Vic's POV

After we finished eating our food, the guys and I went further down main street to gather supplies for tomorrow's prank. Once I told them my idea they were all on board and eager to get revenge on Kellin and the football team.

We had to do something that was big enough to make an impact. Something bold that would make a statement to the whole school that us weirdos and punks deserved respect. It wasn't time for a small scale prank, no this one had to have the best added element.

Public humiliation.

If there was one thing I knew about football players it was that they didn't like to break the status quo. They were the poster children for normalcy, all american, and were likely to be following in their fathers footsteps.

If there was one thing I picked up about Kellin and his friends it was that they thrived off fragile masculinity.

Not to mention our school was playing their biggest rival from the next town over tonight. Meaning it was the homecoming game. The most important game of the entire year. It was today that all the cheerleaders were going to be decked out in one of the players' jerseys.

The girls would line the field while the announcer called out each team member. Then they'd run through this ridiculous balloon arch, accept a rose from the cheerleader, and then join their families for an on the field photo op.

Jaime, Tony, and Jack filled me in on the entire idiotic display of school pride. With every detail they shared, the more sweet this revenge was going to be. Want to know the cherry on top?

This was Kellin's first year as starting Quarterback.

I have to admit that I have a little bit of flair for the dramatics, but who could blame me? If all goes smoothly, this will go down as probably the only time anyone has ever stood up to Kellin Quinn.

It was currently lunch time, and I was sitting at one of the round cafeteria tables chewing on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Tony was sitting across from me, glancing from left to right before he shoved his hand into the front pocket of his backpack, fishing around inside for something.

"Why're you acting so weird?"

Tony's eyes met mine as he put his finger to his lips, "Shush. I was just making sure it was still in there."

"Making sure what was still in there?"

"Nope. Not until Jaime and Jack are here. I don't want to take this out twice." Tony whispered.

I shook my head and chuckled at him, still having no clue as to why he was being so secretive. I popped the tab on my Vanilla Coke can and took a long swig.

Both Tony and I had separate study halls the previous period so we were able to leave early. Letting us secure our favorite table by the window before the other classes let out.

I was ripping open a bag of chips when the bell chimed out across the school, signaling the official beginning of the lunch period. As if on queue, the double doors of the cafeteria swung open as kids poured in.

My eyes scanned the crowd, searching for the familiar bouncing of Jack Barakat and Jaime Preciado. I saw that mess of shaggy brown and blonde hair as Jack practically fell over. He was pushing himself through the busy crowd of students, his face lit up with delight.

Jaime was on his coattails, always demanding the attention from others with his spiked up hair and enthusiastic voice.

"Vic! Tony! I've got the stuff!"

I practically shot out of my seat, flying over and meeting them in the middle of the cafeteria. I snapped my hand over Jaime's mouth, shushing him. Frantically looking around I sighed with relief. Kellin and his friends weren't here yet.

"Jaime, hushed tones only. We can't let Kellin or his friends overhear our plan. Hushed tones."

Jaime nodded, removing my hand from his mouth to reveal the biggest smile, "Hushed tones. You got it."

"I can't wait to see the look on that pretty boy's face when we -" Jack grinned, pulling out a chair and plopping down in it.

"Jack! What did I tell Jaime?" I interrupted, making a zipping motion across my lips.

Jack's eyes widened as he put his hands up in offense, "Oh whoops. Hushed tones. Sorry." He mimicked my motion, pretending to lock his mouth as he threw away the "key."

I gave him thumbs up before turning to Tony.

"Look. Jack and Jaime. Will you tell us now what you've been so weirdly secretive about?"

"Why of course. Gentleman, I have the final piece to our prank puzzle." He beamed.

He reached back down into his backpack that he had been guarding for the last 10 minutes. He pulled out a crumpled up piece of red paper and looked over his shoulder. Beckoning for us to lean forward, he placed the paper in the center of the table.

Tony locked eyes with us as he rolled out the paper, smoothing the edges. We all stared at the writing in front of us, bonking heads as we tried to get a better look.

"Uh, Tony? What the heck am I looking at?" I asked.

Jaime scratched his head, his hair not even moving an inch from all of the hairspray he had in, "Yeah I'm confused. I don't speak jock."

"This my friends, is the exclusive football practice schedule. It has the entire schedule for tonight's events, down to their timed showers."

My ears perked up, "Tony. You. Are. A. Genius! How did you even get this?"

"Dude it wasn't easy. I had to entertain Coach McKinnon's conversation about me joining the basketball team...again." Tony rolled his eyes and pretended to gag.

"The basketball team? I cannot picture you as a basketball player." I asked.

Jack nudged Tony playfully, "McKinnon has been trying to get this one here on the team every year since 8th grade."

Tony pulled out a brown paper bag from his backpack that contained his lunch. He started munching on a sandwich, before running a hand through his hair and sighing.

"I made the mistake of using the gym one day after school to blow off some steam. Shooting hoops relaxes me sometimes."

"Yeah and he's a little growing bean sprout. He's one of the tallest guys in school if you haven't noticed." Jaime teased, throwing a carrot stick which Tony caught with ease.

Tony wrinkled his nose, "Jocks aren't the type of people I'd choose to socialize with. Plus, I'd have to take out my plugs. I'd never do that."

"The plugs look killer on you, I agree." I added, taking another sip of my soda.

"I can't compromise my stylistic integrity for anything or anyone." He joked, flicking an orange wedge back at Jaime.

"Now, can we get back to the task one hand please?"

Jack reached over the table, snatching the schedule away from Tony and followed the words with his pointer finger.

"It looks like the team has a mandatory mini practice for an hour, starting at 5:00 PM."

I scooted my chair across the shiny linoleum and glanced over Jack's shoulder.

"The game officially starts at 7:00, but gates are opening earlier for the homecoming festivities." I read out loud.

Jaime plucked the paper from Jack's hands, "And it looks like the team is scheduled 30 minutes after practice to shower and get ready for the photo op. Damn they really do schedule everything down to a T."

Tony grabbed the paper back and smirked, "The most important thing about this schedule though, is that immediately after their 30 minutes for showering, they have to walk out onto the field for pictures..."

He trailed off and locked eyes with me, waiting for me to connect the dots.

"Meaning they'll have to put their helmets on right after showering..."

"So?" Jack glanced at the both of us looking confused.

"So there's a very small chance any of them will even notice what just happened." I explained.

"And then all the cheerleaders will come running to me." Jaime smiled goofily as he zoned off into a daydream about god knows what.

I chuckled at his hilarity, turning my attention back to my tall, seemingly quiet friend, "Tony, you're a king for getting this schedule. Seriously. Without it we'd have no clue when that locker room was free of boneheads."

"Yeah Tony, for a shy guy you're actually quite diabolical." Jack mumbled through a mouthful of pizza.

Tony shrugged, clearly trying to hide the smile that was making its way across his cheeks, "I have my moments."

"Okay how about we all meet back at the school around 4:30? Then we can camp out until the team leaves for practice. Once they're all on the field we'll sneak in."

Tony, Jack, and Jaime all nodded in agreement when suddenly, the front doors of the cafeteria whipped open. A group of the starting football players entered in unison, with none other than Kellin Quinn at the helm.

All four of us simultaneously rolled our eyes at the sight of them. The atmosphere in the cafeteria got quiet for a moment before everyone erupted into cheers.

"Go Panther's!"

"Kick some Eagle ass!"

"You're the man, Kellin!"

As the team passed by each table, students offered their excitement for the game and their praise for Kellin. It was truly a nauseating sight. My eyes followed them as they made their way to their signature table. It was the biggest one and was situated in the back right corner of the cafeteria.

I glanced over my shoulder at them as my gaze subconsciously landed on Kellin. He was wearing his maroon letterman jacket over a practice jersey; a white collared shirt poked out from underneath the mesh fabric.

It was tradition for the team to be slightly dressed up during the day before a home game. Meaning all of the players threw on a button up shirt under their jersey and called it a day.

My eyes trailed up his torso and landed on his eyes. They were wide with excitement as he laughed at something one of his friends had said. I watched as he threw his head back, a small smile turning up on his mouth as he laughed.

The laugh was genuine and loud, gaining even more attention from surrounding tables. I found myself becoming lost in the sound of his voice when someone stepped in front of him, blocking my view.

It was that cheerleader from my first day here. The one who wore fishnets under her uniform and Doc Martens instead of sneakers. She had a football jersey on that was tightened and tied up with a hair scrunchie.

Ah yes, another tradition I learned from the guys. It was customary for each football player to be "assigned" a cheerleader for the entire season. Yes you heard that right. It was archaic.

The cheerleader wore the player's jersey for each game and made signs for them. They'd bring them their favorite baked goods or snacks for every home game. They also were the ones that would be handing them a rose on the field tonight.

The girl was now standing in front of Kellin with her hands on her hips. I caught a glimpse of the name on the back of the jersey right before he pulled her into his lap.

Quinn.

Of course the head cheerleader would be wearing the Quarterback's jersey.

I watched them talking, it was obvious that she was upset about something. Her body language was rigid and tense as she sat in his lap. His face was expressionless as they spoke. His eyes darted back and forth, not making eye contact with her.

I watched as one of his friends, Justin I think, nudged him and started laughing. In that instant Kellin's face shifted as he laughed along with them.

The girl abruptly stood up, grabbing a wax coated paper cup from the table. In one swift movement she dumped it's contents on Kellin's, drenching him in soda.

My mouth dropped as the rest of the guys burst out in laughter. I watched the girl turn on her heel and walk confidently back over to her table. An idea immediately crossed my mind and before I knew what I was doing I was pushing myself up from the table.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Jaime asked.

"Icing on the cake, gentlemen. I'll be right back."

I walked over to the cheerleader's table and introduced myself. I learned that the girl's name was Elle and she was extremely cool. I found out that she had been Kellin's on again off again girlfriend for the last two years.

She was sick of his recent childish behavior and how he had seemed to have lost interest in her, not communicating or paying attention. She said that him becoming quarterback all went to his head and he's been nothing but a dick.

After explaining my prank she was eager to help. We made arrangements to meet up after school to further go over the plan.

I left the table and went back to my own, seeing the looks of confusion on my friends faces. However, I wanted to keep this extra element a secret surprise.

"Just wait, this is going to be good."

//////

I was busy stuffing the things I had just gotten from Elle into my backpack when Jack, Jaime, and Tony appeared around the corner.

"Jesus fuck, you guys scared me. Also, Jack what's with the face paint?" I asked, staring at the two streaks of black across his cheeks.

The cold evening September air whipped across my cheeks, letting me catch my breath as I leaned back against the brick wall.

Jack grinned proudly, "Um it's stealth. You said to dress in all black so we could sneak in undetected.

"We're invading a boy's locker room, not an army base." Jaime teased, playfully smacking the back of Jack's head.

"Boys. Focus. Jaime, you've got the stuff right?" Tony's calm voice redirected the conversation back to our plan at hand.

Jaime unzipped his own backpack as we all leaned forward to look, "Yup. 20 bottles of hair bleach."

"Excellent. That potency should get all of their hair to blonde pretty quickly." I grinned.

"Yeah especially considering how long some of them shampoo. Sometimes after gym they're in there for 30 minutes! I love my hair but not that much." Jack added, flopping his hair out of his eyes in one swoosh of his neck.

I chuckled and opened my bag, pulling out bottle after bottle of hair dye. It was not permanent dye, meaning it would wash out in a few days. We didn't want the team getting too mad. I brought a large variety of colors ranging from, neon yellow, orange, green, purple, blue, and one bottle of pink.

That pink was reserved for Kellin.

Peering around the corner I saw the team starting to file out of the locker room. That was our queue.

"Let's do this. Stay quiet and follow me, we're going to go through the back door." Tony whispered.

"But how are we -" I started but closed my mouth when I saw Tony hold up a small silver key. I smiled and nodded my head in disbelief. He was good.

We all grabbed bottles of colored hair dye and followed Tony in a single file line towards the locker room. We came to a huge metal door, stopping for him to open the door as I surveyed the area around us. The coast was clear.

The light's in the locker room were turned off but we came prepared for that. We all flicked on our flashlights and headed to the back where the shower stalls were.

Since the football team was so important at this school, the players got their own personal showers. Each shower was marked with their name on the stall door, making this all too easy.

The four of us got to work, dumping half the bottle of each player's shampoo down the drain and filling the rest up with bleach. We repeated the process with the conditioner, except this time we filled it up with hair dye.

The only worry was that they'd noticed their conditioner was now a bright color and figure out what was up. We were all hoping they'd be too nervous for the game and would just squeeze the products directly on their heads or overlook it.

We finished the last stall just in time, hearing the front door of the locker room swing open. We ran off quietly towards the back door and slipped out undetected. It was now dark out with the only blinding light coming from the one's shining down on the field.

Students and families were starting to arrive. They were piling into the stadium all decked out in the school's colors of maroon and gold.

"This is going to be the sweetest revenge ever. I can't wait to see the look on everyone's face when the team comes out looking like an easter egg!" Jack giggled.

"And with the time crunch, they'll have no choice but to take their homecoming photos looking like that. Vic, this was an incredible idea." Tony added with more enthusiasm than usual in his voice.

Let's get a front row seat for this shit show." Jaime laughed, rubbing his hands together.

"You guys go ahead, I have to take care of one more thing." I waved my friends off who looked confused again, but ultimately gave me a thumbs up before falling into step with the rest of the student body.

I jogged off towards the girl's locker room where Elle was waiting for me. I stopped at a lone porta-potty first and changed into the clothes in my backpack.

I couldn't believe I was about to do this. I had no idea why I was nervous or why I had butterflies in my stomach, but something was telling me I had to do it. I had to mess with Quinn just a little extra. I wouldn't be me if I didn't put my own..."spin" on it.

I left the bathroom and walked over to Elle and the rest of the cheerleaders. She was smiling at me.

"You fit in that really well." She giggled as I smoothed out my hair.

"Why thank you. It's freezing though, I don't know how you do it."

Elle shrugged, leading me towards the field, "You get used to it. Now, are you ready to get back at Kellin? He's going to be so pissed, I can't wait to see his face."

"Just wait until you see his hair." I smirked as I walked under the bright stadium lights. No turning back now.

//////

"Where the hell is Vic? He's going to miss the whole thing!" Jack asked Tony and Jaime in a panic.

The stadium lights suddenly dimmed as a single spotlight appeared on the field. The spotlight followed the walkway that went down the middle of the field. It was made up of maroon balloon arches for the players to run under.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, your 1994 Salem Panthers!" The announcer boomed over the loudspeaker.

Families of the players were seated on the field, excited faces as they searched for their sons and brothers. The cheerleaders stood off to the side, shaking their pom poms to welcome the team.

The players ran out from the locker room, breaking the banner that was stretched across the opening in the fence. One by one, each player came walking out with their helmets on. When they reached center field, they lined up and removed their helmets for the cheering student body.

Silence filled the air at the sight of the rainbow of hair. Gasps from the families and laughter from the opposing team filled the stadium. The players were all completely oblivious to what they looked like.

The announcer took a brief pause before continuing on as scheduled. Luckily for us, Salem High clearly adopted a "the show must go on" mentality.

Confused faces appeared on the players as they started glancing at one another. Their eyes widened and their mouths dropped, steam practically radiating off their bodies when they realized what had happened.

Suddenly Tony shot up from his seat and pointed at the field, "Holy shit! Guys, look! It's Vic! He's on the field!"

On the field I was.

I stood behind Elle, blocked from the view of the football players but in the view of the bleachers.

I was wearing Elle's cheerleading skirt. She was wearing my jeans. I didn't have curves so it hung loosely around my waist and I had to keep pulling it up.

On my back was none other than Kellin Quinn's jersey. She had given me that too.

I twirled a single red rose around my fingers.

My eyes scanned the crowd until they found Kellin. His hair was a bright bubblegum pink. Damn he really must've shampooed a lot with that bleach to get his hair so light.

I held back a giggle as I watched him push through his teammates frantically. He grabbed a metal cooler from the ground by the benches and held it up in front of his face. The reflective surface acted like a blurry mirror, letting him see what had been done.

It was like he knew it was me because when he looked back up, his eyes locked with mine from across the field. I smiled at him and waved. He was fuming. This was excellent.

"And now, our star Quarterback, Kellin Quinn!" The announcer's voice pulled us both from our staring match.

Kellin shook his head but reluctantly walked back over to the center of the field where his mom was waiting for him. Of course the Mayor would never miss a photo opportunity.

"Elle!" Kellin called out to her, motioning for her to join him.

She shook her head and crossed her arms, smirking at him. It was then that he noticed our outfits.

"Oh fuck no. No fucking way."

The Coach walked over and scanned all of us up and down.

"What seems to be the problem here, Kellin? We have to get the photos started, regardless of the way you all currently look. Is this some sort of hippie protest or something?"

"What? No. It was a prank." Kellin answered.

I stepped forward, "It was a retaliation actually, sir. Kellin and your teammates pranked us first, we were only getting justice."

Coach McKinnon narrowed his eyes at me, "Why're you wearing a skirt?"

"Free country?" I shrugged.

McKinnon ran his hand over his face and sighed pointing at me, "Alright, you, get over there in front of that camera."

"What?! But Elle is supposed to be in my picture. Cheerleaders are the ones that are in the homecoming photos." Kellin protested.

"Well Elle isn't wearing the uniform or the jersey. The tradition is that someone in the corresponding football jersey is to be in the photo with the player. He's got the jersey and the uniform, he's in the photo."

I glanced over at Elle, grinning at her before I skipped towards Kellin.

I smirked, bowing slightly and handing him the red rose I had been holding, "For you."

His now pink hair fell into his face as he glared at me. He snatched the flower from my hand and held it in his.

"You're so going to pay for this." He grumbled.

"This is probably bad timing but pink is definitely your color." I teased.

I watched the same small smile form on Kellin's lips that did when we fell on top of each other trying to catch that football. I could've sworn I saw him blush at my comment but it left his face as quick as it came.

"Shut up." He rolled his eyes and stood up on the platform.

"And by the way no, we're even now. You put fucking laxatives in my cookies." I crossed my arms and looked up at him.

When I didn't make any move to join him, he reached down and held my hand pulling me up next to him. My heart practically stopped at the sudden contact. But once I was on the platform he dropped my hand and stepped back, creating space between us.

We stared at one another. My eyes searching his, his searching mine. We stayed silent like that for a few moments before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Fine. We're even. For now." He added and bit his bottom lip, pulling his eyes off mine.

Just then Kellin's mom stepped up onto the platform, all smiles.

"Why hello Vic, I wasn't expecting to see you here! But it's a pleasure all the same." She spoke with the same kindness and elegance from the first time I met her.

"It's wonderful seeing you again as well Mayor Quinn."

"Oh please Vic, call me Charlotte. Mayor Quinn is far too formal. Now Kellin, I have to ask what is up with this?" She turned to her son, holding a lock of his now pink hair between her fingers.

Kellin's eyes darted back and forth from his mother's to mine, "Uh...uh well me and the rest of the team sort of pranked Vic and his friends..."

"Kellin Quinn. Tell me you did not torment this lovely boy." She said sternly.

I sensed his nerves so I quickly stepped in between them, "Mayor - I mean Charlotte, it was all but good fun. Kellin pranked us and we pranked him back, hence the pink hair. We're all even now." I assured her.

She looked at the both of us before shaking her head and sighing, "I'll never understand you boys. We didn't have this much drama when I was in high school."

She switched sides with me so Kellin was in the middle. She smiled and faced forward, "Since you're here now, we might as well commemorate this event with a picture!"

"There's no way I'm missing a chance to have Kellin with pink hair captured on film. This is one for the photo albums!" Charlotte clapped with glee.

I leaned up slightly and whispered in Kellin's ear, "Your mom is hilarious. Plus I'd love to see those photo albums."

Kellin rolled his eyes and kept his gaze forward, "In your dreams."

"That can be arranged." I countered. Out of the side of my eye I saw him smirk again.

He stood rigid in between us as we all faced towards the camera man. I glanced down at his hands and noticed he was twirling the red rose I had given him between his fingers, letting his thumb run up and down one of the petals gently.

"Ready? One...two...three!"

I acted fast, throwing my arm around Kellin's shoulder and pulling him against me as the shutter clicked and the flash went off.

Author's Note

Phew, this was a long one, one of the longest chapters I've written in awhile. I had been working on this chapter for at least two weeks and I'm so excited I finally finished it. I've had the idea for this entire chapter for so long and I loved how it actually came out.

Well, Vic's prank was finally revealed! What did you think of it? The part with him going on the field was a later idea and I'm obsessed!

Also did anyone else pick up on the idea of "rally girls" from the tv show Friday Night Lights? That's where I got the inspo from the cheerleaders being assigned a football player. It's such a good show I highly recommend.

Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well! I just accepted a new job that I'm really excited about and I think it's going to be the perfect fit. I also am continuing to test and design products for my small business. I feel like things are finally falling into place and I'm so excited for the rest of this year.

Thank you all for your comments and support! It means the world to me. Twinkle Lights will be updated next and I hope to get that out either this week or early next week.

See you all on the next one.

Cassidy :)