It was still early, which meant the homecoming game wasn't too crowded yet. That was good, considering the first step of the plan: getting Roy into the girl's bathroom.

The two of us walked past cheerleaders and members of the marching band, Roy saying hi and waving to a few people here and there. I was reminded of just how popular he was and suddenly felt self-conscious, like there were more eyes on me now than ever before.

We passed the concessions store, walking behind the short line and heading to the smaller building a few yards away. Apart from one boy drinking at the water fountain, we were the only ones there. We paused in front of one of two doors, this one labeled with a pink, triangular stick figure.

I was glad Roy wouldn't have to see the bleachers fill up with students while he hid and waited for halftime-- I knew if it were me, seeing the swarm of people would only make my nerves worse.

Once the boy finally finished drinking and walked away, I looked around one last time before turning to Roy. "I'll scope it out."

Roy nodded and I slipped into the bathroom, quickly making my way over to the stalls, swinging open the doors to make sure they were empty. I checked the metal box on the wall next, prying open the unlocked door to confirm that Ian had left the items in there during the pre-game practice. Sure enough, a dark trench coat and a plain black ski mask sat inside in place of the never stocked toiletries.

This box was the sole reason Roy would have to wait in here, due to the lack of anything similar in the guys bathroom. It was a safe place to hide these two items, as well as Roy's clothes and belongings, which I'd be responsible for picking up later.

I headed back to the door and ushered Roy inside, where he hurried into one of the stalls. He left the door open a crack and I stood in front of him, blocking him in case anyone came inside.

"You feel ready?" I asked. My anxiety for him was through the roof-- I couldn't even imagine what was going on inside his head. Exposing himself in front of everyone was bad enough, but with the high risk of getting caught? It was too much for me to even think about.

He took a deep breath, nodding. "I've had some time to mentally prepare. I think I'm kind of insane for volunteering though, so I may need to take some time to reevaluate my life choices."

I laughed, leaning against the stall. "It'll be over before you know it."

"I hope so. You feeling okay about the lights?"

"Yeah. Ian said it's pretty much the same as the breaker box, so I shouldn't have any trouble. I'll come back here and get your stuff right after," I said, patting the empty tote bag at my side.

"Sounds good." He nodded, seeming distracted. He'd been that way since he picked me up, spacey and slightly out of it. I couldn't blame him; just the thought of being in his place was enough to make my palms sweat. "Uh, you know, there's something I've been meaning to ask yo-" He halted, eyes growing wide, fixing on something behind me. He slammed the stall door shut as I turned to see a group of three cheerleaders entering the bathroom, smiling and chatting as they made their way to the sinks, one heading into the stall right next to Roy's.

I stood awkwardly while the two girls began fixing their makeup in the mirror, shifting my weight from side to side as they rummaged around in their bags. One began scrolling on her phone, looking to be in no hurry as she leaned against the counter.

I figured it was probably time for me to be heading over to the shed anyway. Even though halftime was awhile away, I wanted to be prepared. It would be bad enough if Roy got caught, but it would be even worse if it was because of me.

"R-Rachel?" I stuttered out, making up the female name as a substitute for Roy's, "I'm gonna go get our seats now."

A high pitched, nasally version of his voice replied, "Okay!"

I tried to ignore the glance of confusion shared by the girls while I walked out, suppressing a laugh at how ridiculous he sounded. As I began the walk over to the bleachers, I reached into my jacket pocket, clenching my fist around the key to the shed and willing it to give me some sort of reassurance. All I could do now was wait, and try not to let my nerves get in my way.

The stands were packed, despite the light drizzle now coming down on the event. Rutherford was up by two points, and the weather didn't seem to be dampening anyone's excitement as the second quarter grew closer to its end.

My knee bounced up and down, eyes trailing to the time on the scoreboard for what felt like the hundredth time. I couldn't stop my gaze from shifting over to where Coach Hanks stood. Ian was sitting on the bench behind him with a few members of the team, staring out at the field.

I still hadn't told Daniel about what happened. I wanted to more than anything-- it was eating away at me. The longer I kept it a secret, the worse the whole thing seemed. I'd tried all day at school to get a moment alone with him so I could confess, but with our different classes and the fact that he'd been busy at lunch, this was the first time all day that it was just the two of us.

I knew it would be better to wait until after the challenge-- I'd already kept it in this long, and none of us needed to be distracted. But that was the issue; the guilt was nothing but distracting. Every time I looked at Daniel, I was reminded of how close I'd come to treating him the way Kendall treated me.

I felt his hand on my knee and slowed my leg to a stop, turning to see him looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"Nervous?" He asked, a knowing smile on his face.

"I have to tell you something," I blurted out, my brain yelling at me not to confess, knowing things would go smoother if I could just keep it in for an hour longer. But I couldn't do that. He deserved to know what I did, rather than sitting beside me in oblivion.

He tilted his head to the side, brows furrowing in concern. "Yeah?"

"I... God, I don't even know how to say this," I mumbled, looking away as his expression grew more serious.

"What happened? Something bad?"

I nodded, taking in a deep breath. "Last night... Ian and I... we almost kissed."

"He tried to kiss you?" he questioned, voice now filled with an angry edge. He glanced out to where Ian was sitting and I sighed, knowing he wasn't getting what I was saying.

"Kind of-- I mean, well, yes, but... it wasn't just him," I fumbled over the words, hating the way they came out. I went over how to tell him in my head a thousand times, but actually doing it was completely different. He turned back to me, his expression some deadly mixture of hurt and disgust.

"Oh. Oh." He let out a laugh that was void of any humor, shaking his head.

"I didn't mean for it to happen, Daniel. I--"

"For what to happen?" His voice was harsher than he'd ever used towards me before. "Almost kissing him, or wanting to in the first place?"

I didn't know how to answer. I wanted to tell him it wasn't like that, but it was. I wanted to kiss Ian. My relationship with Daniel was the only reason I didn't, and it was pretty obvious he understood that, even if I didn't say it.

Daniel stood, drawing a few complaints from those sitting behind us.

My eyes widened as he gathered his things. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving, Maddie."

"Can't we talk about this?" I begged, trying to reach out for his hand, which he jerked away. "What about the challenge?"

"I don't care about the challenge!" he snapped in exasperation. The crowd around us jumped to their feet, cheering as the voice from the loudspeaker announced another point for our team. "Is that honestly what you're most concerned about right now?"

"No, I just-- our group is depending on us! Roy won't be able to get away if you're not ready with your car-"

"So get Ian to do it." He shrugged as he raised his eyebrows, challenging me to argue with that.

"We need to talk about it," I insisted again. "It was a mistake, Daniel."

"You know, I've felt like I've been dating a different person for the past month, but I ignored it. I figured we could just go back to normal once this whole competition was out of your system." He shook his head, jaw clenched. "I thought you were acting different because you were focused on winning, not because you've been thinking about seeing other people."

"I wasn't-"

"I'm going home," he interrupted. "I don't feel like having this discussion here, and in all honesty, I don't even want to be around you at all right now."

I was frozen in place, watching as he maneuvered his way through the stands. Had I really been acting so differently the past month? I was focused on the competition-- no longer just for myself, but for everyone involved. And if I was being honest, I was enjoying myself. It wasn't just about revenge anymore.

Sighing, I pulled out my phone to text Ian, letting him know he'd need to sneak away from Hanks in order to be the getaway driver. My relationship might've just gone down the drain, but there was no reason for our chances at winning to do the same.

I sat back down to wait for halftime, my mind far away from football as the timer ticked closer to zero.