Love On Top

Saturday had finally arrived for most Stanford students with the exception of Rowan. She hadn't been able to sleep a wink the night because she had spent the night studying the day's match up. It was funny how much she really did have to study and not just on San Jose State but on Stanford too. Player names, Stats, coaching staff, the works. Anything to make her post game interviews better. It's a lot of prep work but everything she came back to led back to Andrew. 

By 3 in the morning, Rowan laid her notebook and pen down on her desk and decided that she would listen to Stanford's fight song 'All Right Now' since it had been so long since she had been to a game. She was looking forward to the marching band's halftime show. She remembered that they were very eccentric and extremely fun to watch. Part of her wanted to experience the game as a spectator but the other part of her knew that those days for her were over.

Remember Ro, your assignment is to have a Post-game interview with both Coach Shaw and Andrew. I have to look somewhat professional...

By 6:00 PT, the morning sun had begun to grace the San Francisco Peninsula with its hues and tones of orange and yellow. It was one of the more breath taking sites, Rowan remembered seeing. She still had eight hours to prepare for the game. Groaning she flopped back in her blue, brown, and silvery white sheets, closing her tired eyes, and willing herself to get some sleep. She tossed back and forth until her mind finally gave in and allowed her to sleep.

Her dreams however pleasant they were had an eerie feeling of deja vu to them. Like they were going to happen. To begin with Stanford would end up winning but how they got there was all a blur. During the game she felt as though she had been lost in the crowd and that she had failed to her end of the deal with Andrew. That was until she interview him after the game when he gave her the game winning ball and asked her out on a date or something like that but she couldn't quite tell what his words began to morph together.

Stanford Stadium and Andrew blurred in the violent white light that was now taking over as the outside voice continued talking. Rowan wished she stay in the dream and not face the day's reality because she didn't want to be let down by something that wouldn't happen. Why would someone like Andrew Luck who had the whole world at his finger tips want a girl like her who didn't have a clue. A gentle shaking over took her when she came to that conclusion and the familiar voice of her best friend called her into the waking world,

"Hey, Ro, it's time to get up and get ready for the game."

Groaning, Rowan blinked her eyes trying to adjust from the comforting darkness to the almost violently light mid day sun. Her tired body ached in protested and need for more sleep. Instead of rising like Quinn wanted her to, Rowan threw her soft chocolate brown blanket over her head and rolled over to face the wall.

Of course, Quinn was not going to have that! So she walked over to the foot of Rowan's bed and yanked off the covers before demanding,

"Rowan Jade, if you do not get the fuck up right now. I will call Dallas and have him bring over the purple ninja bunnies!" 

Quinn smirked because she knew that once her words registered in Rowan's ears she would get out of bed faster than a bat trying to get out of hell. Sure, enough, she didn't even get a chance to count to 3 before Rowan leaped out of bed and latched onto her.

"No! No! ANYTHING but the bunnies!! Anything!" She shrieked, grabbing Quinn's shoulders.

Quinn took a deep breath to prevent herself from laughing at her friend's hysteric state,

"Only if you go get ready for the game." Quinn warned. With that Rowan detached herself from Quinn and ran into their bathroom, slamming the door behind as she did so.

Quinn could help but shake her head and laugh at her. After all these years she still didn't understand what 'purple ninja bunnies' were about. She was amusing it came from Spring Break '09 when Rowan went to Hawaii with Dallas. She remembered that every time when he would tease Ro about it, she would go ape. Yet, neither of them would tell her what it meant. It was one of their strange secrets. Another good was the phrase: 'Dick to the face'  but is a story for another day.

'Speaking of Dallas...' Quinn thought as her Black Berry Storm 2 viberated in her shorts pocket. Yep, it was Dallas right on que:

'Did the bunnies work?'

Quinn almost laughed but replied back, 'Like a charm :P'

Two seconds after sending her message Dallas replied, 'Good. Now wut do u think Ro was doing talking to Luck?'

This caught Quinn off guard. Flopping onto her bed she thought back. When had she seen Rowan with Andrew Luck..? Oh wait, Ro had ran into a few days prior and had seemed to have a quick, friendly conversation with him.

'I think she was just being Ro. U know how she can get when she is excited.' Quinn waved him off.

'Ookkkayyy.' Dallas replied. Quinn rolled her eyes at him, knowing he wasn't going to let it go.

'Whatever. Just don't say anything to her about it. Okay?' She requested as she heard the shower turn off. She knew that Dallas was going to be the camera man for Rowan's interview's this evening and hoped he wouldn't embarrass her.

Just as Rowan stepped out of the bathroom in robe, hair wrapped up in a towel, Dallas replied back, 'Okay, fine, I won't.

Quinn blushed as Rowan's eyes flickered from Quinn's phone to back her face as she texted back 'Thanks, I owe you :)' Then she turned the phone on silent and tucked it under her rainbow pok-a-dot pillow.

Quinn looked up at Rowan, who was now wearing a rather smug look on her face, "Who were you texting?"

Quinn shrugged as she leave nonchalantly against the wall next to her bed and tried not to blush, "Oh, just Dallas. He wanted to know if he need to bring over those purple bunnies."

Rowan frown and moved to swat Quinn with the hair brush she had in her hand. Quinn flinched as she felt the hard plastic hit her bicep, then again for good measure. Looking rather pleased with herself as she folded her arms over her chest and then asked,

"Are you gonna help me find something to wear to the game or not?"

*********

1:30PM

Rowan walked down the tunnel of Stanford Stadium just as the guys started their warm ups. She wasn't going to lie about being nervous at all, but she was relieved to see Dallas standing there waiting on her near the end of the tunnel. He hadn't heard or noticed her approach yet he was too busy smiling down at his phone. So Rowan began to whistle the tune from 'Open Happiness.' from the Coca Cola commercial.

Stuffing her hands in her pocket, wandered over to her ginger friend. Rowan was surprised that he still hadn't looked up at her. He must've been really engrossed in the conversation he was having with whoever. She continued to walk up to him until her toes were almost touching his and peered down at his HTC Evo's screen.

"Whatcha doing?" Her voice was barely more than a whisper but Dallas jumped as if she had shouted in his ear. He calmed down when he saw that it was her and locked his phone.

"Nothing..." He informed her slowly, but he couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. Rowan analyzed his answer, but quickly saw through his rouse.

"You were texting Quinn, weren't you?" Dallas rolled his eyes and stuck his phone in his khaki shorts.

"Don't look so smug, Ro, but yes, I was texting Quinn." He got this starry look in his eyes and a  feint tint of pink his cheeks like he always did whenever her best friend was mentioned.

"Aw, you lik'er." 

Rowan teased with a twang, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder and began to dance around repeating her former sentence. Dallas loved Rowan and all that, but he wasn't going to take her teasing. Who would? So he said something that he knew he was going to regret,

"So you like Luck!"

Rowan froze in her tracks and glared at him. 

"No, I don't! I barely know him! He doesn't even know my name!" She denied, crossing her arms over her chest, "Don't ever tell me that I like someone when I have no clue what the situation is." As she lectured, she began to wave her finger at him. Dallas grabbed her finger an smirked, 

"Now the shoes on the other foot and you don't like it, do ya?"

She scoffed and shoved him away, "You are so lucky that you are my friend or I would punch you..."

Rowan didn't get the chance to finished her sentence because one of the event coordinators came around the corner holding two black t-shirts.

"Kowalski! Compton!" He called, walking up to them, "If you're gonna cover the game you're gonna wear our shirt."

Rowan made a face, but the polo shirt that was being offered to her with no protest. Dallas kept his face neutral and he also took his matching shirt.

"You know you guys can go enjoy warm up, right? You were given press passes, correct?" Both Rowan and Dallas nodded, flashing their passes as they did so.

"Ok, then you two are all set once you get those shirts on and are free to go check things out." The coordinator turned on one foot and walked away.

Dallas just threw the polo over the Tap Out shirt he had been wearing, so Rowan decided to just throw her shirt on as well.

"So how do I look?" She asked Dallas after she had finished straightening out the shirt. He gave her a once over and shrugged,

"Like yourself." Rowan pouted. "You know what I mean, Ro. You're always smokin' hot."

This made Rowan beam, happily and turn to grab his forearm, "Aw, thanks, Dally! Now let's go watch warm ups!" She exclaimed, tugging him.

"Woah, girl! You'll get to see plenty of Luck this afternoon." He teased her, only to be poked in the belly button, "Ok, ok, I'm just kidding. We can go now."

Rowan smiled and quite poking him to take her first steps onto Foster Field, but suddenly stopped and ran back behind Dallas.

"What is your problem now, Ro?" He questioned her with a slight chuckle.

She looked up at him with slightly fearful eyes before she stepped out from behind him and spoke up,

 "Nothing... I just thought we'd you know walk out together..."Dallas nodded and with that they both walked out together, side by side. 

No one seemed to notice them as they walked out onto the field. All of the players from both Stanford and San Jose State were busy with practice drills. It still blew her away how big they all were in person. Just imagine if she was at an NFL game! She would look like a midget even more than she did now!

Rowan looked to Dallas and he looked at her both of them unsure of where to go or what to do. There was a shout of warning as a stray football hurtling in their direction and without a second thought Rowan reached out and caught it. That was when all eyes were on her and as she brought the football down from her line of sight it was replaced by the figure of none other than Andrew Luck!

Rowan could only think of one thing to say at that moment and that was, 

"Oh shit...."