"So you and Gray are officially together now?" a teammate asked just as we finished the cool down exercises.

After doing one last stretch, I turned to her before nodding, "Apparently so."

They went silent for a while with the confirmation before they started gathering around me, all saying a bunch of incoherent words as I only scratched my head in confusion. They were all speaking at the same time so I couldn't focus on a single person or a single word any of them were saying.

Well, that was until I saw Vivian hauling the mats to the side.

Okay, when that girl does a chore, I know something is wrong. She never makes an effort to do something without me telling her.

"It happened last Friday, after the game, we went out for dinner last Saturday night, and yes, we slept together after," I answered all of their inquiries with a single statement before I commanded, "Now move."

And as quick as the words left my mouth, they all stepped to the side to give me way.

Approaching the black-haired girl, she slowly looked up when she saw my figure looming over her. Crossing my arms over my chest, we started to have a complete conversation with just our eyes.

I don't know where we're standing anymore. I know that she was faking it the whole time and she was completely aware of my certain distaste for her plastic personality. After that argument last Friday, I'm surprised nobody could sense the heavy tension between me and the team's co-captain.

She snapped her gaze away before she continued on pulling the mat to the pile by the side. Rolling my eyes, I stepped on the said mat, making her stop and stand up straight once again, her stance obviously annoyed and frustrated.

"Looks like you two need some time alone," one girl muttered before the whole group started heading their way to the locker room.

"What should we do, Viv?" I asked with a sigh, "We both know that this ordeal is screwed up."

She jammed her hands into the pockets of her shorts as she pursed her lips, "Well, four years down the line and we're finally having this conversation."

"We weren't like this before," I mentioned as I shook my head, "What happened?"

"That's what I want to know too," she said, "You've become more and more condescending as years went by."

"And you've been more and more obvious with your wishes," I retorted.

Wouldn't it be just easy to break off this 'friendship' or something?

Nope, we still have two rounds of competition left and I'm not taking any chances by affecting the camaraderie thingy our team has.

"Just forget it, captain," she said with a huff as he turned around.

Before she could even take a step forward, I told her, "Stop and stay."

Perhaps I hit a nerve or something because when she spun on her heel, she looked furious. Her hands balled up into fists as she marched up to me, jotting a finger to my chest to make a point, "I'm not your dog and I'm not someone you can just fucking command around."

I lifted a hand and wrapped it around that finger, my grip tightening with every word I uttered, "And I'm not some you can use that tone of voice on."

"You're not my boss," she snarled, slapping my arm with her free hand so I can release her from my grasp, "You're a cheerleader, just like the rest of us."

"And tell me, what makes a cheerleader?" I asked with a challenging tone.

"You wave those ridiculous pompoms, you do the dangerous tricks, you bend your body in the most uncomfortable way," she started to say, "You walk in the halls with this big ass crowd, we sit in the lunch table that always has someone standing on because the lack of chairs, you get invited to the best high school parties, you're used to being seen drunkenly clumsy after, and you want to get laid as much as the rest."

Lifting a hand, I slapped her right across the cheek. It wasn't hard enough to leave a mark or create a sound, but it was enough for her to stop talking. Her eyes widened at the sudden impact and if looks could kill, I would have been dead.

But I have a nastier glare than hers.

You're one of the reasons why we're being stereotyped. The first three things you said were correct, but the rest were complete bullshit.

"Vivian, never speak like that again," I said, my voice low and dangerous, "Or I'm going to do something more than just a slap."

"Everyone's just afraid of you that's why they listen to you," she stated, rubbing the spot where I hit her, "Look around you, nobody actually likes you."

That statement actually applies to you, not me.

Out of nowhere, someone popped herself in-between us, acting as a barrier. She switched her gaze from Vivian to me before grabbing each of our hands, "Can we please calm down? This isn't good for the both of you or for the team."

With one final dirty look towards each other, we started to make our way to the locker room, slamming the door open.

The other girls were obviously paying attention to our fight because the moment they entered, they all went into one corner, extremely far away from our lockers. The one who was brave enough to stop us exhaled heavily as she obediently followed behind.

"We're going to have practice starting five tomorrow morning," I announced as I stuffed all my belongings into my gym bag.

They usually groan when I hit them with these but I guess they were too worried about the time bomb currently in their midst to do that.

Well, except Vivian.

"There you go again!" she screamed, slamming her locker shut, "Taking it out on all of us just because something didn't go your way."

"I've been working my ass off since freshman year because I wanted to be a badass cheerleader who can whip her team into something amazing," I yelled, "And if I our seniors didn't pick me to become the captain then the team wouldn't have made it this far, because you of all people know that you waste precious time for leisure instead of training."

When we had try-outs, I handpicked the freshmen who looked like they were willing to go through the roughest practice, even to the point of making them cry on the first day. My mentality is that if you got pass the worst, then you have nothing else to fear.

That wasn't the case for the previous captains who just saw a pretty face and probably some flexibility as a feature in becoming a part of the team.

It isn't. The face value is just a bonus.

"See you tomorrow," I huffed, swinging my bag on shoulder before marching out of the room, leaving them to contemplate my words.

When I got into the school hallway, I stopped on my tracks when I saw Erin leaning against the wall with her eyes glued to the book in her hands, her earphones jammed in her ears to block the noise.

Oh right, she said that she wanted to talk.

I really need to calm myself before we have a proper conversation because after the argument with Vivian, I think I might explode by just a single word.

Stepping in front of her, I tapped on her shoulder to grab her attention and she quickly jumped up, pulling the earphones off. She blinked up towards me before she placed a piece of paper in-between the pages of her book and closing it shut, slotting it inside her bag, "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

I kept my mouth sealed and she pointed towards the exit, asking me a silent question if I would rather go somewhere else.

"Let's go to your brother's hangout spot," I suggested as I started to walk, "I'm a little hungry."

And maybe a bit of food may calm me down.

When I noticed that she wasn't moving, I looked over my shoulder and scrunched up my eyebrows in confusion, "What?"

"Evan has a hangout spot?" she questioned.

"Yeah, you know, where he goes when he doesn't want to be home or something," I tried to trigger a memory but she just kept staring at me with that puzzled expression.

So I know something about Evan that this lamb doesn't. Does she ever wonder where he disappears to when he goes out?

"You have a car?" I questioned as I took out my keys and she shook her head. Rolling my eyes, I gestured for her to go outside, "Then I'm driving."

The whole way to One-Eighty Degrees was silent and I was suddenly transported back to the time her family gave me a ride home after the sudden stressful morning. She tried to occupy herself by acting as if she was completely invested on the sceneries we passed by.

Stopping in front of the café, she gaped at the new-found information, "Evan goes here?"

Trust me lamb, I was shocked too when I saw him.

"For two please," I requested from the waitress who greeted us when we entered. She escorted us to a booth by the wall before she handed us our individual menus. With a smile, she left to give us time to decide our orders.

"Now speak," I told her, placing down the menu.

Vivian was right, I do talk to people like their dogs.

She hid behind the menu and I groaned, lifting my hand to call back the waitress. She came to us with her notepad and pen in hand, giving us an expectant look.

"Cappuccino and peach danish," I said, "And throw in a piece of chocolate cake while you're at it."

I don't even need to look at the menu to know what I want, it was usual things I ordered. Although I am watching my figure for the competition, if I don't get any sugar, I would snap.

"Okay, what about you miss?" she questioned, slightly turning to the side to face Erin.

She was caught off guard by the question as she hastily scanned the menu for something she would like.

"The muffin looks good," she murmured, "But then again the banana bread sounds great as well."

Your indecisiveness in food is comparable to your indecisiveness with men.

If I may suggest, go get some food into my system before I strangle someone.

"Umm..." she trailed off and I slammed my hand on the table before turning to the waitress.

"She'll have the muffin and the banana bread," I ordered for the lamb, "And a regular cup of coffee."

Erin clamped her mouth shut in response, slowly handing the menu back to the waitress. Even with my sudden outburst, the waitress kept calm and gave us a friendly smile before heading her way to place in our orders.

I'm going to silently apologize because after that confrontation and the impending doom from this conversation, my stress levels are through the roof.

Propping my cheek on my hand as my elbow rested on the table, I scanned around the café. It wasn't full or anything, which was understandable since it was in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. A soft smile broke on my lips I spotted the same table where I practically begged Evan to go with me to Hallie's wedding.

At the very end of the aisle of booths was the place where he told me about the real deal with his family's situation.

When I turned back my attention to Erin, I lifted a brow when I saw her staring at me with such a curious expression. Straightening up my posture, I shot her a question, "Now what do you want to talk about?"

"I just would like to say that I'm completely terrified right now," she mumbled, her eyes not meeting mine. She should be but I do commend her for her honesty.

"I'm done messing with you," I stated, crossing my arms over my shoulder, "No need to be scared."

Please, I'm just being polite here.

"Evan likes you," she muttered, drawing circles with her finger on the table.

First Gray, now you. People don't really need to rub it in my face, you know. I get it, he told me. I know, it's horrible that I rejected him.

But it's a lot better than entering a relationship where I'm going to half-ass it because I'm too caught up into Gray.

She released a heavy sigh before she continued speaking, "I'm sorry about tackling you to the ground back then."

You didn't really do much damage, even a kitten can do much more than what you did. Then again, cats are usually assholes in the first place.

"But I don't ever want to be sorry about what happened with Gray," she suddenly said and my head snapped to her direction.

Excuse me, lamb?

Did you know the shit of a rollercoaster my emotions went through because of you? You were a victim yourself of how much I actually like Gray. If you only knew that I had some kind of weird emotional break down because of you and now you're telling me that you're not sorry.

I call bullshit on this.

The waitress appeared once again, ignoring the uncompromising atmosphere that we had going on, "Sorry for making you wait."

Oh food, everyone's saving grace.

She set down our drinks and desserts, saying quick, "Enjoy," before turning around to leave us.

Grabbing the fork and swiftly letting it cut through that chocolate, I slid into my mouth before relaxing in satisfaction. Okay, I'm good.

Erin bowed her head lowly before she went to explain herself, "In that small time that Gray gave me his attention, I felt something I never did before. He showed me how loosen up, that life's not all about studying or staying at home. There's a big world out there and there are full of things that I never knew I wanted to experience."

"And then Gray showed them all to you," I finished for her as I sipped on my drink.

She nodded in response, "I thought he was an annoying nuisance at first, but then I realized that he had such a big impact on my life."

Well, you're not wrong about the annoying part.

But Gray was much more than that. He's protective, a little clueless, but is witty when it comes to it. He has a certain distaste over the universe's way of letting things happen, but he allowed himself to be carefree. He gives into my wishes when I want him to, he refuses to even let a cigarette near me when we're with each other because he knows that I hate it.

He's the sole reason why I have never felt like I was violated. He fought every man who dared to touch me and he shielded me from any preying eyes of hormonal teenage boys.

Time and time again, he has proven to me that no matter how far we drift apart, we'll always find our way back to each other.

If his impact on her was a slight slap, then his impact on me was like a speeding freight train.

"I get it," I said as I took a bite of my danish, "And I'm sorry for everything that I did to you."

Don't worry pride, you already got the guy.

Erin and Gray have this story that I might never hear about, but that also meant that Gray and I have our own story that no one else will know.

And maybe that's what I prefer.

"If it isn't too much to ask," she cleared her throat, "Can I, you know, about him and you?"

"Let's just say that Gray and I helped each other when we were deep in trouble," I answered her incomplete inquiry, "And that he was always my ally as I was his."

Her eyes widened at my last statement as she mumbled under her breath, "Allies..."

Yeah, it's a bit corny but it was our thing.

"He always whispered it," she informed, before I could see the tears slowly forming in her eyes, "He was never with me in the first place, he was always with you."

Woah woah woah. I did not expect crying.

Grabbing a napkin, I handed it to her and she quickly wiped her eyes, sniffling before talking again, "Gray always had his attention on you and when you said the ally thing, I now know what it meant. Even when you're not in the room or on the other side of the hall, he was with you.

Well, this was the first time I heard of this. Her words were jumbled and barely made any sense but I understood it. The immense joy it brought me was sickening, I shouldn't be this happy when there's a crying girl in front of me, but I couldn't help it.

"I thought I had a chance, I thought that I could change him for the better," she sobbed, "But I couldn't."

That's because he never needed to change. What he needed wasn't someone who would turn him good, what he needed was someone to accept him with all his flaws. The reason why I came to love Gray was because he was just a bit broken, a little helpless behind his façade. I felt like he needed me just as much as I needed him.

The reason you lost was not because of me, but because you never waited for him to let himself be with you. I waited for years, and look where it got me.

"There, there," I tried to comfort, reaching out a hand. I stopped midway just before I touched her shoulder, before I maneuvered it a bit.

This was a lot more awkward than I initially thought.

Opting to place my hand on her head, I tapped light pats on her hair.

I can't really feel sorry for you, because what you're crying about is in my favor but might as well comfort the crying lamb.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized as she took calming breaths, "But I'm happy that I finally got it out of my chest."

Shrugging, I finished up my two snacks and whatever was left of my coffee. Glancing towards her side of the table, I slumped a little bit when I realized that she barely made any dent on what she ordered.

And I'm not really the one for patience.

Feeling up my pockets for my wallet, I had this momentary panic when I realized that my phone wasn't there, "I think I left my phone in school."

It could just be in my car but this was like a silently telling her to hurry up and finish what she's eating so we could both go on our merry separate ways.

"Oh," she said, "You should go back then."

No duh.

"Are you okay if I leave you?" I questioned as I took out my wallet to give her the money for my food, "I mean, you don't have a car or anything."

"I'll just call Evan or mom," she told me as I handed her the exact amount, "Maybe I should have listened to my brother."

"Hm?"

She tilted her head to the side and showed me a soft smile, "That you're not really that bad."

Smirking, I shook my head, "Maybe if we met in different circumstances, we might have been friends."

"Why can't we be friends now?" she asked, her voice a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty.

As I stood up, I gave her my reply, "Because I don't hang around with people like you."

Harsh? That's reality, kid. The cheerleaders don't hang out with people like you who prefers to sit with her two best friend, away from the crow. I'm willing to act civil but my team has a bigger impact than any kind of friendship one might give.

Her smile slipped off her face, "But why do you get along with Evan?"

"Because he's that smartass who knows what to say and do before I tell him," I answered smoothly, "What I need is someone who can match my personality."

And if I ever deliver my snarks on her, seriously or not, I feel like she might lose it and break down into tears. You saw how petty she was earlier, she couldn't even hold it in until she was alone.

I can't be friends with someone who's weak, I'm too harsh.

"See you," I told her as goodbye, waving my hand before going to the café door.

When I got inside my car, I groaned when my phone was nowhere to be found so that meant that I had to drive all the way back to school. Maybe I should have checked my things before actually strutting out without a second glance.

Arriving at the school, I quickly got out and marched to the gym. As I entered the doors, I paused when I saw someone on the mats, her blonde hair in a tight braid as she stretched her limbs.

"Practice is over," I spoke, causing her to scramble up in surprise at the sound of my voice.

She whipped around and I instantly recognized her as someone from the cheer team, "Sorry, I was just training because I can't seem to nail that split you assigned to me."

"You're a freshman, aren't you?"

She nodded as I walked to approach her. With her hands behind her back, she gave me a preppy smile, "Yeah."

I could sense that this girl was different, she was one of those who separates from us when we're at lunch and she doesn't usually go to our different outings. She has her own circle of friends so that's why I wasn't too familiar with her.

"Name?"

She was caught off-guard by the question but she quickly answered, "Jessica."

I examined the mats that I knew were put away by Vivian before the whole scuffle so that meant she pulled them back onto the floor and stuck them together just so she could practice. Well, at least I'm assured someone from the team has the dedication when I leave this place.

Placing my gaze back on her, I observed as she nervously fidgeted her hands, "Are you scared?"

"Intimidated," she corrected with a hushed voice.

"I won't eat you alive," I muttered, "Did you see what happened between me and Vivian earlier?"

Even though she was hesitant to answer, she once again nodded. Exhaling loudly, I fell down on the mat, sitting in a cross legged position, "We just get into each other's nerves most of the time."

"But I like your tandem," she admitted, finding her spot in front of me, "It's like when you're together, no one can insert themselves into the conversation."

Mostly because nobody dares to do it, seeing as we don't hold the best reputations when it came to our tempers, "Keep talking."

She stopped for a moment to think before continuing, "She's like your sidekick, your second in command. She knows you better than anyone else in the team."

"And?"

"No one else can face you like she can," she finished, her voice quivering even though she was putting one brave mask.

I don't want to admit, but Vivian was really everything that she said. Frankly, I can't function without my little co-pilot and I know she can barely make progress without someone to guide her.

Four years down the line, I hope it's not too late for us to recognize this.

But if she even thinks of betraying me, I'm going to kick her towards the next planet.

Standing up, I placed a hand on her shoulder, "Keep on practicing, you have the potential."

A huge grin broke on her face, as if my compliment was the most important thing in the world, while she looked up to me, "Thank you."

Walking into the locker room, I thank myself for having the idea to go back. Not only did I forget my phone, but I forgot my whole book bag.

What can I say? My demand for a dramatic exit is too high.

After I grabbed the both of them, I went out of the locker room just as someone called my name, "Clara?"

Looking for the source of the voice, I smiled when I saw Gray. His hair was still wet and a gym bag hung on his shoulder, signifying that he just got out of practice, "Heading home?"

I hummed in confirmation as he took my bag from my grasp and carried it, using his free hand to take my hand in his, "Heard from those who watched training that you got into a fight. So how was your day?"

Let's see, I talked one of your ex-whatever before I had this epiphany that Vivian can actually be a friend of mine.

"Are you really willing to listen?" I answered and he chuckled, his grasp tightening.

"I did submit myself to that the moment I asked you out," he grinned, "So even though I'm not sure where this is going, you have my full attention."

Laughing, I remembered what Erin told me earlier. I always had Gray's attention, whether he was by my side or not. That's enough for me to brighten me up because I wouldn't want this relationship in any other way.

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So I was basically editing and then I realized halfway through that it was the wrong chapter because it was the one that was supposed to go up after this. I was so frustrated after. Anyways, how was your week?

Just saw my schedule for next semester and let me tell you, I better finish this story before school starts or else you guys are going to be deserted without any updates. They do say sophomore year is the war year because a lot of people in my program drops out or fails the course during this time.

Question: Dinner expectations with Gray's family?

Dedicated to aminak12345 for the covers. I'm literally in love with them!

That's it for now. Don't forget to comment, vote, and follow. I love you guys so much and I shall see you next chapter.