i can see you - tsitp

nine.

NATE CAN feel the tension as everyone around him waits anxiously for that final bell to ring. Nine months of torture leading up to what used to be Nate's favorite time of year: summer. Now he prefers winter.

The bell rings, and each classroom is sent into a frenzy of people grabbing their stuff and heading out the door. Nate's locker isn't far from his English class (last class of the day for him), so he heads straight over.

"Hey, Nate." says Steven Conklin, coming up behind Nate. He's got a huge grin on his face and he's decked out in all the Princeton merch he could find.

"Jesus." mumbles Nate, staring down at Steven's outfit. "Please tell me you haven't been wearing that all day."

"What?" Steven looks down at himself. "What are you talking about, bro? My shit is fire."

"Yeah, sure." states Nate with an eye roll as Taylor Jewel and her volleyball friends come striding over.

Things have been somewhat awkward between them, but Nate has done pretty much everything he can to make it normal. It's worked; mainly because Taylor got a new boyfriend.

"Oh, hey, boys." Taylor grins, pushing Nate away from his locker so she can lean up against it. She narrows her eyes at Steven's outfit. "You look stupid."

"Thanks." grumbles Steven, although he's mainly unbothered because it's Taylor dissing him, not Nate.

"She's right." scoffs Carlee, and suddenly Steven tenses up. He crosses his arms over his chest subconsciously, glaring at her. "I'm getting a headache from that bright orange disaster on your chest."

"Shut up." Steven pushes her by her head. "Surprised you're not wearing... what are UPenn's colors again? Boring and boring?"

"You're just jealous." she teases in response. Nate squints at them; they've been flirting all year, but neither of them have made a move. It almost seems too late now; Carlee is staying in Philly and Steven is going down to New Jersey. It's not a far drive by any means, but they're eighteen.

"No, but seriously, it's gonna be wild." Taylor reenters her conversation with her teammates just as Belly approaches the group. She's been pale and exhausted ever since it happened. Nate feels her pain. "It's the best team we've had in years. Oh, I made us these matching crop tops. They're pink, obviously, and I got a bunch of new kneepads."

"How can someone be so excited over knee pads?" Nate scoffs with a raised brow. Taylor rolls her eyes, kicking him in the shins. He groans and she begins laughing.

"Hey, Bells." she greets, turning to her best friend when her laughter dies down. "It's not too late to sign up for volleyball camp, you know."

"Shut up about volleyball!" exclaims Steven, his hands on his head. "Oh, high school is over, bitches!"

"You're such a clown, Steven." Taylor rolls her eyes. Nate hasn't noticed her flirting with him ever since the summer before, so he knows that what she said is true. She doesn't like him anymore.

"Hey, if I were going to Princeton," begins Evelyn, one of the volleyball girls, "I'd be screaming about it, too."

"Thank you, Evelyn." Steven smiles at her gratefully, holding up a hand for her to high-five.

"Wait." Carlee holds a hand up to her mouth, looking shocked. "Are you going to Princeton? That's so cool, I couldn't tell."

"Yeah, yeah." Steven brushes off her mockery. "And-And which school is ranked higher? Princeton or Penn?"

"Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, Steven." Spike, another senior that Steven is close friends with, approaches the group, throwing his arms around Steven. He's nowhere near as smart as Steven, or a majority of the grade for that matter, but Steven still chooses to hang out with him.