October 2nd

The highly anticipated second game of the season was finally a reality tonight. Seeing as the Brandywine Devils were Wintersville's ultimate rivals, everybody and anybody wanted to be there to witness what was about to go down. Levi was more nervous than anybody though. Rightfully so because his ex-girlfriend would be there cheering for her team, and it didn't want her to be a distraction. Luckily he had Skye, who would be wearing his spare jersey and cheering for him with everything that was in her.

Skye met up with Nini in the stands, immediately getting teased about wearing the jersey she had received earlier at school. She insisted she was only wearing it because Megan was there, so Nini let it slide (for now). Skye had no idea what Megan looked like, so she was trying to look out for her while staying focused on the game. It was hard to spot anyone's faces on the visitor's side of the stands, so trying to find her was useless.

Compared to last week's game, this was a total dogfight consisting of back and forth scoring and constantly being neck and neck. With the way things were going, it seemed impossible to widen the difference in scores. It stressed Skye to her core, but it stressed the people of Wintersville as well. They would need a miracle to win with less of a struggle.

The first half ended with the score being 17-14, meaning the Wintersville Wildcats were only winning by a mere three points. Everyone was going to be put a bit at ease with the cheerleaders putting on their routines, but Skye would soon see the very person that Levi was scared of seeing tonight.

The Brandywine Devils cheerleaders came out onto the field, and Skye watched with Nini as they began their routine. Just like their football team, they were really good. They were so intimidating and they weren't even the ones kicking Wintersville's ass. Even their mascot blew Xavier out of the water. How crazy is that?

Nini pointed out to one of the cheerleaders, lightly elbowing Skye with her other arm to show Skye something. "That's Megan."

"Where?" Skye squinted, trying to figure out which one of the cheerleaders was Levi's infamous ex-girlfriend.

"On top of the pyramid," Nini replied.

Skye looked at who was at the top, and her jaw immediately dropped as she saw who Megan was. "That's Megan?"

"Yup." She nodded.

"Jesus Christ."

With her tanned skin, toned physique, and silky straight blonde hair, Megan was everything that Skye felt she wasn't; perfect in every single way. Seeing who she finally was, Skye couldn't believe Levi would even waste a single second with her. Why hadn't he ran back into Megan's arms begging for her to take him back? Hell, if she were Levi, Skye would be on her knees to beg for her love, and she didn't even like girls in that way. It blew her mind that this was the girl who broke Levi's heart.

"You totally feel intimidated by her existence, don't you?" Nini asked.

"Are you kidding me? Of course, I am! She's perfect!" Skye exclaimed.

"Don't be, cause as far as I'm concerned, she's not the one wearing Levi's jersey." She said, which actually comforted Skye a little. According to Levi, Megan never dared to wear his jersey, even when her school wasn't playing his. Some girlfriend she was, huh?

"Yeah, you're totally right," Skye replied. "God, I can't wait for this game to be over so I can get outta here."

To get Megan off Skye's mind, Nini proposed something to her that she wasn't originally planning on asking until later, but Nini wanted to be the best friend she could be for Skye and their blossoming friendship. "Uh, well, I was going to ask this at the end of the game, but would you like to go to Sadie's Diner with me after the game? Just the two of us, no yucky boys."

"Really? You're asking me?" Skye questioned with her jaw dropped.

"Um, yeah!" Nini exclaimed, kind of like a "duh" moment, "I figured I'd cheer you up by asking now so you can forget about Megan. You really don't have anything to be scared about, but I understand feeling intimidated by her, and this is coming from someone who goes to the same school as her."

"Actually, I would love to go. I'll go text my dad about it right now." She grinned, which made Nini really happy.

"Yay! Now, stop being so down! Get hype!" Nini demanded but in a cheerful way. "The second half is gonna start soon, and we have friends to cheer for!"

"You're right, let's do this thing!" Skye said and cracked her knuckles, which she regretted doing, but got her head in the game. Ironic.

"That's the spirit!" Nini beamed.

•••

With only twenty seconds until the game was over, the score was at a perfect tie. They were currently at a timeout, both teams trying to think of a last-minute plan to win the whole thing. Thankfully Danny had a plan up his sleeve, but Hunter and Levi had to be the ones to execute it. Considering Hunter had a reputation of being tackled a lot, he could easily be a distraction, and he was willing to do it as long as he didn't get a concussion in the process.

Skye and Nini sat on the edge of their seats, biting their nails until they couldn't anymore as they waited for what was next. Once the timeout was over, everyone got back on the field and prepared for what would be the final play. Everyone stayed silent as they didn't dare peep a sound in anticipation, then watched as the play was being executed.

Levi and Hunter ran down the field. As Hunter had the ball passed to him, he quickly passed it on to Levi, which almost didn't work as he got tackled less than a second later, but the timing was perfect. It was only left the Levi now, and he was running like his life depended on it.

Evading the defense, Levi zipped past them all, clinging the ball to his chest as his heart raced with adrenaline. Everyone in the stands slowly stood as they waited for the final touchdown, holding in their breaths before losing their minds no matter the score.

As the clock was extremely close to hitting zero, Levi landed in the end zone in perfect timing. His feet hit the ground right at the final second, and all of Wintersville let it rip in the stands and screamed their heads off in excitement after a brutal game that ended in sweet victory.

Skye and Nini ran down and hopped over the stands to get to the field and congratulate their friends, pushing everyone out of their way to do so. It didn't matter if some stupid ex-girlfriend was there, nothing could rain on their parade after a win like this.

"You did it!" Skye yelled out, high-fiving Levi with both hands then intertwining fingers as they jumped up and down in pure joy.

"Couldn't have done it without my number one supporter!" Levi exclaimed.

"That was crazy! Even better than last week!" She replied. Skye felt like she was in complete euphoria right now just as she thought it couldn't get any better, but somehow it managed to always get better.

"Is your heart racing?" Levi asked, letting go of one of Skye's hands to feel his heartbeat. "My heart is beating so fricking fast, man."

"I have no idea!" Skye said. "I'm so cold right now!"

"Oh shit, I can give you my jacket once I get changed!" He proposed, but that wouldn't be needed.

"No need, me and Nini are grabbing a bite at Sadie's." She replied, then the two looked over at Nini and Danny who were having a bit of a moment.

"Oh, okay." Levi frowned a little, but quickly changed that frown as he was happy that Skye was having a good time. "Have fun!"

"I will, see ya!" Skye waved then walked over to Nini who was just saying goodbye to Danny. As Skye walked away though, Levi spotted Megan in the distance, who had her eyes on Skye and her jersey that read her ex-boyfriend's name, then turned her head and left the field with the other cheerleaders.

"Hey, you ready?" She asked.

"Yeah!" Nini replied and quickly kissed Danny goodbye. "I could really eat a bunch of fries right now."

"Even better, dip fries in a milkshake," Skye said, which made her mouth water just by saying it.

"Now you're talking, let's go," Nini ordered then grabbed Skye's hands and walked to the parking lot to find her car.

The night was ending just as it started; with Skye and Nini. Just as Skye was becoming good friends with Levi, she was becoming good friends with Nini as well. The same went with Danny, Xavier, and Hunter. She didn't need to feel so empty anymore, and most importantly she didn't need to rely on one person for every little thing. Skye never really had a group of friends before, but now she did, and it was the best thing ever.

The two girls made through the traffic and headed over to Sadie's diner, having girl time while the boys went to celebrate somewhere else. They quickly got a table and sat across from each other, scanning through the menu knowing exactly what they wanted to feast on.

"Oh my god, they have a pumpkin spice milkshake," Nini said as her jaw dropped.

Skye slapped her menu down on the table and eyed Nini over this. "Pumpkin spice milkshake, you say?"

"Do you wanna try it? We should totally try it." She asked. "Oh, and we can split a big order of fries."

"I'm so tempted, let's do it," Skye replied.

The two excitedly put their order in, then impatiently waited for it to arrive so they could indulge without any guilt as it was for celebratory purposes. While they were waiting though, they could do plenty of gossiping, which Nini absolutely loved to do. It would definitely end up getting embarrassing for Skye though. There was no way she could escape it.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Skye asked out of nowhere, and Nini immediately said yes with a concerned look on her face.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"How did Levi and Megan's breakup go exactly?" She questioned. "I know she dumped him, but I don't know the further details."

"Oh, she dumped him over the phone," Nini replied instantly. "Said that she wanted to focus on herself this year and that he was apparently holding her back all the time."

Skye's jaw immediately dropped at this bombshell as she couldn't believe this was her reason, that this is what left Levi so broken. "Wait, seriously? That's ridiculous."

"Yeah!" Nini exclaimed. "She always had a big ego anyway. Megan was always number one."

"Yikes."

"Eh, whatever." She rolled her eyes. "I pray for whoever her next victim is."

Skye began to laugh hysterically at Nini's words, which made her pout as she didn't like how Skye was laughing at her. "What? It's true!"

"I'm sorry, it's just the way you say it," Skye said, trying to calm herself down.

"Rude!" She scoffed. "There's probably some poor guy out there head over heels for her and he doesn't even know she'll rip his heart out!"

She had a point, which Skye couldn't deny despite how hard it was to take Nini seriously. "Yeah, you're right. Nothing we can do though. Just gotta let her do her thing while we live our best lives."

"That's a great way to put it!" Nini said. "God, you're so smart. You're smart, you know that?"

"I guess? I'm in pretty high up classes, so." Skye shrugged.

"Oh my god, you're like a mini Einstein!" She gasped.

"No..." Skye cringed.

"Awe." Nini pouted. "Well, now I can really see why Levi can't get enough of you."

Skye immediately gave Nini a look as she heard what she believed came out of Nini's mouth. Can't get enough of her? Was she serious? It would kind of make sense, but it made Skye really anxious. "What?"

"Huh? I didn't say anything." Nini lied. She totally said that, but she wanted to make it seem like Skye was just hearing things.

"I'm pretty sure-"

"Ooo, foods here!" She interrupted, then they watched the waiter set everything in front of them and told them to let him know if they needed anything else, which they thanked him for.

"Let's try our milkshakes at the same time," Nini said and picked up her milkshake. Skye did the same, then the two began a mini countdown before taking the first sip together. "In three, two, one-"

Both taking a big gulp from the freezing cold treat, Skye and Nini looked at each other in amazement as they had just tasted one of the best things they ever tasted. Pumpkin spice may be incredibly overrated, but damn did it always taste good.

"Oh my god," Skye said, covering her mouth with her hand in shock.

"This is..." Nini began, having Skye finish her sentence.

"Absolutely amazing?" She replied.

"You bet it is!" Nini squealed. "Oh my god, I feel like I'm gonna have a festive sugar high."

"Same!" Skye exclaimed. "Oh my god, there's no way I'm sleeping tonight."

"We can text each other all night!" She said, practically bouncing in her seat. "We're like best friends already!"

"Yeah!" Pause. Was Skye actually moving on just like Levi? She instantly replied "yeah" to Nini, so it seemed that Skye had a new best friend on her hands. Although Levi wanted that spot, Skye was learning there was nothing wrong with having more than one close friend, and that applied to best friends as well.

The two girls housed their fries, even dipping them in their pumpkin spice milkshakes, which they claimed made them taste "a million times better". They were definitely getting closer, and Skye saw this as a friendship she wanted forever, so yeah, she was moving on now. It may have felt like she never would, but Skye was finally starting to see the light.

After splitting the check, Skye and Nini headed out of the restaurant a little before closing time, which kind of ignored the workers a little, but they had fun. Most importantly, Skye continued to have the time of her life, and she never wanted it to stop.

"Hey, I wanted to thank you for tonight," Skye said out of nowhere. "Even for last week too. You've been so nice to me and it's really a breath of fresh air to befriend someone who's a million times nicer than other people at my school."

Touched by Skye's words, Nini gave her an offer that she simply couldn't resist. "Well, hey, if you ever want to hang out outside of watching sweaty teenage boys tackle each other to death over a football, you know just who to call."

"Oh, most definitely." She giggled.

"I'll drive you home, okay?" Nini offered, receiving a nod from Skye.

"Yeah."

"Okay, cool. Let's go."

Skye and Nini got into the car, putting their seatbelts on and warming up the car while Nini put Skye's address in the GPS. They did a bit more chatting while they waited, then Nini pulled out of the dark parking lot and got onto the main road.

As the two girls drove out into the night, Skye laid back in the passenger seat and closed her eyes with a peaceful smile on her face, happy to see that she was starting to move on to a life where she didn't have to solely rely on Nikki.

•••

MARIA TALKS!

the celebration of skye's irl birthday continues!! again, today, january 14th, is her birthday. let's not get confused pls

anyways- skye and nini have no right to have my heart like that- skyevi MOVE

but we finally introduced megan!! real og's now she's actually from my peter parker series (drive me crazy, far from sane, and make me mental in that specific order), and she just DESERVED a cameo in this. she always holds a special place in my heart, so don't be surprised by the references i will make. actually, i already made a reference, so shoutout if you caught on or catch on in the future.