catch me i'm falling // [david hogan]

A/N: MC's full name is Natalie Lawler, just to avoid any confusion ;-)

"Okay, how do you think it went?" Jessica knocked at my locker, wiping her brow.

"Honestly?" I laughed. "Not as hard as I thought. But the whole back page totally got me! It took me a while, but I think I got everything straight." I shut my locker, grabbing the brown paper bag sitting on top of the anatomy book that would now be taking a two-week break beside my calculus textbook.

"Ugh, you're so lucky. I definitely screwed up at least five questions."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Jess, but you've been spending more time talking about Homecoming than you spent studying for that."

"No you're totally right, Nat," she giggled. "But now that it's over... we can finally go dress shopping! What do you say?"

"Look, Jess, I don't know that I'm gonna go to Homecoming—"

"Oh my god, Brandon can't come. I'm so sorry." She pouted, holding the cafeteria door open.

"It's fine, I'd rather not talk about it in front of everyone, so," I pleaded as we made our way to our usual spot, where to my dismay, Rich had decided to sit today.

"Of course," she nodded, joining the couple. "Christine! Rich! Long time no see, how are you? How's the team?"

"Ready for the game tomorrow as long as Hoagie gets his head out of the clouds. It's at Agoura, they're one of the hardest teams to beat." He chuckled, as Christine shot me a look.

"Oh yeah, what's going on with David?" Jessica prodded between sips of water.

"He's obsessed with some girl, I can tell by the way his layups are lately."

"He didn't say who?" Christine tugged the red sleeve of his letterman jacket.

"I didn't get a chance to ask, but I'll talk to him. He's gotta get his head in the game, though." I held my breath, watching Jessica hang onto Rich's every word.

"Yeah, find out. I'm dying to know who he's going to take to Homecoming!" Jess nudged me. I grimaced, opening up a bag of carrots.

"Oh, yeah, Jessica, I'm sorry about that. Hey, want me to see if any of the guys on the team still need a date?"

"Thanks, Rich, but I'm actually going to go with Shane. He's letting me coordinate our colors and getting me a limo, so I'm okay with it."

"Oh," Rich smiled. "Shane will be a great date."

"I know, I keep telling her that!" I laughed, nudging her back.

"Guys, we're talking about my best friend since birth here!" Jess whined, making sure he wasn't close by.

"So? I told you before to just—"

"Hey! Hoagie!" Rich called out, motioning a distant David over toward the last open seat at our table. My eyes widened and I felt my heart begin to palpitate.

"Wow, Rich, way to be subtle." Christine rolled her eyes, laughing.

"He said he's gotta be somewhere after practice!" Just as David finished at the register, I watched him begin to approach our table. I felt a small bead of sweat forming above my brow, wiping it away before turning back around to face everyone. I inhaled, scrambling to get the contents of my lunch back into its bag. God forbid he ask me the status of my trip to PA, the trip that 1. my friends knew nothing about, and 2. was sure as hell not happening but I needed to keep in my back pocket as an excuse to get out of this whole mess.

"Hoagie! Where ya been all day?" Rich laughed as David took a few steps toward us.

"David!" I jumped up in front of him. "I actually need to talk to you about the neighborhood meeting later!" I caught my breath, blocking him from coming any closer. "I've got some papers in my locker, Mrs. Poole gave them to my mom to give to you guys!" He stared at me, then folded his arms.

"Right, right! The papers. Mrs. Poole mentioned those, very important." He smiled. I motioned for him to follow me, not even looking back at the table.

"I'm sorry." I shook my head as we reached my locker.

"So, is this your way of telling me you'll go to Homecoming with me?" He leaned against the locker next to mine, tugging his lip.

"I'm still not sure, but I did need to talk to you."

"What about? Was the tape okay?"

"Oh yeah, it was perfect. No, I, uh," my eyes darted around, finally landing on the wall-sized calendar outside the science lab. "My car's going into the shop this weekend, and I wanted to ask you if you'd be able to give me a ride home from work on Saturday."

"You pulled me out of the cafeteria to ask me that?" He ran a hand through his hair, chuckling.

"Hey, I'm doing you a favor! Rich was about to ask you about your Homecoming date status. Didn't wanna embarrass you or anything." I grinned, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you could not embarrass me by saying yes. Problem solved!" he licked his lips.

"Look, David," I checked behind me. "I really do want to you go with you! I promise I'm trying to figure it out. How about if I let you know Saturday?"

"Oh, so I guess that means I'll be picking you up from the shop." He inched closer.

"I mean, if you want a date for Homecoming—" I shrugged. He laughed, nodding.

"Alright, Lawler. What time does your shift end?"

"Five."

"You sure you don't need me to come a little earlier? Help you close a few phone orders?"

"Five, David." I rolled my eyes, letting out a small giggle.

"Five it is. I'll see you Saturday." He cracked a smile, the buzz of the bell breaking our gaze.

"Thank you," I called out, gripping the dial on my locker door. "And good luck tomorrow!"