After the tiff in the classroom, everything seemed to have simmered down. Miles was still upset over what had happened. He never should've told her about him. She would've never understood, anyway. No one did, no one ever could. He blamed himself for wanting to talk to Erin again, and it practically haunted him, even as he wandered through the halls of the school, having finished eating his lunch quickly. In his hand, buried deep inside his pocket, was Erin's necklace. He'd finally convinced Andy to give it to him, but for a price he so deeply regretted. Still, he had it with him and as he'd gotten to the wall not very far from the lunch hall, returning after a round, he leaned on it and sighed deeply, contemplating on what had happened.

Miles had spotted Erin, the one girl he'd been looking for in all his time roaming around campus, passing by him as he went in the opposite direction. Stopping for a minute, he made a small sort of jog to her to catch up with her. "E-Erin!" he called out, stopping her for a moment.
"Erin, look, I'm sorry for earlier... It's just... I'm not so used to talking to people I don't know all that well. And I'm sorry for shrugging it off. I know I shouldn't have."

Taking the necklace out of his pocket, he handed it to her, gently handling the pendant in his hand knowing how fragile it might've been.

"Here," he said gently. "Be careful with that next time."

If only you knew.

"I deserve that sort of treatment. It seems like nothing I do is right," he said in reply to her blaming herself for being a 'A-Class pain'. "But anyway... You're welcome. See you in class, Erin."

Miles tried to fight back a blush when she smiled at him. He couldn't help it; her smile made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He rarely saw her smile around him, or even at him, and these would just be one of those rare times. Uttering a small goodbye, he put his hands back in his pocket and walked away from her, taking a look at her for a while before continuing on his way.

Each class went by quickly without him even noticing. Sure, he was listening to the teacher, but at the same time, he couldn't help but remember her smile every moment of that day, up until soccer practice, when Fred was practically waving his hand in front of Miles to see if he was even paying attention to him.

"Something wrong? Ya look like ya got caught up in a doozy or something like that," Fred said, finally getting Miles's attention.
"No," Miles said with a sigh. "Dude, I really, really like Erin. I can't stop thinking about her."
"Then, why dontcha tell her?"
"I don't want her to get hurt."
"Hurt by what?"

For a minute, Miles didn't talk, until he got up from the bleachers and walked away.
"Nothing," he shrugged off as he ran back to the field to play. Fred stood there, confused and wondering what the heck his best friend was talking about. He'd have to find out sooner or later.

The memory of what had happened in that hallway still lingered in Miles's head as he had practice with his teammates. Sure, he was still able to steer the ball around well, but when a teammate passed the ball to him, it had accidentally hit his face, and he was knocked out temporarily until several of them lifted him off to the bleachers. He regained consciousness not long after, and even then did he stare up at the teammates gathered around him in wonder as they were trying to figure out what was wrong with the guy.

"Hey, what's wrong with Durand?" the coach asked them, then turned to Fred.
"Got bitten by somethin', sir. He hasn't been feelin' real well," Fred said, half-lying. "He should be good in a while, I guess."
"You better, Durand. Listen to me, if you keep up this sorta behavior, I'd have to put you in as a substitute. Do you really want that?"
"No sir," Miles managed to utter while he lay down.
"Good. Now stay here for a while, watch the other guys play while you rub the pain outta that cheek."
"Wait, sir," Fred interrupted.
"Now what?"
"I just have somethin' to do. Can ya guys just go on ahead without me?"
"Yeah, whatever," the coach replied. "Come on, sissies, that's it, get in line."

Fred was looking for Erin around campus, and when he'd finally found her, he smiled a bit before he talked. The smile, though, came out a little more awkward than it should've.

"E-e-e... Hahhh, wait a minute," Fred said, panting a bit in exhaustion. "Ugh. D'ya notice anything off with Miles? I mean, he isn't concentrating at all."

"Oh my god, Miles, Miles that sonuvabitch. What an idiot," Fred grumbled to himself while he paced in front of Erin. He'd finally stopped in his tracks and looked at Erin with a small smirk.
"Sorry," he apologized. "It's just, Miles hasn't been concentrating, right? Can't focus on the ball, can't see where it's coming from, and that got him a smack in the face. From the ball. My god, he isn't usually like this. Anyways, I don't think you'd care about that now, right? Gotta get back before coach strangles me to death."
He waved goodbye and ran in the direction of the field, but he stopped again and ran back to her with an idea in his head.
"Better yet, why don't you come with me? I mean, you don't have to go home yet and there's a lot you can do just watching a couple of guys run around and sweat. I mean, not if you're into that sorta thing. Haha."

At first, Fred was surprised. How come she asked how Miles was? Was it because of the friendly exchange that Erin had told him about earlier? He didn't exactly know. But he knew something had to be different about the typically headstrong, Miles-hating girl that he'd known since diaper days. The way she sort of rejected it amused him. Wonderful, he thought. I wonder how I'm supposed to tell Milesy about this. He's gonna flip!

"Hey, I'm sure coach wouldn't mind," he assured. "Although I think the boys will. Nah, ya got me, so you're fiiiine."

The two trudged back to the soccer field again, this time being an ample distance away from where Erin was seated. Miles was still on the bleachers recovering from the hit, and the rest of the guys, as their attention was caught by the two arriving, started to jeer and cheer in their own teasing way. As the woops became even louder as the two neared the field, Fred could only utter a laugh.

"Shut up," he laughed out loud.
"Hoho, you two-timing freak," one of them yelled out, the whole team bursting into laughter.
"Come on, you guys, she's just a friend."
"And you'd invite her to come see us sweat? Lovely."
"Yeah, Freddie. Where're the roofies?"
"Agh, shut up you guys. She's practically like my little sis. Ya know."
"Riiight."

Miles had caught a glance of her, however, and he just tried to divert his attention away, to find that he couldn't get his eyes off her.

He'd finally diverted his gaze from Erin, but when he realized that she was heading his way, his heart had a way of trying to leap out of his chest with the expectation of disaster or just a harmless conversation. It seemed that his heartbeat grew faster and faster whenever she took a step near him, and when she'd set herself down next to him, he'd exploded. He was just so embarrassed for what had happened to him and letting himself be distracted by this girl. He shouldn't have. She hated him. What she was just showing him now was just kindness out of pure gratitude, right? He tried to take advantage of this as much as possible -- he wouldn't get this chance often and now was just the time to snag it.

"No, not really," Miles said honestly. "But thanks for asking."

For a while, he stared at the guys getting lectured by their coach yet again, but caught Fred's gaze as he practically smiled smugly at Miles. Fred was completely amazed that Miles and Erin could even sit next to each other, much less hold conversation with each other. Rare. He didn't even know why she hated Miles, but he believed that Miles would be a good match for her. Someone calm to calm down the fiery girl inside. Hopefully, nail her down to the ground and keep her there too. And Miles would have someone to help remind him that he needed to smile and feel truly happy for once. But getting back to Miles and Erin, they just sat there in an awkward silence as Miles rubbed his cheek.

"So, uhm, how'd Freddie coerce you into going here?" he asked. "I don't think this is a very good place to be if you don't wanna see sweaty guys or topless guys, at that."

"N-nothing," he immediately took back. "It's nothing, really. Just... It's personal."

He listened with a small smile creeping its way to one side of his face as he listened to Erin talk about how she and Fred were like. Brother and sister. At least they were able to talk. He was jealous of how Fred was able to talk to her, even though he knew that they were childhood friends. He just wished that he were her childhood friend too. Maybe then she would stop judging him.

"I think you might really have the better deal," he said as if he were breathless, and looked to the skies in complete and utter boredom, part of the pain having subsided from his face. "I guess it really beats just watching nothing go by. But cars."