The lock bleeped as I entered the digits into the keypad of my locker. I'd been hoping to head straight home and get a start on the pile of homework that'd just been assigned, but life was not so kind. There was no bag in my locker; in its place was a small piece of paper folded in half.

I've left your bag on the bleachers in the gym

xoxo Holden

Groaning, I shoved the note into my pocket and put my books back. It looked like I was going to come to practice after all. Approaching the gym, I could hear the squeaking of sneakers against the linoleum and smell the unmistakable odour of male body spray.

There were two loud whistles just as I entered, and the guys jogged towards the benches to grab a drink of water. Holden spotted me as he took a swig of water and swung his towel over his shoulder before jogging towards me. He had jersey number 7. 'Vermont' was printed across the top on the back of it.

"You're late," he remarked before taking another swig from his bottle.

"You're...sweaty," I replied, noticing the droplets of sweat along his shoulders.

He leaned in and I braced myself for another peck on my cheek or some variation of it. "Are you ticklish?" he whispered. Before I had a chance to react, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me in quickly, jabbing me in the side. I let out a sharp squeal, inadvertently bringing my head straight into his chest.

He laughed and held my head against his chest before planting a kiss on my head.

"What the hell?" I hissed.

"So you are ticklish. This will be interesting." Everyone was staring at us thanks to my weird scream. I quickly got up on my tip toes and kissed him on the cheek.

"Go get 'em tiger," I grinned before gently slapping the side of his cheek twice.

Thank God his face wasn't super sweaty. I needed to think of a better recovery for next time. Hopefully I was pulling off the role of the doting girlfriend rather than seeming like I'd had a phantom seizure.

The team was called back and I headed up to the bleachers, carefully checking the steps for any sign of my bag. A flurry of quick footsteps could be heard below followed by the setting down of bags. The cheerleading squad had also come for their practice.

After scouring the rows, there was no sign of my bag and I gave up, retreating to the front row of the bleachers. "Are you here for tryouts?" someone asked me. I looked up, doing a double take before realising that this was Allie, Holden's ex. The first thing I noticed was how beautiful her eyes were; they were an interesting mixture of brown and green.

"She's Holden's new girlfriend actually, or should I say, the next notch in his belt?" another girl replied. From memory, she was the girl Holden had had a shouting match with in the first week I'd been at Pemberton.

Two ex-girlfriends and a current 'girlfriend'. Awkward.

"Chill out Courtney," Allie replied.

"He screwed you over. You don't need to defend him."

"Who knows, maybe people change, right?" Allie said, smiling at me. I forced a smile in return.

"You can stop that holier than thou shit with me," Courtney scoffed. She turned around and headed back to the group, instructing the others to start stretching and informing them that they'd go through a new routine that afternoon.

"Anyway, I still have to practice. You sure you don't want to try out?"

"Positive," I grinned.

"Don't worry about what everyone's saying. If it makes you happy, that's the important thing right?"

How on earth could Holden have let a girl like that go? She was a literal angel. I took my seat again on the bleachers. Courtney was counting down to the three and I watched as Allie was tossed into the air before being caught by three girls. When she was finally let down onto the ground I let go of the breath I'd been holding.

I could never muster up the strength needed to do even part of that.

A few heavy steps came up towards the bleachers and there was a heavy thud beside me as someone sat down. Logan leaned in sideways towards me and I edged to the side to avoid him. He shifted closer anyway.

"What do you want?' I growled under my breath.

"Very hostile aren't you?"

Back on the court, I could see Holden looking over, distracted. Luckily, he was well away from where the action was. He raised an eyebrow and I could make out him mouthing 'You okay?'

I nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

"I think I might be calling in that favour a little earlier than anticipated."

Before I had a chance to ask for more details, my name was called out from the court. "This one's for you!" Holden called, pointing right at me. He threw the ball from the three-point line. It went straight through, barely touching the chains of the goal.

The whole team as well as the cheerleaders turned to look at me. The guys came up to Holden to pat him on the back while most of the cheerleaders swooned. Courtney had a scowl across her face and Allie looked away.

"I'm just glad you didn't miss!" I yelled back, laughing.

The team started to disperse and Holden headed up towards me. "Probably not the best time for this," Logan said, getting up. "I'll wait for you outside the gate."

"Wait," I began, but before I could object he'd already gone back down from the bleachers.

"What was that about?" Holden puffed, coming up beside me.

"Nothing," I replied quickly.

"Here's your bag by the way," he grinned, dropping it next to me.

"Thanks," I replied sarcastically. "I'm gonna head home now though."

"I can give you a lift," he offered.

"Nope, I'm good."

Just as I got up, he rested a hand on my arm. "You sure you're okay? If Logan's out of line, I'll literally punch him in the face," he said.

"You punching someone?" I laughed.

"I've done it before," he snickered.

"Oh really?" I scoffed. He just laughed. "Thank you, but I'm good though."

He eventually gave in and I quickly headed outside. Making sure that no one was watching, I headed for the gates. I figured that being seen conspiring with Logan frequently didn't look too good. Especially since everyone knew that Holden and Logan hated each other. "Glad you made the right decision," Logan said as I passed through the gate.

"What's the favour?" I asked bluntly.

"You really cut straight to the chase, don't you?"

"Seriously. What's your problem?"

"I need a sample of Holden's DNA," he replied matter-of-factly.

--

Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all a year filled with happiness and success :)

Sorry for the delay in the update - major writer's block is to blame haha

Anyway, please vote and comment! What do you think Logan wants with Holden's DNA? ;)