Chapter Thirteen Promises Are Meant To Be Broken

Jayce was laying on my bed, flipping through one of my books, casually. He glanced up and looked at me.

"I'm making sure you're okay."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

He hopped off my bed and shrugged. "Reasons."

"Care to tell me these reasons?"

"Not really." He told me. "You're okay."

I watched as he puts his shoes on and I remember what Chance said earlier.

"Oh by the way, threatening someone is not chatting with them. It's harassing."

He straightened up. "Threatening?" He repeated. "I didn't threaten anyone."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please. Chance told me what you said."

This time Jayce rolled his eyes. "Of course he did." He replied.

He walked out the room as he threw over shoulders. "Cassidy said not to wait up for her."

It was Friday so of course Cassidy was partying. I wonder why Jayce wasn't. I knew he didn't waste his Friday making sure I was okay. Did he?

I snuck my head the door and he was down the hall, almost about to the turn the corner.

"Jayce!" I yelled.

He stopped and turned around. "What?"

"Where are you going?"

"Out." He pointed to the door.

I rolled my eyes. "No shit, Sherlock. I meant are you going to the club or something."

"Yeah. Why?"

Well I now know he wasn't about to waste he Friday night and I didn't either. Yeah I had fun with Chance but it was still kinda early.

"Can I come?"

He was surprised. We both were. This was the first time I willing wanted to go out.

"Yeah but I have to pick up Arianna."

I snorted. "I don't think that's a good idea."

He waited until I stood in front of him to raise his eyebrow. "And why not? Will you be jealous?"

I laughed. Me? Jealous? Maybe I would've been but right now I didn't care for Jayce or Arianna.

"No. I just think it's better if Cassidy doesn't go to jail tonight."

"What happened earlier this week won't happened again. Arianna knows to stay in her lane." He told me. "Beside Cassidy will be too drunk to even remember what happens tonight." He added.

I followed him outside and he pulled out his phone. He send a quick text before sliding his phone back into his back pocket.

What I had on wasn't exactly a club outfit but I could work with it. I took off the scarf and pulled the sweater down so my shoulder was showing. I teased my hair and I was good to go.

"What are you doing?" Jayce asked.

I looked over my now bare shoulder and saw him staring at me. "Nothing. I'm just tryna fit the occasion."

"What you had before was fine." He told me, looking me up and down.

I shrugged. "Oh well."

He sighed but didn't say anything else. Arianna came out the building and of course she had on a slutty outfit. She wore a skin tight mini dress, which possibly could be a shirt, and hot pink heels. Her hair was curled and her make up, I wasn't gonna lie, was on point. It looked really good. Better than mine.

She scoffed. "What is she doing here?"

"I'm coming. That's what I'm doing here." I replied.

"Just get in car." He told Arianna.

Rolling her eyes, she said. "Fine."

We piled into Cassidy's car and Jayce drove to Sabor. Once in the car, I looked in the back to found my white converse. I replaced my boots with them. Sabor was already packed as per usual. There was a long forming but I figured the way Arianna was dressed we wouldn't have to wait. I guess she was good for something.

We climbed out and walked over to the bouncer. He looked at us.

"Leo." Jayce exclaimed. " What's up man."

"Lil J?" Leo said. "It's that you, my nigga."

Jayce smirked."The one and only."

Leo glanced around. "I'm not supposed to do this but you're my home boy so Imma let you in."

"Thanks man." Jayce told him, walking in.

We followed behind him and I immediately looked around for Cassidy. Jayce and Arianna disappeared in the sea of sweating people.

I was walking around the club, when Cassidy found me.

"Hey! Cole!" She yelled over the music. "Over here!"

I saw her waving her hand trying to get my attention. Nolan stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist.

"What brings you here?" She asked. "Your date didn't go too well?"

"It did actually but I didn't want to stay in." I told her.

She wasn't drunk but she was close to it.

"That's a first." Nolan said.

Cassidy nodded in agreement. "But let's not ruin it. Let's have fun!"

Before I could say anything, she grabbed my hand and dragged me to the dance floor. There was no way I could move without bumping or touching someone's sweaty body.

Cassidy threw her hands in the air and moved her hips to the beat. I shrugged. I might as well join her.

"Ayee! Get it girl!" Cassidy cheered.

I laughed as I continued to dance. Occasionally, I would caught a glimpse of Jayce with Arianna all over him. I kinda felt sorry for him. Kinda. Arianna had it in her mind, that she was the best dancer out there and who was I to tell her otherwise. Even if I knew for a fact she wasn't, I wasn't gonna tell her.

Label me mean or whatever but I thought it was funny to watch her humiliate herself dancing.

I looked away from them and Cassidy was still dancing, swaying her arms from side to side.

I stared passed her and saw Chance talking to a girl at the bar. He was leaning against the counter, his fingers wrapped around his cold drinks, with a half smile. The girl threw her head back, laughing at what he said.

Cassidy noticed I stopped dancing and she frowned. "What are you staring at?"

Before I had a chance to respond, she glanced behind her and she saw what I was looking at.

"I'll be right back." I told her, walking away.

I weave through the sea of people, careful not to bump into anyone. Once I was a few feet away from the bar, Chance turned his head.

His eyes widen when he saw me. "Cole?" He walked over to me, leaving the blond girl.

"Yeah I know. What is the goody-goody doing here at a club?" I asked for him. "I might seem too good but I live for fun too."

He shook his head. "No that's not it. Jayce told me not to bring here because it wasn't your thing."

I rose both my eyebrows. "Jayce said what?"

He rubbed the back of neck. "Thinking about it, I probably shouldn't have believed him but he was your best friend and I figured he knew you better than I did."

Rage flowed through me. After all this time, he still thought he could control who I spent my time with. He was partly the reason why Tyler, my ex, broke up with me. I didn't understand. I never once told him when he could date, waste time with or anything. I let him do him and this was how he repaid me. By controlling me.

I might not go out a lot because I did like to keep my grade up but I had no problem with going to the club. I loved it here. It was one of the few places I could really be myself. I was free to dance and not have my mom look at me with so much disappointment.

I was dancer. There was not stopping or denying it but my mom didn't understand or want to understand it. She thought dancing was a horrible thing. She believed it was corruption. And that was why she didn't dance, not even for her wedding night.

So being a cheerleader was the closing I could get to dancing without her disapproval of it.

Jayce knew that. He knew. So why would he deliberately, tell Chance I wouldn't want to come here?

"Hey are you okay?" Chance's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm good." I put on a fake smile, I hope he wouldn't see through. "Dance with me."

He arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"Dance with me." I repeated.

He nodded once. "Alright."

He walked back to the bar and talked to the unknown girl. She nodded her head and pointed behind her to a group of girls.

Chance came back to me. "That's my cousin, Alyssa." He informed me. "She just moved here from Houston."

"Is she gonna be alright be herself?" I asked.

I didn't want Chance to ditch her, if she wasn't fine.

"Yeah. She's good." He took my hand. "Let's go."

He led me back to the dancefloor, right in front of Jayce and Arianna.

Jayce's eyes narrowed when he saw me with Chance. I rolled my eyes and turned away from him so I was chest to chest with Chance.

Chance's hands instantly with to my hips when The Hills by The Weeknd came on. I rolled my body on him. I did it again and this time he met with me.

I broke away from him and danced on my own. He watched me with hungry eyes. His green eyes went a shade or two darker. My body followed the rhythm and beat of the music. If Levi thought I looked like a stripper before, I was a hot one now.

Chance continued to watch me and once the song ends, I noticed he wasn't the only one.

I captured half of the whole club. I felt a blush creep to my face and Chance walked over to me.

"That was sexy as hell." He said. "Why didn't I know you could dance?"

A new song came on and the spotlight was taking off of me.

I shrugged. "It wasn't secret."

"You should've joined the dance team instead cheerleading."

Only if you knew how much I wanted to.....

I got yanked away from Chance and I spun around to see who I was gonna yell at.

And of course it was the one, the only, Jayce Ryder. He narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell was that?" He fumed.

It didn't take a genius to know what he was talking about. As soon as I stopped dancing, I knew he was the half who was staring at. I could feel his eyes bore into the back of head. I knew he would question me about it but I also knew he wasn't mad about how I was dancing but who I was dancing with.

"You know as well as I do, I can't help how my body reacts when a song comes on." I crossed my arms. "But that's not why you dragged me away. You're angry that I danced with Chance, aren't you?"

"No." He sneered. "I'm pissed because you didn't noticed every guy was looking at you with lust."

I rolled my eyes. "Exaggerating, much?"

He ignored me. "Chance was one of them and don't tell me you didn't see it."

I saw it but I wasn't going to tell him he was right. "Why did you tell Chance I didn't want to come here?"

"Because I knew something like this would happened. And guess what? I was right."

I arched an eyebrow. "You were right about what?"

He looked behind me and his eyes turned into slits. "Nothing. Forget it."

I glanced over my shoulder trying to figure out who he was glaring at. I met with Chance's eyes. He was grinning. I looked back at Jayce and he was gone. He went back with Arianna.

I scanned the room, looking for Cassidy and I found her with Nolan.

I walked back to Chance.

"Are you okay?"

"Are you hiding something from me?" I asked, ignoring his previous question.

He frowned. "What? No. Did Jayce tell you that?"

I shook my head. "No. He's not telling me anything."

"I'm not hiding anything, Jayce is the one with all the skeletons in his closet."

Chance's words echoed throughout my head. Those words he spoke to Jayce when they won their first game.

I wouldn't go there if I were you, Ryder. Wouldn't want her to find out your secret.

They were hiding something from me and I intended to find out what it was. I stared at Chance, trying to figure out what hid behind his green eyes.

"You know exactly what he's hiding, don't you?" It wasn't a question but a statement.

Chance did knew Jayce's secret. They despised one other so why was Chance keeping Jayce's secret? Why was Jayce letting Chance keep his secret? Something wasn't adding up. What happened in a month and half, that was so big, it put Chance and Jayce together?

I knew it had to happened after mine and Jayce's fall out. Anything before that wouldn't match up. Jayce would've told me his secret no matter how big, terrible or dirty it was. He would've told. So what exactly were they hiding from me?

"I do know." Chance admitted. "But I swore I wouldn't tell. It's his secret not mine."

"But why?" I questioned. "You hate Jayce. Why would you keep his secret?"

He shook his head. "Somethings are better left unsaid." He said. "He'll tell you but now, let's not worry about it."

He placed his hands over my hips and pulled me closer to him. He was right. I didn't need to worry about it. At least not now. I didn't need the stressful drama. I came to have fun and fun was what I was gonna have.

I let Chance danced the problem away and relaxed under his touch. I moved my hips to the the sexual song and I noticed Chance had no problem with me rubbing all over him.

***

I didn't think anything through last night. And I always think things through. I didn't remember one time I didn't think anything through. But there was a first for everything, right? The one time I forgot to think about my action had to be last night. I made sure I stayed away from the bar. I really did.

So why was my head throbbing?

I slowly sat up and touched my forehead. What the hell happened? I looked up slowly and Cassidy wasn't in here bed. I frowned. Where was she?

I swore she came with me. Didn't she?

I grabbed my phone and called the only person who could remember anything even with a hangover.

He answered on the fourth ring. "What?" He asked in irritated voice.

He was no doubt irritated that I woke him up but I had a good reason to.

"Jayce, where is Cassidy?"

"Cole?" He said in a surprise then he realized what I asked him. "What do you mean where's Cassidy? Isn't she in her bed?"

I shook my head then I realized he couldn't see me. "No. No she's not."

"She should be. Nolan placed her there this morning."

"This morning!" I exclaimed.

He groaned. "Cole, chill with the screaming."

"I'm sorry." I lowered my voice. "What time did we get back?"

"I don't know. Maybe around three."

I looked at phone and it was nearing ten. "What happened last night?"

"Nothing happened."

"I didn't drink anything, did I?"

"Not that I know of. Why?" He asked.

"My head is pounding." I told him.

"Now that I think about it, you probably did three shots back to back with Cassidy. Don't worry about it."

The door opened and I eyed it, warily. Cassidy walked in with wet hair and a towel wrapped around her.

"Hey, girly." She greeted me with a smile. "I was just about to wake you up."

I frowned. "Why?"

"Did you forget we have a pep rally in an hour?"

I froze then it hit me. My eyes widen. "Oh My Gosh!"

"Cole.." Jayce cringed.

I ignored him and quickly stood up. How could I forget that today was game day? I quickly grabbed my towel and shower things.

"Why did you make me do shots?" I asked Cassidy, taking my clothes off.

"To be honest, I don't remember much of last night. All I know is I was on the verge of getting drunk when Nolan stopped me."

"Tell me later." I told her, wrapping the towel around me.

I remember I was still on the phone with Jayce.

"Jayce?"

"Yeah." He replied.

"Aren't you gonna get ready?"

"Yeah later."

"You're gonna miss the pep rally if you don't get ready now?"

He scoffed. "I'm a guy. It doesn't take me an hour to get ready. I'll be there."

He wasn't lying. He could get ready in half of what he took me to get ready.

"Alright." I said.

"Bye, Cole."

He hung up on me and I throw the phone on my bed and rushed to the showers. After showering and brushing my teeth, I was back in my shared dorm and Cassidy was doing her hair.

I put on my black sport bar and red boomers before pulling my hair into a bun. I grabbed my make up bag and sat in front of my big mirror.

Once I finished, I started on my hair. I didn't have time to straightened it so I went with my second option.

I parted my hair and braided the sides in three. I bumped the middle and pulled all my hair into a high ponytail.

"Cute." Cassidy commented. "I like it."

Cassidy went with the basic half up and half down style.

"Thanks." I said, standing up. I grabbed the white cheer suit and put it on.

"You got ready just on time." Cassidy said. "Hailey sent a text, telling us to hurry up."

I fixed my skirt before picking up my cheer bag.

"Okay let's go."

We walked out the room and headed to the court yard. There was a huge audience already there, wearing our colors, red, black and white, and more people were coming. It wasn't just the student body here either, there were family members, friends, and fans here supporting us too.

I dropped my bag where the others left theirs and picked up my red pom-poms before heading where Hailey was.

"Good. Everyone is here." She said, smiling.

The band got ready to perform our song and we got into our spots. The all girls squad stood in front of us. They wore a different color than us. They wore the red cheer suit while we wore the white one.

"1, 2, 1, 2, 3!" The band director counted before they began to play.

I smiled as I did the dance and the football players walked out, wearing their white shirts. The crowd cheered for them as they walked passed them and stood on the side, watching us.

Chance looked at me when he walked by me and winked. After the traditional dance, we went straight into a cheer.

"Let's Go Raiders!" We yelled. "Let's Go Raiders!"

"Louder!" Hailey shouted at us.

We raised our voices and she called out last time. We moved on to a different cheer. The boys picked us up while the all girls squad, stood in front us yellings.

"Go Tech!"

After all the cheers and chants, we let the pom and dance squad take over.

I was walking over to my bag when I heard my name being called.

I turned around and saw two kids running to me. The little girl had on a red cheerleading suit and had a big white bow in her hair while the boy had on a black jersey with the number 10 on it. He looked up to Levi.

"Dylan! Reagan!" Their mother, I was assuming, called out from them. "Slow down!"

They stopped in front me, grinning.

I smiled. "Hi."

"Hey." They greeted me.

"I'm sorry." Their mother said, giving me an apologetic smile. "You look busy but they wanted to take a picture with you."

I waved her away. "It's fine. Let's take a picture."

I squatted down and wrapped one of my arms around the girl named Reagan while Dylan stood in front of me. We all held up our guns and smiled big at the camera.

"Thank you." The mother said.

"It's my pleasure." I replied.

They walked away and Cassidy called my name.

"We're about to take a group picture."

I nodded. "Okay."

I walked over to the co-ed squad and placed my hands on my knees and grinned. After the picture, everyone broke apart and had fun out at the fun zone.

Cassidy ran to Nolan and I was picking up my bag when I felt hands grip my hips.

I straightened up and smiled. "Chance-" I said turning around only to be disappointed.

He had his hand over his heart as if I had wounded him.

"I'm hurt you thought I was Chance." He said his name with some much disgust you instantly knew they had problems.

I rolled my eyes. "What do you want, Jayce? Shouldn't you be sucking face with your little slut girlfriend?"

He smirked. "Still jealous, I see."

"I'm not but believe what you want."

"I came because you forgot to do our thing."

I sighed. I really thought he would've forgot about our little thing we used to do every Friday night. It wasn't anything cool but it held a special meaning.

Before the game would begin, Jayce would find me on the sideline and we would do our little handshake. Everyone thought we were dating and thought it was an adorable thing to do but we knew better.

We knew what it meant. What it stood for. When Jayce first started playing football, he was beyond scared. He would never admit that to anyone but I was his best friend. I knew him. So before the game even started I pulled him to the side and talked to him.

I told him I didn't care if they won or lost because I didn't care. He was still be the Jayce I knew. He didn't want to let anyone down especially his dad, but I told him, he shouldn't worry about that because he had me and I would always be there for him. And I meant that. So our handshake was a promise I made to always be there for him. I promised to cheer for him every single game.

"We haven't been doing it."I pointed out. "So why do you care now?"

"You're wrong." He told me, looking at me with his blue eyes. "I always care. It's not the same anymore. It doesn't feel right without it."

"Well..."

I was lost for words. I didn't think he would actually care if we did our handshake or not. I honestly thought he would want to stop doing our ritual but he looked heartbroken about it.

"You're breaking your promise."

I shook my head. "I'm not. I've been to every game."

"Yeah but you're not cheering for me, supporting me. You're cheering for everyone else but me." He said. "Now you're gonna cheer for him."

I knew exactly who Jayce was referring to but I really didn't know what to say. He wouldn't talk to me in a month and now he acts like nothing happened. He was giving me whiplashes with his changing moods.

He took my silence as confirmation and his eyes turned darker.

"Forget it!" He growled. "I don't need your stupid promise. After all, promises were meant to be broken."

He walked away from and I was left utterly confused. Promises were meant to be broken? I never broke my promises. Never. But he broke plenty of them. He was a hypocrite.

His words stayed in my head for the rest of the day and they stayed on replay. Playing over and over again until it was imprinted in my mind.