How To Play the Player (COMPLETED)

Who Will It Be

"What's been going on, Re." Brianna nudged my side with her elbow. "We hardly talk anymore."

I tore my eyes from Bryan subtly flirting with Shay in the front seat to my Brianna beside me, her hazel eyes wide. She had made sure to bundle up as Liam had been right; light snow flurries had been falling when Bryan picked me up a few hours ago, the sky a blanket of grey, the color of Liam's eyes at night. The fact that the boys were going to have to play with this, an hour from home at that, made my heart hurt for them. They were sure to be freezing all night.

"We have boyfriends now." Jay had been dodgy the last couple days, as if he could sense the inevitable breakup coming and I hadn't been able to catch him for longer than a couple minutes. "That's pretty time consuming, huh?"

"Sure." Brianna narrowed her eyes as if she could read my mind. "But I miss my best friend. Shay is totally awesome and I really like Andy, but I miss you, Reese. It seems like when you're not with Bry you're with Liam. It's like I don't exist in your little world anymore."

The words felt like she'd shoved a knife through my chest. Brianna had been there through my lowest times, forcing me out of bed and undressing me before climbing into the shower with me to ensure I cleaned. She was the one who constantly dragged me through the malls and stores to try and bring my spirits up with anything and everything. She was just as much of my best friend as Bryan, but what hurt the most was that she was right. I had been leaning so heavily on Bryan and Liam the last couple months I hadn't thought to look in her direction.

"You will always be part of my world, Bri. You're my bestie and have been through everything with me. Nothing and nobody will ever change that, okay? As a matter of fact, let's have a sleepover after the game tonight."

Brianna started clapping, but Shay whirled around in the passenger's seat and looked back at us, eyes wide. "Sleepover? Oh My God, can I join? I haven't been to one since sixth grade, Nicola thinks they're lame."

Neither of us even considered her words and said. "Yes." In unison. As Shay and Brianna broke into giddy slumber party talk while I looked toward Bryan in the driver's seat. He caught my eye in the rearview and smiled, his entire face brightening by just the slightest action. After a moment of hesitation, I returned it.

**

This was the make or break it game for the boys to get into the playoffs and it just happened to be against one of the best teams in the state. They were currently zero to nine. I couldn't bring myself to sit down as we headed for the bleachers, Bryan a couple feet behind me with his Nikon. The girls had already hurried to sit, but were hugging one another to try and keep warm. I, being Reese Taylor, had only a thin sweater on, but for some reason wasn't cold yet.

"You've got an admirer." Bryan joked as he came up behind me, dropping his camera so it hung on the strap and rested against his gray sweatshirt. I followed his eyes to find Liam behind Jay and Andy, looking as if he hadn't slept in three days. I probably looked the same. With Jay's dodgy behavior came me doing the exact same to Liam. His words had hung in the room for hours after they'd left his mouth. He had not only quoted the Wizard of Oz, but had discreetly admitted he was in love with me. I knew how hard tonight was going to hit him, but still hadn't been able to find the right thing to say after Wednesday night.

"Today's the anniversary of their death." I breathed, shooting my best friend a look. "We need to pray he keeps his head in the game."

Bryan draped his arm over my shoulder and hugged me against him. "I don't think we have anything to worry about."

***

The game went into overtime. I'd turned into an icicle halfway through the game, but luckily had Bryan as a personal space heater. It was the final play of the game that I slid out of his grip and made my way down the bleachers, wanting a better view. As soon as the ball was hiked to Liam he jogged back a few steps, scanning the field for anyone open. When he saw nobody was, he launched forward, juking someone that nearly tripped him before taking off at lightning speed toward the goal post. He was sacked just as he stretched his body out to land over the line. I was suddenly thankful I'd broken away from the crowd because I would have been deafened by the uproar that was caused by our boys scoring the winning touchdown. I hugged my arms around myself as the boys headed for the locker room. Brianna and Shay were beside me immediately, both talking about how great the play was.