My Fake Relationship with My Best Friend **Completed**

My Fake Relationship (Chapter Twenty Eight)

To say I wasn't upset the moment I checked my phone the next morning, would be a lie. I had really hoped Ringo would call, or text at least. There was this glimmer of hope he might leave me a message after our fight and apologise or something. For some reason I felt too nervous to be the one to make the first move.

Harry ended up giving me a lift to school because it was obvious Ringo wasn't, and from the moment we got into his car he looked at me with this concerned look that I just wanted to wipe off his face.

"Don't look at me like that," I muttered.

"Look at you like what?" Harry asked innocently.

"Like you feel sorry for me, I'm fine," I lied.

Harry sighed. "It's okay to be pissed off at Ringo."

"I'm not pissed off at him," I shook my head.

"You're pissed at him," Harry stated, "and yeah, okay, I get it. He can be stubborn...especially when it comes to football. Football just isn't your thing, Nina, which is why you've never realised how good Ringo is at it."

"I know he's good at it," I frowned.

"No, you don't," Harry argues. "I mean, you watch the games, but you aren't really paying attention."

"Of course I'm paying-."

"Not like the scouts do, like the coach does. Ringo is like...big leagues good, not to mention he loves playing it. The scout coming to the game isn't just scouting for the college team, there are going to be state scouts there. They look you up at college and...that's how you make it big, but all it could take to ruin it for Ringo is some small shoulder injury, and then missing this game would literally just end it all," Harry explained. "He doesn't want to admit to himself he might've blown his chances because his shoulder hurts a little."

I don't speak to Harry for a second but I finally just nodded "Oh."

"Yeah, oh," Harry agrees. "Look, if his shoulder is bad, he needs help, and I know he'll listen to you eventually...just keep that all in mind, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

It was surprising to find that as each day passed and I walked these hall, people would stare just a little less, but I guess I wasn't the topic on everyone's lips anymore. No, the new topic of gossip was the very public break up in the halls between Ebony and Jacob after Ringo let it slip on Ebony's true nature. I was glad the heat was off me and Ringo for a little while. I had enough to deal with without being the topic of gossip.

"You didn't tell me a state scout was going to be at the game."

I lent against the lockers next to Ringo who had his open and was placing his books inside. I couldn't see his face because it was blocked by the locker door, but I saw him hesitate before he decided to shut his locker door and look at me. He looked...tired...and sad, and I had never seen such a depressed look on his face.

"I didn't think you'd understand," he admitted.

"I wouldn't understand?" I asked surprised. "I'm not stupid, Ringo, I know how this stuff works."

Ringo shook his head at me  and looked away from me like he was ashamed or something. "I know you get it."

"Then what? Because I get how important this is to you, and I get you can't afford an injury right now, but people get injuries in football all the time," I told him.

"Not me, I don't," Ringo said. "I just...I'm this close to finishing the season perfectly...this...just can't be happening."