Chapter 6
“I’m so, SO freaking excited you decided to do cheer with me, Ayden.” I drape an arm over Mandy’s shoulder as she chatters away, words spilling faster than I can keep up with. “It’s going to be so fun traveling with the team together.”
“That’s if I’m good enough,” I murmur as we weave through the gym’s hallway, the rubber soles of our sneakers squeaking against the polished floor. Beyond the double metal doors in front of us is the football field, and our fate…
I’m being dramatic. I’m kidding. It’s not that serious.
“They’d be stupid not to pick you.”
“You’re supposed to say that as one of my best friends.”
She huffs. “I would never lie to you.”
I’m not really a sports person, but I’ve always had the upper body strength for it, and I make a solid base for the flyers.
Years of spotting Alysa while she tumbled her way through gymnastics drilled that into me.
Trying out just made sense—Dad says it’ll look good on my Stanford application, or whichever school I decided to aim for.
Everyone says colleges eat up athletes, and although I know my grades will get me somewhere, another leg up won’t hurt.
The metal doors squeal as we push through, and suddenly it’s like stepping into a sea of bodies.
At least a hundred students are already scattered across the football field, buzzing with nerves and excitement.
With nearly four thousand kids at our Denver high school, I shouldn’t be surprised—but the sheer number still makes my stomach flip.
Glad I didn’t have to perform in front of this many people.
We drift toward our crew: Ian, Alysa—strictly along for moral support—Roxanne, and Amber. A few other familiar faces linger at the edges, girls whose names slip my mind but whose smiles brighten as Mandy and I approach.
“Ayden!”
“Hey, guys.”
“I swear you look cuter every dang day, Ayden.”
I roll my eyes, but can’t keep myself from grinning.
“Don’t inflate his head,” Alysa groans out.
I’m way too young for a relationship, and truthfully, everyone I’ve come to be around hasn’t sparked any feelings other than friendship.
Though, I won’t tell Mandy that. I feel like that would hurt her feelings, and she’d probably stop hanging out with me.
Regardless, she’s not made any move other than pushing to sit beside me all the time.
Which is fine. I won’t lie, I enjoy the attention.
We plop down in a circle, Ian to my right and Mandy to my left. Though, Alysa does squeeze close enough she’s basically sitting in the latter’s lap.
“How’s the first few weeks of high school been, Ayden?” one of the girls I don’t know the name of, asks. I’m pretty sure she’s a sophomore though.
I shrug one of my shoulders before leaning back onto my hands. “Pretty cool, honestly.”
“Of course it is.” Ian jabs my side. “You’re the poster child of perfection. The only thing you’re missing is the blond hair.”
Shaking my head, I prepare to bite back a comment about how he’s the pretty boy here, when Alysa busts out laughing. “Poster child? Oh man, you should smell his—”
“Lefty, I’ll end you right here, right now, if you finish that statement.”
That has everyone doubled over with laughter, and I think we might all have started rolling around in the grass if the announcer weren’t blasting across the field at us.
“Alright, thank you everyone for being here after school hours, let’s get into it! We will read off the JV team before moving into the Varsity team. Good luck, and don’t be discouraged if you weren’t selected this year.”
Then, I swear it feels like we’re at the races. Name after name is read, and as the JV roster fills up, I glance at Mandy. Our names are called as the last two, which feels strangely personal.
Of course, we just laugh it off, and I joke that someone had to be last.
Everyone’s excited, and we spend most of the time talking about what our first year will be like. When the lights flicker on over the football field, Alysa slips her arm through mine.
“Let’s go. Dad’s parked out front.”
I smile and nod, but before we can move, people erupt in screams of excitement. We both glance back at the field to see what’s happening. It’s no surprise when the football teams—JV and Varsity—come out from under the bleachers.
We drift off to the side, our twin mindset fully in sync. Neither of us care much about the team yet, though I’m sure as time goes on we’ll find ourselves at every game, turning into die-hard fans for our school.
It feels inevitable.
Something makes me scan the crowd of players. They’re not in full gear, just in jerseys and whatever pants they wore to class. My eyes lock onto one figure, and it isn’t just my gaze that freezes—my feet do too.
He’s massive, and not just tall, but powerfully built. For a high school student, it’s almost shocking to see him towering over the others. The only person he doesn’t overshadow is the coach, who walks up and places a hand on his shoulder.
“Holy moly,” Alysa pants out. “He’s hot.”
I don’t say anything, though it’s strange how hard it is not to stare at him. He has to be popular—if the Varsity cheerleaders clustered around him are any indication.
He scoops up his curly black hair, pulling it back over his head. The hair tie clenched between his teeth does something unexpected to me. When he flashes a smile around it, it’s like a punch straight to my stomach.
The breath I draw feels tight in my chest.
“Hey, hey!” Alysa pulls away from me but doesn’t go far. “Kayla, who’s that guy?”
As the boy removes the hair tie from his mouth and twists his hair into a bun, his gaze lifts. I’m at least ten yards away, but I swear he catches me staring.
“Oh, him? That’s Keoni, Varsity linebacker. He’s a junior this year.”
His eyes narrow, and I suddenly realize I need to stop looking so intensely at him. I jerk my head down toward the girls beside me, my sister practically drooling and ogling him.
“He got a girlfriend?”
“Alysa,” I scold her.
“Boyfriend?” She wiggles her eyebrows.
“Neither. He’s shown no interest in anyone. Seems pretty focused on school and playing. He’s got a ton of college recruiters lined up like the ladies for his attention. For good reason; he’s our school’s best player next to Tyler, the quarterback.”
Biting my bottom lip, I dare to glance back at Keoni. I don’t know what delusional part of me thought he’d still be staring, but I was wrong. His attention is fully on the brunette rubbing herself under his arm.
“I can change that.” I love my sister’s confidence, and I don’t mean to laugh at her, but I can’t help it. Her delusion is stronger than mine. “Give me three months.”
“Sweetheart, you’re a freshmen. You’ll just embarrass yourself,” Kayla scoffs.
Quickly, before Alysa can be hurt by the comment, I sling my arm over her shoulder and start dragging her toward the parking lot.
“Don’t listen to her, lefty. If you want it, go for it. I support you ten-fold.”
She giggles and wraps her arm around my back. “Thanks. See? This is why you’re my best friend.”
Before pressing my cheek to the top of her head, I glance back one more time.
It’s now I catch him watching us walk away, but he quickly looks elsewhere. Maybe it won’t be my sister who will be trying to change his relationship status.