Okay. Sunlight beaming. Grass swaying. Breeze shifting. Crowd cheering. For me. For once, I was the star, and I would do anything to keep that status. As the referee blew his whistle, my eyes shot open to stare at the keeper, who was shifting with impatient readiness, and I took off running, eyes now only on the ball before me. With the most forceful, yet accurate, shot I could muster, that same ball flew like a torpedo, only to be scooped up in the net behind the stunned man who had been guarding it.

We had won. Because of me. If I wasn't a man, I probably would have burst into tears right then and there, but even if I had wanted to, I was swarmed by my sweat-smelling teammates before I could even react. They grabbed me from all sides, congratulating me, patting me on the back, even smacking my butt and giving a form of victory screech. I was frozen in shock inside the team's embrace. My head spun once, sickeningly, nauseatingly. I held my ground, stomach reeling in excitement. The buzz died down after a few minutes, when we had to tell the other team "good game." We did so and when we were all back at the sidelines, the coach made an announcement.

"Since this is the first game that this team has ever won and the fact that I just got paid, I've decided to take you guys out to pizza and ice cream!"

The boys let out a bunch of whoops and started excitedly to chat amongst themselves as they started for their cars.

Only one (smart) guy decided to ask, "Hey, Coach, where exactly are we going?"

That stopped us dead in our tracks and we laughed at our idiocy and eagerness.

"Hmm, anyone object to Pici's? Good!" he said, not giving anyone time to answer. "And after that we'll go to Fraum's! Okay, you may proceed. Those of you who can't drive or don't have a ride, you can come with me or find a ride fast."

I watched as everyone slowly drove away, anxious over a thing as trivial as a reward for winning. Even though I had won it, they still cared more about the food than anything else. That was teenagers for you. When it appeared everyone had gone, I strolled over to my little red Dodge Stratus that looked so lonely when the parking lot was deserted. With a sigh, I took my key out of my pocket and unlocked the door. As I was about to step inside, I heard a strange noise behind me, and I turned to find a tall, dark haired boy looking at me with huge, nervous emerald eyes.

"GAH!" I shouted in surprise.

He recoiled, stepping back in shock of my random outburst.

"Wh-wha-what the CRAP? Dude, you scared me!"

He blushed and muttered, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that! It's just… well…" he looked pointedly at the empty lot, "It seems like everyone else left and… I need a ride to Pici's…"

That was the first time I noticed what he was wearing. He had on the school soccer jersey, which was lime green and light blue. (Yeah, yeah, those were the school colors.) He was also carrying a backpack which had been handed out to each of us by the coach at the beginning of the year. His cleats were a very dirty black and his socks were a strange… orange. I had no doubt this kid liked his colors. Also, he had been on the team the whole year and I had never noticed him.

"How come I've never seen you before…?" I asked, suspicious. I imagined he was some kind of stowaway or spy for the other team. Don't believe me? It's happened.

He shrugged. "Maybe you just never paid attention to me. I guess I do sort of… blend in with the others."

He had to be lying! I was sure I knew every single person on the team by heart! And how the hell could I not notice some guy prancing around after a ball in vibrant, neon orange socks? That was something that could NOT be ignored! "That's doubtable. If you had been on the team, I would have noticed you from your insane colors." I pointed to what I meant.

He blushed a little, but continued to try and convince me he'd been here. "C'mon, you have to believe me! I know your name, Lovino! Maybe it's because I'm a Senior and you're a Junior?"

With a pained growl I asked, "Okay fine. Whatever. What's your name?"

"Antonio."

"Then go ahead and get in, Antonio. I'll bring you to the pizza place, but you'll have to get your own ride to Fraum's and home, because I'm not staying."

Antonio had started to get into the car, but paused at this. "You aren't staying? Why not? It's your party! You won us the game!"

I had gotten in the car already, but looked up at his half-way- in frozen figure with surprise. How did he know that I was angry? That I was upset that all the guys cared about was the party that deserved to be mine? It was like he had read my mind and exposed all my feelings.

"No… I'm not staying… I-I don't like pizza…" I lied. I ran a hand through my dark brown hair and looked straight ahead.

Finally, he completed the task of sitting down. He turned to look at me, his eyes all soft, and gave me a dazzling white smile. "Well, whether they say it or not, all of our teammates are grateful for what you did. Including me. I never imagined we'd win a game, but you did it! So… thank you, amigo."

I had no idea what to say to this random kid with the insane socks who appeared out of nowhere spouting crazy crap, so I just made a mumble noise and drove the two of us to Pici's. It wasn't far from Brazen High, so it wasn't very long until we were sitting in the parking lot of the place. Antonio wasn't getting up for some reason, so I cleared my throat. Still no response.

"Um, hello? We're here."

After half a minute of silence, he turned to look at me, slightly pouty. "Are you sure you don't want to come in? It'll be fun!"

I glared at him with an impatient huff. "I told you I don't like pizza, damn it, and I don't even know you, so how about you just go find your other Senior soccer buddies and gorge yourself silly on cheese and dough?"

His eyes saddened even more with my words. "I don't have any friends. And I wanted to get to know you… please? It's not like you have to eat pizza! Just hang out with your friends and laugh with them! Talk with them, force them to acknowledge that YOU won them their pizza!"

This guy would NOT get off my back, would he? Nope, he wouldn't leave my freaking car until I agreed to go. "FINE!" I gave in, "but only for a little while. And I don't have any friends either. Just people who tolerate me when I do stuff that they like. That's all they are. True friends don't exist." I hopped out anxiously.

Antonio was next to me in a second and we walked in together, me almost wanting to kick him for smiling like that.

The place was packed, of course, though mostly with our team. We told the lady at the front we were with them, which she believed due to our ragged, grass stained appearances and we were given our plates. Antonio sped past my slowness to get to the buffet. I could barely believe it when he snatched up one of each kind of pizza (which was about six slices) and continued to stick pasta and those weird brownie things on his dish as well. Before I had even reached the pasta part, (I was Italian, pasta was my thing) he had already sat down and devoured half the pizza and all of the noodles.

By the time I had retrieved all I wanted and sat across from him, the rest of the pizza had disappeared and all that was left was his brownies. I stared in disbelief as he sucked up all three brownies, one right after the other, without so much as chewing or breathing.

"What the hell? Are you a vacuum cleaner?" I gasped as he grinned again.

He let an awkward laugh escape and looked at me shyly. "I was a little hungry… I forgot to eat breakfast this morning!" Another laugh spilled out, though it seemed forced and he actually looked… embarrassed.

It made me wonder… "What about lunch? Did you eat lunch?"

He paled slightly at my words. "O-of course I did! They serve lunch right at school, so why would I not have?"

I didn't believe a word coming out of this Spaniards mouth. "Uh-HUH. Really? Then you must have worked up quite an appetite at that soccer game. What did you do exactly?"

His fake smile shifted into a slight frown. "I warmed the bench, como siempre."

That alerted me right away. Antonio was poor and starving, as much as he didn't want to admit it. Maybe he slipped into an extra soccer jersey and took an extra bag when he heard we were having free food..? But then where the hell did he get those socks? Nobody had anything that resembled those in the least. As I puzzled over this, I shoveled the pasta into my mouth and stared him down across the table. Under my gaze, he shifted and squirmed, not ever looking directly at me. So he knew that I had figured it out?

Then I realized the best way to figure out if he was really on the team or just faking it. For his sake, I hoped I just had an incredibly elaborate blond moment. I stood up, confused eyes watching my every move. As I started to walk over to the coach, I heard him stand up and follow behind me, asking what I was doing under his breath.

"What does it look like?" I muttered as I finally reached my target. "Hey, Coach."

He turned around and smiled at me. "Hey, there's the hero! How you doing, sport?"

"Fine, fine. Hey, Coach? I just wanted to know if this guy was on the team." I pointed to Antonio, who was blushing red behind me.

I was shocked inside as he spotted Antonio and smiled a knowing grin. "Ah, yes he is. He just came today! I was going to have him introduce himself earlier, but it was almost the end of class… Hey, everyone! Listen up!"

They all became silent under the coaches mighty shout. "This here is a new member of our team! Go ahead," he said to Antonio, "and introduce yourself!"

And he was shoved in front of me, all eyes on him. "Hola! I'm Antonio Carriedo. I'm an exchange student from Spain… nice to meet you all!" He gave them the charming smile he had given me earlier.

There were shouts of "hellos" and "sups" from the group of teens. They all seemed to take to him well, all smiles and everything. They hadn't been as friendly with me, as I could recall. Of course, I could never produce a smile like that, nor be as charming.

"Hey, Tony!" a guy from the group I recognized as Jeff called. "Come sit with us, eh?"

"Of course! But…" he turned and looked at me. "Can Lovino come as well?"

The boys all looked at each other and then back at me, smirking. I'd never felt so damn insulted. "Why would I want to sit with those bastards anyway? I didn't even want to come to this freaking thing!" I yelled as I stormed out the door of the place, completely forgetting my pasta in the process.

Secretly, I hoped that Antonio would ditch them and follow me, but I doubted that would happen. Just in case, I snuck a look behind me. He looked distressed and seemed to be angrily speaking with the guys, but made no move to attempt to come. What did I need him for anyway? Did I really actually believe he was different then all the rest of those idiots? Why had I thought he could be my first true friend? As I got to my car, I reached for the key in my pocket. Or not. I reached in the other pocket. Oh no. I searched all my pockets frantically, coming up empty. Feeling defeated, I stared in through my car window at the key in the ignition that I had switched to off, but had somehow forgotten to retrieve.

"FUCK!" I screamed as loud as I could, as a mother and her small child walked by. I received a prompt smack and an order to "wash my mouth out." In anger, I slammed my head repeatedly against my stupid car's window. Stupid, stupid, stupid CAR! And not only had I forgotten my key, I had also left my cell phone in there, assuming that I wouldn't be in the restaurant long. I felt my eyes well with tears, and I sank to the curb, losing any composure I had previously had. "Why damn it? WHY?"

I heard footsteps walk behind me, but didn't think about it. The only thing that made me turn in shock was the soft, "You'll be okay, amigo," and the hug from behind that went with it.

I gasped and struggled out of his way too intimate embrace. "Wh-what the hell do you think you're doing?" I felt self-conscious in more ways than I ever thought I possibly could. But not uncomfortable…

"You needed that and you know it."

"N-no I didn't! Why aren't you in there laughing it up at me with the rest of those ass-"

Before I could spit out the "holes" part, he covered my mouth and made a chastising noise. "Where did you get that mouth? And I'm not in there because I belong with you. You're my true friend."

He took his nasty pizza flavored skin off of me so I could spout, "I cuss because I want to! And we just met today! How can we be friends already?"

"True friends don't need time to recognize that they are friends. They just fit together, like pieces of a puzzle and flow naturally." His words made him sound like an old man.

I grouched, "How would someone who has never had friends know something like that, huh?"

He smirked. "When did I ever say I'd never had friends? I just said I had no soccer friends. I actually have two very good ones!"

"Speaking of soccer, why did you lie to me? You said you'd been here all year, but you just came today. So, what was up with that?"

His answer was simple. "I didn't want you to think too much about it. Also, my friend, I didn't just come to the school today. I've been here since the beginning of the year. But I just got into soccer, because I don't think Home Economics suits me very well!" He laughed again.

I had to agree, he didn't look much like a guy who did any sewing or much other home stuff. I gave a sigh and decided to get back to the serious matter at hand. Me being locked out of the stupid car. "Hey, Antonio? Do you have a cell phone I could borrow?"

"SÍ, I do! Uh, but it's not very… nice." He dug in his pocket, retrieving a bulky black thing.

With an impatient grumble, I asked, "Does it work?"

Antonio laughed and nodded. "It does!"

I began calling the only person I had to call. My twin brother, Feliciano. He was at home, which was where the spare key was, hanging on the key rack. I pressed the talk button and prayed that he would answer, though this number wasn't familiar. Just when I was about to get frustrated and throw the damned phone on the concrete, he picked up with his normal idiotic greeting.

"Hellooo! This is Feli!"

"Feli, what the hell did I just get through telling you yesterday about answering the phone like that? You could have creepers all over you!"

"Whaaa! I'm sorry, fratello! "

"Ugh, whatever. Listen, could you get my spare car key from the rack? I locked my freaking keys in my car and I need your help!"

"Hey, Lovi? Why aren't you calling from your own phone?"

"FELICIANO THAT IS BESIDE THE POINT! PLEASE GET THE STUPID KEY AND MEET ME AT PICI'S!" I screamed, annoyed by his A.D.D.

He gasped. "You went to Pici's without me? Llloooooovvvviiiiiii! You know I love pizza and I really love pasta!"

"Jeez, I'm sorry! I'll bring you some other time! But now can you please just get the key?" I had to practice patience with him, even if he was annoying me to death.

"Okay! I'll be there in a second!"

I slammed the phone shut and handed it back to its rightful owner. I could feel my eye twitching, but I wouldn't be able to stop it even if I tried, so I just rubbed my temples. Antonio patted my back, trying to comfort me in my anger. It helped marginally, but when Feli showed up, I was probably going to kick his sorry little ass for all the stalling.

Apparently, a second translated to almost half an hour to my idiot brother, so we sat there in the cold forever until he finally showed up in his stupid red convertible-thing, my spare keys in hand.

"Fratello! I got the keys! I got them!" He practically tripped over himself running up to us. "Oh, ciao!" he said as he spotted Antonio. "I'm Feli, Lovi's twin brother!"

"I'm Antonio! I'm your brother's new friend from soccer! Pleased to meet you!"

I attempted to ignore it as they both started to get all excited and start blabbering about something that was seriously unimportant. I snatched the keys from my brother's hand, which he barely noticed, since he was so distracted by Antonio and his stupid charming self. With a forceful shove, I unlocked the car and got in, started it up, and started driving away. As I passed a very surprised looking Spaniard, I called, "Why don't you have my brother drive you home, since you two seem to get along so well!"

With round eyes, he shook his head and ran up to my car. "No, no, no! I do like your hermano but I'd much rather ride home with you! I'm sorry if we got to talking and… well, he just drove away, waving good-bye so I actually kind of need you… if you would? Please?"

I was definitely going to beat Feliciano. He would DIE tonight! First going all A.D.D and next just leaving me to deal with this guy? "Fine! Get in!" I spat, putting venom in my words.

He ignored my heavily acidic tone and climbed in hastily, smiling that smile all the way. "Thank you very much!"

"Where do you live?"

Antonio paled for the second time that night at my words. "Uh, w-what?"

"I asked where you lived. You know, since I'm bringing you home and all? God, do I have to spell it out?"

His face squidged like he was thinking really hard. "I live… I live in Wind Estates. On Breezy Street."

I started driving, knowing exactly where the middle class neighborhood was. Something was definitely up with him having to think so hard about where his home was. I didn't believe that he even lived there, not in the slightest. But what choice did I have? I had to do something with this guy! So I took him to where he claimed to live and stopped in front of a two story gray bricked house that was very well decorated when he said to.

"Home sweet home," he chuckled as he hopped out of the car. I watched him as he walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.

There was no way I was leaving without knowing this actually was his house. N-not that I cared about him or anything! I just wanted to be sure… A small girl answered the door, looked excited, and pulled him in by his sleeve. Before disappearing into the place, he turned to me and waved. I blushed suddenly, embarrassed that he had known I was checking up on him. As I drove away, I started to think that scene over and over in my head. That little girl had been about five or so but had looked nothing like Antonio. In fact, she didn't have any of the Spanish features of him at all.

Then again, he was an exchange student, so he was most likely living with a family that wasn't his… but that would mean he should be living with a family that had a child in High School. Then again, I didn't know that that wasn't just the little sister of the teenager… Ugh why was I even so caught up on this? I tried to force all thoughts about my new…friend… away from my mind as I drove to my house, which was only about eight minutes away from his by car. When I walked in the front door, I was mauled by my overly energetic little brother, who was already apologizing and begging for mercy. So he knew I'd be mad, huh?

"I'm sorry, Lovi! Don't hurt me! WHAAAA!" he cried into my shirt.

"I'm not going to hurt you! Feli, you're so annoying! Why'd you leave me with that damn Spaniard? I was going to make you take him home!"

"Ve~, he wanted to ride home with you! He told me so! I thought I'd do you both a favor, since he's your first friend and all!"

This made me redden and I almost slammed his face into the floor. Almost.