Allison Reynolds was a bewildering choice for Palmetto State. She looked like a picture-perfect princess, but she could brawl with the best of them on the court. She refused to bend to others' expectations of her and could be honest to the point of cruelty. She could have inherited her parents' billion-dollar empire, but she didn't want the restrictions that life came with. She wanted the right to be her own person. She wanted to prove herself on the court. And for some reason she wanted Seth despite his many issues and rude affection.

Neil hoped she could learn to live with two out of three.

Andrew must have felt Neil tense up; they were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in the backseat of Andrew's car. He followed Neil's stare to Abby's car as Nicky pulled into a parking space a short ways down.

"She made it," Andrew said. "This should be interesting."

Nicky twisted the key out of the ignition. "For you, perhaps."

"Yes, for me." Andrew laughed and got out of the car.

Aaron was slower to move, so Neil followed Andrew out onto the asphalt. He hesitated with one hand on the door and stared at the Foxes' bus where it was parked a couple spaces down. Andrew watched him with a mocking smile on his lips. Neil was stalling and they both knew it.

Annoyed, Neil pushed the car door closed and started for the fence. He put Abby's digits into the security keypad and listened for the buzz before trying the knob. Andrew was on his heels as he went down the hall, with Kevin no doubt right behind him, so Neil didn't let himself slow. He braced himself for Allison's possible reaction and stepped into the locker room.

Neil had seen Allison at her best, dressed to the nines with flawless makeup and curls. He'd seen her fresh off the court, red-faced and sweaty and human. He'd never seen her like this.

Allison's platinum-blond hair was perfectly styled and everything she wore was trendy and expensive. At first glance it was like nothing had changed, but more than a split-second look showed the fight had gone out of her. She sat with her fingers laced together and hands locked between her knees, her shoulders slumped and expression dead. Her eyes were hooded and she stared at the floor, seemingly oblivious to the arrival of her five teammates.

Andrew went straight for his spot on the couch like he didn't even notice she was there, but Aaron and Kevin froze at the sight of her. Neil thought he should apologize or ask if she was okay, but his voice was dead inside him. Surprisingly, it was Nicky who found the strength to cross the room toward her. He crouched in front of her, moving slow like he thought she'd run off if he startled her, and gazed up into her face.

"Hey," Nicky said, soft and nice like the two of them hadn't spent all summer cutting each other down on the court. "Is there anything we can do?"