I did not realize that this is chapter 31 of this book. I was honestly planning for it to end around 35-40 chapters but it looks like this story has taken matters into it's own hands. I still have some things I would like to include in this book sooooo lucky you guys you get a longer story. :)

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*Three weeks into college*

Tatum POV:

I'm only three weeks into college and things are turning out to be much harder than I thought. Since I decided to play D1 lacrosse and come here on scholarship there are a lot of requirements that come with that. Not only do I have to maintain a 3.0 gpa but I also have to practice almost every single day even though our season isn't for another six months.

Believe it or not that isn't even the hardest part. I have to do all of this while trying to win Emily back. Now that classes are in full swing I see her much less. On the rare occasions that I do see her she's typically with Cam but they don't seem as close as they used to be. Something is going on and I need to find out what it is.

That and I have to pick a major still...

They say that I technically have the first two years of college to truly decide my major because I have to get through all the freshmen general education classes anyway but that isn't true for all majors. Some majors like engineers and nurses start their real curriculum in the first semester so if I wanted to be either of those then I am already behind. I am already a year younger than Emily so I am not trying to stay in college even longer than I have too. 

In the chaos that was my breakup with Emily, I had no time to think about what I wanted to do after high school ended. If I didn't have my lacrosse scholarship I wouldn't even be here right now. My parents can't afford to send me to anything but a local community college and right now I only have four years of eligibility to play college lacrosse. I could push for a fifth year but I don't want to do that. Emily already waited three years of high school for me. She isn't going to wait another two years for me to get out of college especially if I can't convince her to give me a second shot before then. I've been leaning towards engineering lately so maybe that's what I'll do but I haven't decided on what kind.

Basically I'm just fucked.

Not to mention it is also currently 5:45am and I am rushing out of the lacrosse house to get to the field for practice. 

I grabbed all of my things and practically ran out of the door. Most of the girls has already left. There were maybe three stragglers including myself still behind. That is not a good look for me. I practically had to beg for my scholarship so if any of the coaches or my teammates start to think that I am slacking off then I could quite literally be off the team.

And off the team means off campus for good. My college career will end before it's really even started.

As I got to the field the soccer boys were walking off. They had 4am practice but it wasn't anything difficult because they have a game later tonight. As I was running in, Sienna's boyfriend Michael was walking out. He was carrying a bag of soccer balls. He wore a huskies soccer workout shirt, plain black shorts, and slides with his soccer socks rolled down at his ankles.

I've met Michael a couple of times between my visits last year and this year now that I am actually a student here. This however is the first time that I've run into him on the fields.

"Hey Tate! You coming to the game today?" He asked with the same bright and genuine smile that he always has. He to gives of golden retriever energy which is why him and Sienna are actually perfect together.

"Yeah I was thinking of possibly stopping by. Is it going to be a good game?" I asked even though I was cutting it close to being late to practice.

"Yeah we are playing NYU. But that's not the only reason why you should come." He said with a smirk. 

"Oh really?" I asked having no clue where he was going with this.

"Yeah. Emily will be there. Sienna is making sure of it." Michael said with a smirk.

"Ohhh so Sienna has you in on this too?" I said with a laugh as I started walking backwards towards my team.

"Don't know what you're talking about Reese." He said sarcastically with a shrug and a smile.

"I'll be there." I said with a smile. Michael smiled and nodded before walking away. I then quickly rushed over to the team for practice. Maybe all hope isn't lost after all.

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Emily POV:

Today is the opening game of the boys soccer season. Next to lacrosse, soccer is my second favorite sport. I was never really good at it, not like I was at lacrosse but I've always loved to watch.

Last year I went to almost every single one of Michael's home games with Sienna. If you don't already know, UConn takes their sports very seriously. The stadium is always packed and most of the time there is actually a wait list if you don't get your tickets fast enough.

Sienna and I walked into the stadium, handing the worker our tickets to be checked. Once he confirmed we had valid tickets he handed them back to us and let us into the stadium. Sienna and I are sitting in seats C8 and C9 so we started heading that way. 

Sienna always goes all out for Michael's games. Right now she is wearing his alternate jersey, a UConn soccer hat, and her face is painted half blue and half white with the number 23 drawn on her forehead. She also snuck an airhorn into the stadium...

I am not looking forward to her blasting that in my ear.

When we found our seats, we sat down and watched the boys as they started their warmups. We made sure to get here a little early so that we didn't have to fight our way to our seats. Once we sat, Sienna turned to look at me. Her eyes were shinning with joy and she had the biggest smile on her face. The love she has for Michael is evident anytime she even thinks about him. I hope for a love like that someday.

And if they ever break up then love isn't real.

I couldn't help but laugh looking at her. "You look crazy." I said.

"Yeah crazy in love." She replied with a cheesy smirk and an eyebrow raise. "You get it."

"I'm not like that with Tatum." I replied confused.

"The fact that your mind went straight to Tatum and not to Cam proves my point." Sienna said with a knowing look. My face heated up, knowing that Sienna had caught me red handed. "Where is Cam anyway? I'd thought she'd wanna come to the game with you." Sienna added.

"She's hanging out with Layla. Said she wants to make good use of the pool while she still can." I replied with a shrug.

"Hmm sure." Sienna replied with her arms crossed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing." Sienna replied and that was the end of that conversation. As the time for warmups ticked down, the stadium began to completely fill up. However, the seat next to me was still empty.

Weird.

Right as I turned to Sienna to voice my confusion, I heard a voice mumbling replies of 'excuse me', 'sorry', 'thank you'. I glanced to my right and rolled my eyes when I saw Tatum walking towards the open C7 seat next to me. Without even needing to ask I already knew that this was another one of Sienna's plans to force us to hangout. There's no way out of all 38,000 seats that Tatum coincidentally bought the seat right next to me. 

"Hey Em." She said casually as she plopped down in the seat next to me. I ignored her and turned to face Sienna who had a sheepish grin on her face.

"Surprise?" Sienna said warily.

"Really." I deadpanned.

"What!" Sienna said as she sat up straight and threw her arms up in the air. "When I was talking about being crazy in love you were the one who thought of-"

"OKAY THAT'S ENOUGH!" I quickly said to cut her off. Tatum just smirked as she leaned back in her seat. She definitely heard enough to know what Sienna was talking about. I huffed and leaned back in my seat with my arms crossed, staring at the field as the boys finished their warmups.

Since nothing was going on the field, my curiosity got the best of me and I glanced at Tatum from the corner of my eye. Her choice of attire shocked me. She was wearing a pair of black cargo pants that were visibly dirty and a pair of white nike blazers that have seen better days. They were ripped and had a couple of holes in the sides.

She wore a black shirt as well that had the UConn Huskies logo and read, 'Huskies Engineering'. Her hair was in two French braids down her back and topped by a white hat with the logo that sat backwards on her head. She must've come to the game straight from class.

Since when does Tatum want to go into engineering?

"Your shoes have some holes in them." I said, breaking the silence. Tatum just looked down before placing her foot on the back of the seat in front of her as she turned her foot side to side to examine the shoe. Thankfully, the person seated in front of her didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah I guess I do." She replied.

"I'm surprised. From what I remember your blazers were one of your favorite shoes. They always looked like they were fresh out of the box." I said. Tatum just chuckled quietly and smiled as she looked down at her shoes.

"Yeah I used to take care of them but they've worn down over the years." She replied.

"Why not just get new ones instead of wearing shoes with holes in them?" I asked. She just shrugged.

"I don't know. I've become attached to them. It's almost like the creases and rips give 'em character." She explained. Weirdly, that made sense to me.

Wow Tatum really has changed.

And I'm starting to think she really has become a better person.

Our conversation ended there as the starting lineups for both teams were announced. After that we stood for the playing of the national anthem.

The whole game I wasn't really focused on soccer. I was focused on Tatum and how her ripped shoes were another sign that she really has improved her character and that maybe she really has changed for the better. I smiled as I looked down at her dirty worn shoes. The age reflected by the wear also reflecting in her soul. She may have changed but deep down I know that my feelings for her never have.

I still love Tatum. I've always loved her and it looks like I always will.