**Completed** Colby Byers and Wyatt Matheson shared an enviable love-at least, until that fateful day. Torn apart by tragedy, the stubborn ex-lovers struggle to come to terms with their desire for one another, while reconciling their feelings with t...
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Colby
"What in the hell is taking him so long?" Ari groans. He's unceasingly fidgety, perched at the foot of the bed nearest to the door leading to our freedom. We're all getting impatient, dressed to the nine's for our night on the town that we're not supposed to have.
It's now nine-thirty, which means we're already an hour past Coach Castillo's curfew. Based on our experience at State freshmen year, he should've made the rounds accounting for all of his boys at eight-thirty on the dot. And yet, we're still waiting.
"You don't think he forgot, do you?" Morgan asks quietly.
Mari scoffs from where she's sprawled, creating the shape of an 'X' with her slim frame. "Not a chance."
"He'd never forget to seal the doors. He lives for this shit," Ari adds.
Mari sighs loudly, pushing herself up onto her elbows. "It's your fault, asshole. He's messing with all of us to see if he can catch us before morning because he knows someone has the patience of a five-year-old."
Ari flips his sister off, and Nash snickers quietly from his post in the hotel room entryway. He volunteered as our acting scout, lying on his stomach with his ear pressed to the gap on the underside of the door.
Once Coach Castillo seals us in to his satisfaction with a strip of his trusty duct tape, the coast is clear. He's gotten crafty over the years, purchasing different colors and patterns of duct tapes to make it more challenging for his delinquent players to cover their tracks.
What he doesn't know is that this year we have a foolproof plan. We'll re-seal the door behind us when we leave to party the night away. If he happens to check, it'll look like we've never left.
The real ace up our sleeves this go around is Wynn. Since she's no longer a part of cheer, she's staying in a room all her own. She'll be able to seal us back in when we return tonight before Coach Castillo can catch wind of the rebellion happening right beneath his nose. Wynn was eager to help, ever the rule breaker that she is, so tonight we can all just kick back and enjoy each other's company.
"How did you know what kind of tape to use if he always switches it up?" Wynn asks.
"My twin, while a pain in my ass, has her genius moments," Ari teases. "She checked Pops' recent Amazon history and found the variety pack of duct tape he got. So, we just ordered the same pack."
Mari stretches her hand across the bed, and Ari smacks it with his own, high-fiving her. "We have our cooperative times," Mari says, grinning.
"That's perfect," Cole agrees, laughing. He wraps his arms tightly around Wynn, who's sitting on his lap across the room. After what I witnessed earlier with Cole and his father, seeing him happy warms my heart.
