he's God's gift to women, Tiffiny is the head cheerleader, she'll stab you in the back before you even know what happened."

"I know your wannabe gangster getup and attitude flew in middle school. I get that middle schoolers think all that kind of stuff is cool, but in High School that shi aint gonna fly or get you very far." Nate said. "Don't recall seeing them today. Although i was just trying to get to classes on time." Damion said. "Besides rthat place is a zoo, I feel like theirs no place I can hide from the insanity" Damion said. But before either of them could respond he got up from the chair and walked to his room closinfg the door behind. Nate and Alyssa looked at each other with a look of surprise before they were turning the tv on and channel surfing. The afternoon was a warm, slow one . Around an hour later, Nate and Alyssa went to go sit on the porch swing, He didnt bother with the alarm code since they were right by the door. It was the warmest day of the end of august with a cool breeze blowing. Soon the leaves would start turning as fall was just around the corner. "it's a lovely day." Nate said. "Yeah," came Alyssa's response, "It's always a nice day when i get to hang out with my best friend." But deep down Alyssa's heart was screaming, never the right moment she wanted so badly to take that chance. They sat there quietly enjoying the sounds of nature and the neighborhood while Alyssa rested her head on Nate's shoulder. They both sat there as they watched Nate's mom pull into the garage. As they watched the garage door shut, they both got up and walked inside, arming the corde behind them.

They walked into the living room as his mom came in, "Hey mom. How was work." he asked. "Busy as always, you know I work on the ICU Ward and I rarely get to sit down. So how was school." "Lame as always. Though we did get our set list submitted to the events committee for the Homecoming dance. So we'll proll be using the garage tomorrow to proactive." he said. "Well you're hard work with that band of yours seems to be paying off." she said. "Oh mom," Nate suddenly said, "Is it okay if Alyssa joins us for dinner?" "I don't see why not as long as her parents know." Tabitha said. "I don't think they'll mind but I'll call them just to be sure." Alyssa said as she stepped out into the entrance foyer to make the phone call. About five minutes later she came back and said "We're cool." "Alright." Nate said. "Well," Tabitha said. "Looks like one more joining us for dinner than."

That evening they all sat done at the dinner table for dinner. Alyssa sat next to Nate hoping that her subtle hints would get though, but Nate as ever when it came to flirting was a dense as a poiund cake. "So how was school today?" Asked Liz. "Boring, but can't really complain." Nate said. "Got a lot of compliments on my new hairstyle." Alyssa said. She had entire shaved half of her head leaving only one side in a a long mid back length style dued light reddish-pink at the bottom to accent her blonde hair." "Speaking of which, Nate. I see your pony rail of deadlocks is gone." Liz commented. Nate had changed into a long shoulder length style, "Yeah I was getting tired of having to undo the dreads to wash them after time and have them done back up again, so i Got them cut down to this length and never bothered to have them done up as dreads again." "Damion what about you?" came her answer. "Still trying to figure this confusing school layout out. Why did it have to be two floors?" he said. "Like i said early cuzzo, you'll get used to it over time and figure out the most efficient routes between your classes and your locker. You should have seen me my freshman year, was never on time for any class til I got the hang of it." Nate said. Everyone genrally had a delightful time at dinner swapping stories about the day and what not. At the end of the night Nate and Alyssa stood on the porch, The sun was already beginning to set in the sky.

"Thanks for a wonderful evening." she said. "Yeah no problem, you know my mom's chill with you and your family." he said. "So band practice tomorrow after school?" she asked." "Sure no problem, we can swing by and get your drums." he said. She at that moment kissed him on the cheek and walked down the path to the street before he could enact as she headed for home. That kiss left Nate with mixed emotions. One one hand he didnt think it was right, they were friends afterall. One the other his heart felt aflutter. He walked back into the house and later would collapse into bed thinking this had indeed been a good day. Tomorrow it would all start again so he set his alarm for a 6AM wakeup and without realizing it drifted to sleep dreaming of Alyssa.