Frankie

"How is he?" Gwen asked Francesca as she entered the small and quaint coffee shop.

"He's fine, but he's got about a dozen stitches and a wicked hangover. I'm headed back to my dorm right now," Francesca explained.

Gwen sighed and smiled when she saw Jordan, Tyler and Max. "Alright, take care and have a safe trip," she said and waited for Francesca to say her goodbyes before hanging up.

Tyler got up to hug Gwen while the two waited at the tables. "Who was that?" Max asked and reciprocated her greeting to him with a hug.

"Frankie. She's just about to come home," she responded and sat down in between Max and Jordan.

"You're friend… what's her deal?" Jordan asked as he eyed the barista and then looked at Gwen.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, her brother. Why does he have a drinking problem?"

Gwen sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I don't know the full story but from what Frankie told me, he played football and was really talented in it. He had a full scholarship to Notre Dame and was expected to be drafted into the NFL. Then he got into an accident and busted his knee, basically ruining his chances," Gwen explained sadly.

The group was quiet for a moment. It was as if they were sympathizing for Francesca's brother, knowing what hockey meant to them and how it would feel if they couldn't play because of an accident.

"Please don't tell Frankie that I told you guys. It's a really touchy subject for her and her family, especially Drew. I don't know, but it seems like there's more to the story than Frankie's telling me."

*

It had been a week since Francesca met Gwen's friends, and Gwen hadn't invited her to anymore get togethers, which she was completely fine with. Francesca had a lot of work quickly piling up on her as the semester began to near.

Drew came back on Wednesday sporting a nice black and blue bruise and his stitches on his face. He first went to Francesca's dorm to apologize for what had happened and said that he should have been the big brother and never had bothered her.

Francesca understood that it was his way of coping with what happened but gave him an ultimatum that he get help or she wouldn't be there anymore to bail him out is something like the stunt he pulled happened again. Drew must have taken it seriously because he had never looked more solemn in his life, except for when he lost his scholarship.

Driving up to Bob's Mechanic with her black 1987 Mercedes-Benz, Francesca started looking for her brother. Getting out of the car, she said her hellos to Bob, her brother's boss. "Have you seen Drew?"

Bob looked around. "Yeah, he should be inside working on a car that just came in," he answered and pointed to the back.

Nodding, she walked to the direction he was pointing out. Spotting his figure by a nice looking silver car, Francesca fiddled with her bag, her coffee on her other hand. "Okay Drew, here's your pain meds, please don't make me run out and do anymore of your chores or else get someone else to do it because I have a date with Spock," Francesca said hurriedly and placed his medication on the table, not looking at her brother.

"Um, don't think Drew's here right now."

Francesca's eyes widened as her gaze quickly went from the inside of her bag to the man she was standing beside. "You're not Drew," she managed to choke out. Francesca immediately recognized him as the cute hockey player Gwen introduced her too.

"Who's Spock? Does Gwen know you have a date with him?" he asked trying to stifle a laugh. He wanted to see how long it would take to get under such an awkward girl's skin.

Closing her eyes in embarrassment, she asked God if she could be anymore socially inept and why she was so blessed at being awkward. Keeping her eyes closed, she quickly turned her heel, but didn't get far as she bumped into another person, her coffee spilling on the unfortunate person who happened to be on her path.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry," she said, her right hand flying to her mouth in shock. "Ryan, oh my God," she stuttered and began to stupidly wipe his wet shirt.

"Frankie, really its fine," Ryan chuckled and tried stopping her from touching him.

"But-but, I…"

Ryan smiled at her and reassured her that there was no harm done. "It's just my work clothes, it's meant to get dirty. Although I don't think it's supposed to get wet," he tried to joke with her, but it didn't stop her from turning a million shades of red. "I gotta go, I'll see you around," he said and left.

"Bye," she whispered even though her never would have heard her. Francesca pursed her lips and closed her eyes. She counted to ten, hoping that what happened was just a dream, until she heard a chuckle from behind her.

"The best friend? Really?" Jordan mocked her. "Wow, that's going to be a lot of problems."

Francesca spun around and glared at him. "I do not like my brother's best friend!" she tried to convince him.

Smirking, Jordan sauntered towards Francesca and leaned towards her ear. "Sweetie, it's so obvious you might as well tell him," he whispered and looked up at Ryan, who was looking at the both of them. "Oh look, you're lover's jealous."

Francesca blushed even more and was about to look when Jordan stopped her with his right arm. "W-what are you doing?"

"Making him more jealous."

Francesca shivered when she felt Jordan's breath on her neck. She had never been this close to a boy except for her family member, but that didn't count.

"Hey, Frankie, you're brother's here!" Ryan yelled.

Quickly turning around, she made her way to where Ryan and her brother was. She scolded herself; she never really thought she was that obvious about liking Ryan, the only person that knew was Gwen and now apparently Jordan.

"Bye, Frankie!" Jordan teased her and laughed.