Prologue

"Okay, out with it." I toss my controller on the ground and turn to my best friend, Xavier.

"Out with what?" His eyes shift briefly in my direction before going back to the screen, which adds another layer of weird to an already bizarre afternoon.

"You're barely looking at me when you talk, you're losing to me despite the fact I've always sucked at Madden, and you're here instead of out with your girlfriend on a Saturday. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to finally see you, but even though you're physically here your mind is somewhere else. What's up?"

Xavier pauses the game and drops his controller, angling his body so he's sort of facing me even though he still can't meet my gaze."I'm not going."

"Going where?" Xavier and I are usually so in tune with each other we don't have to speak to know what the other is thinking, or we used to be anyway, yet right now I'm totally in the dark.

"I'm not going to school with you in the fall, Cruz." He dips his head to the ground.

He's not…what?

My body seizes up while my mind whirls, catapulting me into a state of limbo as I try to make sense of the words coming out of his mouth. It's like I know I need to move, to speak, to do something, but regardless of the noise in my head I can't get my body to react or do anything other than sit in stunned silence.

Front Range University in Colorado has been our number one choice since we were twelve. Our town didn't have any sports teams to claim as our own, college or pro, and since we were only a few hours away from the FRU Bighorns most everyone adopted their football team as ours. Xavier and I used to pretend we were college athletes whenever we'd toss the ball around, and when the recruiters came knocking with offers for both of us… I swear, I've never seen him smile as much as he did that day.

"Did you hear me?" Xavier finally brings his eyes to mine, and the guilt I see there is what snaps me out of my stupor. Damn right he should feel guilty.

"I heard you. Are you gonna tell me why?" I force my voice to stay level even though I'm screaming inside. Why are you going back on your word... Why are you leaving me on my own, why…why…why?

"Piper got into a school in Kansas. So did I," Xavier says softly, confirming what my heart already knew.

"You signed a letter of intent with Colorado." I remind him, since that's the only card I've got. The best friend card lost its power the moment he started dating Piper. I'm not bitter—mostly. I can handle taking a back seat to his girlfriend, which I always figured would happen at some point. I just can't help thinking it's too soon for that. We're still in high school for God's sake.

"It's not binding." Xavier lifts a limp shoulder.

"But it could cost you a year of eligibility."

"Only a year."

"Only a year?" I balk.

Changing schools is one thing, but to willingly sit out a year? Football has been our passion for nearly a decade. The thing we've been doing since before our hands were big enough to even hold the ball. It's how we met, and we spent countless weekends watching every game available and dreaming of getting our own shot one day.

True, he doesn't need to be in Colorado to get that shot, but sitting out a year isn't going to do him any favors, and playing in Kansas... They didn't even recruit him.

Colorado did, and up until now, I assumed we'd go there together–room together, train together–everything we always imagined as kids and promised one day we'd do. Xavier may have been distant lately, but he never indicated things had changed.

"How can you walk away from a scholarship? How can you voluntarily sit out a year after the epic season you just had? You're at the top of your game. Hell, the top might actually be higher than what you've done so far, with the right team. That's Colorado. That's us. What we've been planning since we were little. It's here."

"Colorado hasn't been my main focus for a while now." Xavier manages to shock me again.

"Since you met Piper." My voice is so soft I'm surprised he hears it.

Xavier sighs heavily. "I really wish you'd give her a chance. You might actually like her."

The anger I'd been keeping at bay starts to surface, though somehow, I manage to keep my voice calm. "In what way haven't I given her a chance? I'm not the one avoiding the post-game bonfires or insisting the two of you take her two-seater car for lunch every day so no one else can join. And have I ever told you she can't come when I invite you to hang out? In fact, I seem to remember encouraging you to ask her out when you told me you thought she was cute. You don't get to say I haven't given her a chance. The only issue I have with Piper is she makes it impossible for us to ever hang out anymore–which I never complained about, by the way. Now, I'm worried you're giving up your dream for some teenage crush and a relationship that could end a month from now."

My chest heaves as I try to breathe through my irritation. Yeah, part of me is panicking that what I thought was a phase he'd outgrow once we got to college is clearly more serious than I realized, but the other part of me is legitimately concerned about his future.

"You don't get it," Xavier shakes his head.

"You're right. I don't. I don't get why you want to live her life instead of yours."

"Maybe if you ever dated anyone you'd understand. It's not hers or mine, it's ours. It's what we both want."

"It's pretty convenient that it means leaving behind your dream. What is Piper sacrificing?" I don't give him a chance to answer as I shake my head. "She's getting everything she wants, including her puppy-dog boyfriend, tagging along, willing to accommodate her every wish. You don't realize it, but you're changing yourself for her, and not in a good way. You've wanted this for as long as I can remember and now some girl you've been dating for a matter of months is going to destroy your future."

That might've been a low blow, but it comes from a place of concern.He's literally uprooting his entire life plan right now.

"Who are you to tell me how to live my life?" Xavier levels me with an uncharacteristic scowl.

"I thought I was your best friend. The person who was there for you when your mom got sick, when your dad remarried, when you broke your leg and had to sit out for a season freshman year. I've been there through all of it, and never in all those years, not once, did you dream of going anywhere other than Colorado."

"I'm not allowed to change my mind?" Xavier asks.

"Of course, you are, I'm just not sure it's your mind making your decisions right now. I mean, you signed that letter a few weeks ago. I have to assume up until then you were still planning on Colorado."

We may have drifted recently, but I'm willing to bet I still know Xavier well enough to say he wouldn't have taken that step if he'd already decided to leave our dream team behind.

"I was considering it." He nods. "But I can be a standout in Kansas instead of just another guy on the roster in Colorado."

"Did Piper tell you that?" It takes all my strength not to follow that up with a snort.

"If she did?"

"Then I'd tell you to get a second opinion from someone who actually knows football."

"She's not wrong. There's less competition there. Are you going to tell me that I don't know football now, too?"

"Who's to say you couldn't be a standout in Colorado?"

"It's possible." The corner of his lip ticks upward, a lame attempt at a smile, before he turns serious. "But considering Piper wouldn't be there, it isn't worth finding out."

My eyebrows jump to the top of my forehead. "Fine. If you want to be whipped into giving up everything you love, go for it. But who's to say Kansas will pick you up if you have to sit out a year? You know as well as I do that every day, week, and month counts when it comes to sports. You told me as much when you were on crutches, worried you'd lose your chance to play college ball if you had to miss a game or two. Now, you're giving up an entire year? Do you hear yourself right now?"

Xavier pops off the couch and whirls on me, eyes narrowed. "Do you hear yourself? If you're my best friend you should be supporting me, not trying to convince me I'm making a mistake."

"You are making a mistake, though. I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't say anything." I stand to meet him, my voice rising as I reach my full height. "Don't sacrifice your dreams for someone else."

"She's part of the dream now," he shouts, causing me to stagger backward. For several long minutes, neither of us move. We just stand here, staring, chests heaving as the silence falls around us. I'm not sure what to do or say, so I wait for him to be the one to break the quiet.

Only, he doesn't.

What is happening right now?

When I'm finally calm enough to try for some middle ground, I unclench my jaw and step forward "I know you have feelings for Piper, and I'm not trying to discount those. But if she's really the one she'll still be there regardless of what school you go to."

"I love her, Cruz. I don't expect you of all people to understand."

That's a cheap shot designed to hurt, but at the end of the day he's right. I don't. I never expected him to throw that in my face though.

And at the risk of sounding like a total jerk, I'm not buying it. It's not that I don't believe in finding your person or falling in love, even if I don't get it personally, but at our age? And isn't love supposed to be about supporting each other, pushing one another to accomplish their goals in life, and cheering them on as they do. That's not what Piper's doing. She's holding Xavier back, and I don't know how to get on board with that. I don't know how to make him see what I see.

Before I can make another attempt to convince him to stay, his phone dings.

"Let me guess. You're being summoned?" My voice is thick with sarcasm.

"She just wants to know where I am."

I check the watch on my wrist. "Her Majesty gave you a whole hour to undo the plans we've had since we were kids. How gracious. I'll be forever in her debt." I'm being an ass, but he's the one upending everything. He's the one making bad decisions. He's the one who forgot about me long before today.

"Dammit, Cruz. Could you think about someone besides yourself for a change?"

What the fuck? Was I talking to myself this whole time? I must've been if he thinks my issue is anything other than his future.

"Go," I tell him through gritted teeth. "Obviously, you'd rather be with Piper, anyway."

Xavier stands up and crosses the room in three long strides, pausing at the door. "I… Nevermind." He yanks the door open so hard it bangs against the wall and storms out without another word.

And he never speaks to me again.