Saturday finds Skylar in the blazing heat, a half empty bottle of water clutched tightly in her hand as she strolls the neighborhood. It’s been a week since she’s stepped foot in school and she’s pretty sure her grades reflect just that, but she’s too afraid to look, and also just a bit depressed. Only by the insistence by her father is she even out today.

 

“You need fresh air, Skylar. You look like a damn zombie.” He had said before practically shoving her out of the door and promptly locking it.

 

She feels like a zombie, she thinks. Ever since that day she’s been on autopilot, only leaving her room to eat and shower, ignoring the calls from Logan, the rest of her teammates, and Jaebum. She stopped crying after the third day, and her mind went blank the fifth.

 

“I can’t do anything, Skylar. You know that, she knows that. Your mom has everything- the money and the pull. She can make it so we can’t see him at all if I try anything, so it’s best to let her come around on her own time.” Her father had sighed when he found her standing in the doorway of Michael’s room after her mother had left.

 

“It’s not fair!” Skylar exclaimed, wiping furiously at her face, riddled with tears.

 

“Nothing is fair Skylar, that’s life. Now get it together and toughen up.” Her father scolded stiffly and she had been left to watch, through her haze of tears, as he stormed off.

 

Her phone vibrates in the pocket of her sweats and only to distract herself from her misery does she answer it.

 

“Where have you been?”

 

Skylar rolls her eyes because Jaebum is the only person that answers the phone like that.

 

“Hello to you too, Jaebum”

 

“Hey Skylar, where have you been?”

 

“What do you want?” She opts for.

 

“Everybody’s worried about you, Jackson especially” There’s noise coming from his end, shouting and scuffling that lets her know he’s probably leading football practice at this very moment.

 

“Wang just wants someone to bother” She finds herself smiling unconsciously which melts into a frown upon realization.

 

“Or he likes yo-“

 

“Don’t finish that sentence!” Skylar exclaims, face heating up and she’s just thankful that he can’t see her.

 

“Sorry, I’m just worried about you.” Is the mumbled reply after a small pause.

 

“I’m okay. I’ll be back Monday. I promise.” She assures him.

 

“I’m holding you to that.” Is all he says before the line goes dead.

 

Shaking her head with a small smile, Skylar slips her phone back into her pocket, turning around to head back home when she spots him. It’s Jackson of course, leaving someone’s house, heading to his car. Briefly, she wonders why he’s not at practice, but shrugs it off as she slips behind the nearest bush.

 

“You’ve got to be quicker than that if you really want to dodge me, Clark”

 

“I wasn’t trying to dodge you, Wang” She mumbles sourly when Jackson’s grinning face comes into view.

 

“Obviously you’re trying to dodge somebody, considering you haven’t been at school in ages.” He raises a brow then, as if awaiting some sort of explanation, but Skylar just rolls her eyes, breezing past him.

 

“Like I owe you, of all people, any explanation.” She snaps, surprising herself at the lack of bite in her words, but Jackson doesn’t say anything, just grabs her arm when she attempts walk off.

 

“You must have misheard me that day, ‘I care about everybody's wellbeing, and as hard as it is to believe, yes, even yours’.” He recites the very same words he had told her the day she had been caught in the rain on the way to the hospital. For some reason, as insignificant as Skylar had deemed them, they work this time and she surprises herself when she falters.

 

“You shouldn’t concern yourself with other’s problems.” She says when really she finds herself wanting to vent to the other, but could she trust Jackson? That was her main concern.

 

“Are we really going to continue being like this to each other?” He spits sourly, and before she can even blink he’s already whipping around, stomping off, fists clenched at his side.

 

“Jackson wait!” She finds herself calling out.

 

“Why? Why should I Skylar? It’s more than obvious that you don’t want to be around me and that’s fine, actually it’s not but whatever, right?”

 

It surprises her, seeing Jackson like this, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed, no trace of his usual playfulness.  There’s a small pause in which they just stare at each other, Jackson awaiting some sort of answer that yes, she doesn’t want him around, but Skylar thinks that’s furthest from the truth. In reality, she wants Jackson around more than ever with what’s going on in her life, because despite the dynamic of their relationship, she knew he cared and, though she would never admit it, he made her feel … happy? She’s not too sure, in fact, she’s not sure about anything in her life right now.

 

“I’m sorry” It’s a mere whisper and Jackson has to strain to hear it, but once he does, his features soften and he finds that he can’t really be angry with the girl before him. He’s a little speechless, because how often does Skylar Clark apologize? To him of all people, has him at a loss for words.

 

He notices the first tear before it falls and he’s already closing the distance between them, scooping her into his arms and surprisingly, she lets him.

 

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. Please don’t cry.” He mumbles, rubbing small, calming circles in her back, and if possible, she cries even harder at that. They stay like that, until her whimpers dissolve to small hiccups and his shoulder is soaked in tears.

 

“Your nose is red. You look like Rudolph.” He says when she finally pulls back, laughing when she tries to bite his finger when he taps gently at her reddened nose.

 

“Seriously Skylar, what’s wrong? Everyone is worried about you-“

 

“You sound like Jaebum” She mutters, and her smile is a little dazed, but Jackson still appreciates it, even with her red nose and the tear treks on her cheeks.

 

“You talked to him?”

 

“Yes, right before I saw you actually.” She admits, and Jackson raises a brow at that, eying her incredulously.

 

“So you answered him before anyone else? Since when were you two so close-“

 

“Is that jealousy I detect, Wang?” She teases and Jackson has to scoff at that, because him jealous of Jaebum? Yeah right, he thinks.

 

“No, this is me being a curious, Clark”

 

She raises her brow at that before rolling her eyes, breezing past him to where his Suv is still parked in front of his friend’s house.

 

“Whatever, take me home” She mumbles.

 

“You could ask!” He calls after her, but the smile on his face is undeniable because, he’s missed this, her, and these moments.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

The evening has Skylar seated at her dining room table with her father and his boss, Mr. Frank. Skylar always hated these dinners, even when she was younger, but it seemed like the older she got, the worse they got in return. They always consisted of her father schmoozing Mr. Frank and the latter insistently insulting her as Mr. Frank seemed to have some sort of not so discreet vendetta against her for reasons beyond her.

 

"Are you still into the whole sports contraption?" Mr. Frank inquires.

 

"Excuse me? I don't understand." The thing is, Skylar does understand.

 

"You know, the sports. Do you still do them? If so, I think you should hang it up. It's not very lady like to be so rough. Besides, there's really no future for a female in sports unless you’re exceptional."

 

She tried not to let how much it hurt to be told she wasn’t good enough for her dreams, but it did. It hurt a lot, but what hurt more was the way her father avoided her gaze, not even bothering to come to her defense.

 

"You will be someone's wife someday. You should look into more useful things."

 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She mumbles.

 

“You should”

 

 

 

 

After dinner, the horrible critique fest that it was, she thinks, Skylar finds herself on her front porch, watching the rest of the sun set. It was one of her favorite past times with her little brother, sitting in the soft patches of grass and watching the sun sink below the horizon. Now, it was just lonely and miserable. She missed his constant tugging on her and seemingly never ending string of questions, always so curious and eager.

 

She missed him. It felt like her heart was breaking.

 

Having had enough of soaking in her misery Skylar moves to stand and head back inside, but the distinct outline of a figure approaching catches her attention.

 

"Jackson?" She calls out, slightly confused. When he notices her, he waves, grinning slightly as he plops down beside her.

 

"Jackson what-" She starts, a little startled by the close proximity, but he cuts her off, placing his finger lightly against her lips.

 

"Shh, I need to tell you something."

 

Skylar just nods, stomach tightening in anxiousness.

 

"Earlier, I think I saw a side of you that no one else has really seen. Let's be honest here, Skylar. You're probably one of the most stubborn people I have ever met."

 

She smacks his arm at that and he has to laugh, Jackson does, really, but all too soon the serious glint returns to his eyes as he speaks up. The intensity of it makes it difficult for Skylar to maintain eye contact, but somehow she manages.

 

"But for you to open up like that, unintentional or not, was  ..."

 

There's a small pause in which Skylar thinks of all of the possible responses, strange, weird, creepy?

 

"-special, at least to me. You know you're more relatable when you're not being a hard all the time, but I like that about you. You stand up for yourself and you don't take mess from anyone. But, you also have this really sensitive side where you're very caring. I can see just how much you love your teammates and your brother with just one glance. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is..."

 

"Is?" She prompts, her eagerness getting the best of her, but he's already ducking his head, looking every bit defeated.

 

"I actually don't know." He admits and the laugh that follows is a bit forced and self-conscious.

 

"I think I know"

 

She leans in then, a bit slowly and hesitantly, because she’s not sure exactly what she’s doing, but when he doesn’t back away she takes it as a good sign. His hands move to cup her cheek and her eyes slip close as they move to close the gap between them when-

 

“Skylar!”

 

She jumps back, recoiling at the thundering voice of her father. When she glances back at her house, he’s nowhere in sight. She lets out a sigh of relief then, soothed at the prospect of him simply calling her name. Jackson laughs at that, jubilant and rambunctious in the manner that makes Skylar’s cheeks heat up as she punches his arm, flicking him off as she turns to head into her house, Jackson’s laughter following as she goes.