"Gray," I shook his body, trying to wake him up. He cracked an eye open before staring at me, observing my face for a moment before pulling the covers closer to his body and settling his head deeper down the pillow.

Standing on the bed, I hopped up then plopped down on his body, placing enough force in my fall. He groaned at the sudden weight on top of him, quickly shooting up before pushing me off to the side, "I'm awake."

"It's about nine already, mom and Will have already left for work," I told him, getting down from the bed before throwing him the shirt he placed on the back of my chair last night.

"So?" he questioned, tossing his shirt to the side before turning to put his feet down on my fluffy pink carpet, "More reason to stay in bed."

"I already made us some scrambled eggs for breakfast," I told him, "So hurry up."

"Look at you being domesticated and shit," he chuckled, finally standing up but he didn't put on the shirt and he strolled out the room only in his jeans. Cocking my head to the side, I blinked at his tone back and the way those muscles moved with every small movement.

Well, I don't really mind if he doesn't cover up.

Making it to the kitchen, I slid a cup of coffee towards him before settling down on the chair opposite to his, grabbing my fork to eat my meal. He dug into the scrambled eggs and bit down on the toast with such speed that I was frankly afraid that he was going to choke.

So is this ow we're going to go through the rest of the days? Sneaking out of each other's house because of some insufferable family problems? I mean, I do admit that I want to move in with him at some point but not in this situation.

We're just running away from something.

"When you have that look, I already know you're either mad or you're thinking about something," he pointed out after he sipped his coffee, "So what's the problem?"

"Are you going to stay in here and hide from your parents just like I did?" I questioned, my eyes stuck on the plate because I was afraid to see his expression, "Because I know you, you're a bit of a coward with a hard exterior."

Silence.

I closed my eyes shut – I knew this would happen. He wasn't frozen like I thought he was going to be though, I could still hear his fork scraping against his place and after a while, his glass made contact with the table, signifying that he was done drinking his juice.

He stood up and muttered, "I'm going out to smoke."

Oh that fucking bastard.

I'm going to take a shower and when I'm out, he better be ready to apologize for that petty attitude.

Finishing up my breakfast, I placed everything into the dishwasher before heading up. I made sure that I was extra slow with washing my hair and body, giving him enough time to contemplate about his stupidity.

Getting out, I didn't bother with fixing myself up since I knew that I had to get ready soon for the competition. So putting on a hoodie and a pair of denim shorts, I declared this as decent. I knew that Gray wasn't the one to risk exposing himself by smoking in front so I figured that he would be in the back garden.

Snatching his white shirt that he refused to wear earlier, I went downstairs and out through the kitchen door at the back. Just like what I thought, he was out there. Still shirtless, a cigarette rested in-between his fingers as he stared at the mossy fence.

When I caught a whiff of the smoke, my nose crinkled in disgust. I truly hated it, but like I said, I'm not the one to make him stop.

He didn't see me so I slammed the door shut so I would catch his attention. He jumped in the air and when he turned, his hand quickly dropped the cigarette onto the ground before he stepped it with his shoe.

At least there was one thing that didn't change – he still gets rid of the stick whenever I'm near.

I threw the shirt towards him, giving him a dry look as he caught it easily. Pulling it on, he didn't say a word as I just stood there, waiting for him to make a move.

I glared at him with all my might and from the way he was refusing to back down from his defensive stance, I knew that this was going to be a battle of silence. He stared at me as huffed, attempting to give a more dignified look.

For what seemed like hours, his shoulders slumped before releasing a sigh, running a hand through his messy hair.

"You know there's only one person I would drop my pride for," he said, slowly approaching me. With still my hard expression on, I crossed my arms over my chest as I tilted my head to the side, he wrapped his arms around my waist and brought my closer to him, "I'm sorry."

The way he said it was so soft that if there were any kind of sound other than his voice, I would have missed it. In that moment, I felt my heart melt and my anger fade away in an instant.

And there was only one person I would go absolutely crazy for.

To the point of going on and on about keeping him. As far as threatening the other girls who come near him. Enough to reject a guy that was obviously better for me.

Gray and only Gray.

My arms wound around his torso and I hummed, knowing that he already found out about my quick forgiveness. When he spoke, his voice was slightly muffled by my hair but I still heard it, "If I run, will you follow?"

It was like that time when I found about his map.

Resting my head against his chest, I replied, "Depends on where you're running to."

Because I'm not stupid enough to just blindly follow.

He wasn't expecting that answer, it was obvious from the way his posture shifted, but I added, "But I will wait for you to come back."

With a bitter smirk, he released me, "You sure are confident that I'll come back."

"Because you already did before," I reminded, "You came back to me."

Time and time, he came back. No matter how long he drifted away, he always came back.

Always, without fail.

He locked my chin in his hold before his lips descended down onto mine. The kiss was quick, but it conveyed what he wanted to say – an apology, a plea, and a promise. All three made an uneasy feeling grow in the pit of my stomach but I did my best to ignore it, reciprocating the gentle gesture by pressing my lips closer to his.

"I'll  watch you later," he said after he pulled away, taking a step back, "See you."

"By the way," I called right before he was about to go around the house, "Free yourself up this weekend."

"And why?"

"You're meeting my dad," I informed, leaving no room for arguments. From the way his expression seemed to brighten up for a second, I could guess that he was really intending to turn it down.

Well, not only was he meeting my dad, but also probably the rest of my quirky hillbilly family. But hey, it's all in the spirit of celebrations.

He nodded, "Sure."

Waving goodbye, I glanced down at the ground and groaned at the cigarette butt laying there. Picking it up, I threw it into the trash can before thoroughly washing up my hands.

Okay, now time to make it look like a bag of glitter threw up on me. Makeup, over the top just like what was decided upon. Hair, extremely curly and incased in a ribbon ponytail. Outfit, blue and silver as always.

Shutting off everything in the house, I threw my bag into my car and drove my way to the school. Just like on one of our competitions, we were meeting up in the school but we're going to be transported through a bus to the place of the actual contest.

After the group chat last night, I can't predict how this is going to go down.

My tires skidded around the parking lot, stopping in one of the available space. Reaching for my bag, I got out and locked the vehicle before I approached the girls already gathered by the bus. Some were already inside and some were just chatting with each other as they waited.

"Clara!" the girl who I recognized as the one who asked about the dress greeted with an enthusiastic wave, "I thought about it and I decided to go with the black one."

Oh boy, Vivian is going to be pissed.

"Great," was my only reply as I climbed up the steps. The girls took this as a signal that they should also enter the bus so they all piled in, taking their own seats as I sat on the front.

"Are we clear?" the teacher who was in charge of accompanying us in this trip asked as she stood by the aisle, "Are we complete?"

If you get about thirty teenage girls packed in one small space and all of them are squealing, yelling, or in their own little world, you should be prepared to get ignored. The bus was filled with noise with different conversation topics hanging in the air.

The teacher scratched her head at the lack of reaction, lifting a finger as she attempted to count how many were already in here. This also proved to be a difficult task as well since the girls kept shuffling around, standing or switching seats.

And this is why you need someone to keep them in check, "Nope," I answered her without even having the need to look around, "We're missing Vivian."

I could sense the relief that she felt when someone finally paid attention, "Only her?"

Releasing a sigh, I yelled out, "Anyone else?"

Even though they were busy doing their own thing, they paused to respond, "No."

The teacher bent down to look at me, "How?"

"They're good listeners when they want to," I shrugged and she didn't understand this. When I refused to say anything more, she went back to her seat to wait until the co-captain arrives.

It's complicated to explain, but that's the reason why the captain should always have a high amount of confidence and self-esteem, because you're battling with these girls who are basically oozing with those two traits. You need to be a bit harsh, so they will learn how to listen to you. In the end, you should still treat them like the way they are – young girls who were absolutely excitable by every little thing and thus, you still need the patience to deal with them.

"Oh my gosh," Vivian came thumping up, "The traffic in my area was the worst."

She glanced around the bus, craning her neck to see if there were any available seats somewhere else. With a huff, she plopped onto the space next to me and I gave her a side-eye.

Let the tension-filled trip commence.

The driver closed the door and we were off. Jamming the earphones in, I opted to look out of the window instead of having an actual conversation with her. From the way she took out her rose gold headphones from her bag, I can safely assume that we were on the same page.

Today, it was a different school from the ones we competed in before – it was a bit farther. There were a total of five teams and two will be eliminated to get the top three who will fight for the title.

Buckle up girls because I'm pretty sure we're going to the finals. Training for that will be more intensive than ever.

But before I could even snatch a spot, I had to endure this ride – it was as awkward as I predicted.

After about a full hour or more, I recognized that we were almost there. I told the girls this and they started ready themselves, getting rid of the packs of food they were munching and gathering up their stuff before proceeding to stuff it all back into their bags.

When we pulled inside, it was a good thing that the school managed to reserve a spot for us because the area that they treated as a parking was already filled with cars. We lined up with the two other bus there and I noticed the space next to us so that meant we weren't the last one to arrive.

"If I can remember from last year, the locker room here was decent enough," I muttered as I got down.

The teacher stayed with the driver and we all walked along the school. A staff of the school greeted us and directed us to the visitor's locker room.

And like the other times, we were all placed inside this room along with the other schools. Pushing the doors inside, I was quickly engulfed in a hug by one of the other school's captains, "Clara!"

"Hey," I smiled in a pretense of excitement, giving her a quick squeeze.

"I heard the news that you and Gray Martyn are official," she said and it gathered the attention of the few people who were near us.

Vivian scoffed as she passed me, going on to talk to the cheerleaders from the other schools that were stood by the other side of the room.

"Yeah," I nodded, "We are."

She let out a loud squeal, looping her arm with mine as we started to walk along, "I thought it would never happen. I even remember that time when I heard the news that you dumped cold water on some girl who tried to steal him."

"Or that time someone posted that you left a dead fish inside another one's locker," the captain of another team piped in, "Don't forget about when she placed a faux-positive pregnancy test when one was sleeping in the clinic, I heard their school nurse went berserk when it happened."

I've got a long list and Erin was near the bottom because most of my tricks were pretty minor compared to others – although maybe she was already up there when I showered her with sunflowers or sneaking in a peanut butter sandwich into her lunch when I found out that she was allergic to them.

We fell into a conversation about the other escapades I managed to pull off in order to repel any other girl from Gray. While we were, the last school arrived and you guessed it, fake blondie was part of it. We shared a mutual distaste and rather than being greeted with an embrace, she shot me a glare which I matched one with my own.

"Excuse me," an adult cleared her throat as she clapped her hands loudly to gather our attention, "We're about to start so when the music starts playing, could the teams go out one by one."

She started to relay out instructions and once she was finished, we all knew that it was go time. We piled out of the locker room, all waving around and smiling to the crowd.

"Same principle girls," I turned my team as we did a huddle, "If you mess up, mask it and keep going."

Just like what I did with my freaking ankle.

The contest started and the first team stepped onto the mat. They did their formation and waited for their music before they began to do their choreography, kicking their feet in the air, spinning and twirling their bodies around as they executed their moves.

They only did one pyramid, which they managed to do properly, and they used it as their final pose. Supporters from their school started hooting and clapping as they bowed and ran back to the side for the next team to start.

We were the third one lined up and as the girls currently on the mat were doing their routine, I took a deep breath before I tugged on my ponytail. This was our way for the finals and I refuse to leave this school without the title as champions.

Glancing towards the crowds, I noticed Gray as he sat with his cronies, looking uninterested as ever at the girls flailing around in front of him. Stifling a yawn, he saw me staring at him and his boredom dissipated, shooting me a smirk in return.

I noticed Vivian beside me who was waving flirtatiously at someone and when I followed her gaze, it fell on Evan who did nothing to hide his compromising feeling. He looked in every direction aside from hers and there was a small sense of amusement that clawed its way through my system. I held back a snicker just as when the other school finished their turn.

They called up our school and I started to run towards the mat, the girls lined up right behind me. We stopped at the middle, doing our first formation, holding our movements until the first beat the remix was heard through the speakers.

We started our routine by a simple move and spin before we did our tricks. What I made our school known for this year was that I always made sure our routines were full of flips and pyramids, maxing out the team's strength.

It was always risky to put too many stunts as one wrong move could ruin everything, but that's why I train them to their darn hardest. Also, that strategy was why the insane amount of flips and the ability to lift up another girl was part of the audition process when I stepped in as captain.

We did the next formation and we clapped our hands as we lifted several of our flyers into the air. We gave them the push and they came up, spinning once in the air before they descended back into our arms.

The Basket Toss was one of the classics, it was hard to mess it up.

Moving, we did another one and just like before, we threw them up and they spun, going back down to be caught.

As we were approaching the end, we did a series of synchronized tumbles. Vivian stepped into the middle along with five other girls as they readied themselves to do the leapfrog. I sincerely wish they execute this properly since almost everyone's attention was on them.

The rest of us circled them with our groups of flyer, spotter, and bases.

First move was a Scorpion, we were counting in our heads as Vivian started to jump, holding onto another member's hands for support as she started leaping over her head.

Down they went before we executed a Bow and Arrow. The flyers lifted their legs and passed their arm through the gap their leg made before flashing a smile at crowd before we placed them down.

Since we were too busy with our moves, we failed to see that Vivian lost her footing and she came tumbling down, her bases unable to catch her on time.

Through my peripheral vision, I watched as the judges shake their head and write down on their score sheets. I growled lowly and hoped they don't just stand there like idiots while we do the last move before the big pyramid.

I knew I should have made her run on a fucking treadmill.

I was just hoping the Pike Basket we were about to do could distract them. Throwing our flyers into the air, they brought their knees towards their chest before they arched their back as they fell back down.

We all danced to our last position, slowly building up our little tower made of females. Vivian was limping around and I was thankful that I placed her as one of the dancers for the last beat instead of being base.

The tiny freshman got brought up to the top after she rushed to grab the pompoms from the side. Our limbs were shaking as we tried to hold it up for another minute before flashing everybody a smile just as our music ended.

Using two girls as support, we managed to drag Vivian out of the performance area before she collapsed on the floor.

I so want to bite back her insult to me last night but I held my tongue. Like, how dare she insult me by reminding me of the pyramid accident when now, she's the one who fucking fell. Rolling my eyes, I held back the words because now's not the time.

Bending down, I felt up her leg for anything serious, "Probably a sprain or something, I feel no visible fractures but we better have you pass through the clinic before we go."

"What do you think, captain?" she questioned with a hint of sarcasm, still clutching her limb, "Think I ruined it?"

"Yes," I deadpanned and some actually gaped at how blunt I was, "If we don't make it to the next round I'm blaming you."

She stared at me with disbelief and I raised a brow. What? She was the one who asked – I never sugarcoat. She knows this and I honestly don't know what she expects. Of course, I'll be less than pleased about her mistake.

"But," I suddenly added, "I'll help you with whatever you need until you get better. I just don't leave any of my girls behind."

Blinking at me, she bowed her head lowly as if to finally declare defeat, "I'm sorry."

My ears perked up as I paused. Did Vivian just apologize to me? The almighty Vivian whose pride could come close to mine? I'm going to let it slide for now until she's no longer in crippling pain.

The last two schools finished their turn and we were now left to wait for the results. The head judge stood up and read whatever was printed on the paper in his hand. Calling out the first two teams that managed to get in, all of us held our breaths in anticipation as he took a deep breath.

The name of our school escaped his lips and we screamed our lungs out, jumping and hugging each other. We were offered a bunch of congratulations by the other teams and once the excitement died down, we assisted Vivian into the locker room where we all grabbed our bags and said goodbye to the other teams before heading out. We passed by the school clinic and I told the girls to tell the others to go on ahead and tell the teacher that we were there.

The nurse wrapped a bandage around her ankle as she sat on the bed, her hands gripping tightly onto the sheets as she gritted her teeth, "Nothing too bad, just a bit of rest and try not to use it too much until it heals."

"How long?" I questioned as she was in the middle of finishing up. The championships was spot on coinciding with my birthday – purposefully done as people behind these competitions barely leave any time for practice as a way of giving us a challenge –and even though she was the reason why we were called up last, she was still part of the team.

She looked up at me and answered, "About a week or so, it's just a grade one sprain."

What the doctor told me when I fell was that I had a grade two one and I couldn't help but slap Vivian upside the head. She flinched at the contact and looked at me incredulously, opening her mouth to complain.

I was freaking walking and still doing stunts when I hurt my ankle and here she was being melodramatic about this one.

"You can go if you're ready," the nurse said with a smile as she went on to tidy her equipment.

"I have no idea what to do with you," I groaned, sitting next to her, "But at least we both now fell from a competition."

She rolled her eyes as she waved her free foot around, "Soul sisters? That's disgusting."

In other words, can we just forget everything?

"Hate you too, Viv," I retorted.

Translation? Yeah.

As you can see, I'm not really keen on getting my point straight and I'm glad most of the people I have conversations with share the same sentiments.

"Oh Clara!" we heard a voice call out as the sophomore with the dress problem appeared on the doorway, already clad in the black clothing that I chose, "Is it alright if I go with my boyfriend instead of the bus."

Vivian's jaw dropped when she saw her decision and I nodded in approval, sending the black-haired girl a smirk. The girl thanked me before rushing along to do the nasty with her man.

"She's ridiculous!" Vivian groaned and I flicked her forehead.

"Says the one here moaning about a minor injury," I told her before hopping down, "Now come on, the rest are waiting for us."

She expected me to haul her up but with a raised brow, I turned around before walking ahead, earning a groan and another complain under her breath. We don't really get along, but I'll accept this as one of the most entertaining kind of friendships.

After that, nothing else eventful happened. When we arrived school, we parted ways and I went straight to bed, the tiredness of my muscles from the routine becoming more evident with every move I take. The minute my head hit the pillow, I knocked out.

I was woken up by the fierce sun shining through the window because I forgot to close my curtains last night. I flipped over to turn my back to it as I groggily felt up the bedside table, looking for my phone. When my fingers touched the smooth plastic of the casing, I grabbed it and readied myself to do the daily routine of staying in bed as I scroll through the device.

A few notifications here and there but I paused when I saw a text message from Gray. Grinning, I thought that it was one of those good morning texts or a good night message that I forgot to read last night, but when I opened it up, I blinked at the words.

The grin quickly fell into a frown as I tried to decipher this text and I couldn't help but gulp audibly. Cryptic messages from your boyfriends like these never ends well.

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Well, this week has been very interesting. Oh by the way, I got a new laptop so that means that I'm in the middle of a mass file transfer and that includes all the remaining chapters for this book so I'm praying that this was the revised version of this chapter because I'm a complete mess right now.

And yes, that was such a freaking twist that is both pathetic and overdone, but hell with it, I wrote this about two months ago and I'm not willing to change all the following chapters to change the plot.

Question: Still regarding the Evan chapters. I'm not creating a separate book just for that (my OC-ness won't allow it). I'm all reminding you that you don't need a tumblr account just to access my own tumblr blog. So the final decision: tumblr or wattpad (but I won't do simultaneous updates anymore if you choose WP because I'm going to put at the very end if that wins out)?

Dedicated to Kriti_kt for the cover.

I think that's everything. I love you guys so much and don't forget to vote, comment, and follow. I shall see you all next chapter!