Expectations are what drives Nate. Despite Nate's resentment towards his father, Cal Jacobs, he follows his father's footsteps. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree as they say. The more Nate looks into the mirror, his father stares right back at him, reminding him that he will never be enough. He wants his father's approval. He wants to prove that he's the best. He denies this, but Nate can never admit it. A man never admits when he's wrong, right?

Nate knitted through the complicated hallways of high school; duffle bag slung over his shoulder. Everyone noticed him, but they'd never know his father had beaten him to the ground the night before. This made him rotten right to the core. Nobody knew, nobody would understand. He took a turn and pushed open the doors into the boy's locker room. The steamy environment and the half-naked boys with towels slung barely around their waists made him uncomfortable. It was a feeling he couldn't exactly pinpoint. He fumbled his locker open and looked over to the side at the boy next to him, you, changing into his gym shorts. You noticed a little bruise on his jaw from the beating.

You parted your lips to say something, but he cut you off almost immediately. "I hung out with a girl. Neat, right?" He stated, turning over to give you a closed smile.