How To Play the Player (COMPLETED)

Who Will It Be

"He totally won that for them!" Shay squealed. "I'm so proud of Liam!"

As if her words invited him over, he and Andy started across the field in normal attire, Andy with his arm draped around his best friend's neck and ruffling his hair as he praised him. As soon as he was within reach Brianna reached out and hugged Liam, likely congratulating him. Before he could get over the shock of the action she launched herself into her boyfriend's arms and kissed him. Despite avoiding him the last few days, I couldn't help but throw my arms around Liam, smiling.

"That was incredible, Liam. I'm proud of you." I pulled away and looked up at him. "They'd be proud of you."

I met Andy's eyes over his shoulder and he nodded; he was likely the only other person here tonight that had an idea of just how much this night meant to Liam.

"Thank you." Liam slowly slid his arms around my waist and buried his face into the crook of my neck. I could hear by how strained his breathing was that he was trying to get himself together before he would have to face our friends. "Thank you for being here tonight, Reese."

I heard a quiet scoff a few feet away but didn't have to look to know it was Jason. He shook his head and rammed hard into Liam as he tried to pass, but chose the wrong night to do so because Liam immediately shoved me into Bryan and swung at his teammate.

Jay, surprised by his reaction, needed a few seconds to recuperate before he threw himself at Liam.

"Stop!" I shouted, but Bryan did as Liam had done a minute before and pushed me away from the fight and started for Liam himself. The first time Andy and Bryan tried to restrain the boys did nothing but give Bryan a bloody nose, and Liam and Jay were on the ground fighting again. Finally, Bryan was able to grab Liam and started shoving him toward the parking lot, shaking with anger.

"You wanna fight someone, Scott?" Bryan snarled at the taller boy. "Fight me."

The words struck something in Liam because his clenched fists unfurled at his sides and stared at my best friend, eyes lacking any emotion.

"You love her?" Bryan asked, throwing his hand in my direction. "Then you need to stop this shit. You're going to end up hurting her. Get a hold of yourself man. Stop letting your emotions talk for you. Figure out what the hell it is that you want before you drag Reese into something we can't bring her back from."

Liam looked from Bryan to me, then turned on his heel and headed for the parking lot. When I tried to start forward, Bryan turned his glare on me. "Don't you even think about it."

*

After stopping by Shay's house so she could pack a back for the sleepover, we headed back to the Waters. Mom hadn't had a problem with me staying over; she was working swing shift tonight anyway. The girls immediately headed inside to get everything ready for the rest of the night, but I slumped against the backseat and Bryan didn't look as if he were going to budge until I did.

"You need to break up with Jason." He snapped.

"I've been trying." I whispered. "He keeps dodging me."

Bryan shifted his body so he was able to look at me without craning his neck. "Something happened with Liam. What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that until tonight he was doing a pretty decent job keeping it together, falling in love from afar. Not trying to get into fights with Jason." Bryan explained. "When I tore him off Jason he looked ready to kill him."

I looked down at my hands. "His parents—"

"Reese, I understand he was a little more emotional tonight then usual, but I could feel the shift at school Thursday morning. What happened between you guys Wednesday night? You said he was over there, obviously something happened."

I shrugged a shoulder. "Before Mom said anything about his parents, we had this moment in the kitchen. I. . . but thunder scared me and broke it. Then when we were in my room after Mom told him, he touched my cheek and he. . ."

"He what, Reese?"

"He pretty much admitted he was in love with me."

Bryan ran a head over his head, looking too tired for someone who had been sitting most of the night, "Okay. You're going to go in there and have a girls night with my sister and Shay."

"What are you going to do, Bry?"

"I'm going to go talk to Liam." The words almost made me laugh. It was definitely something I never thought I'd hear out of his mouth. "He needs someone to talk to right now and I think maybe it might be beneficial if that person is me."

I sat forward and reached for my best friend's hand and squeezed it. "Thank you, Bry."

"Get inside, Re."

I grabbed my bag from the floor and swung it over my shoulder before climbing out of the car. As soon as I was on the Waters front porch, he nodded and turned the car around, heading for Liam's house. Brianna and Shay fell on to the porch beside me, watching after his car with curious looks.

"Where is he going?" Shay questioned, eyebrows quirked.

I rested my head against Brianna's shoulder and smiled. "To talk to a friend."