CHAPTER 15 // EDITED

It was odd getting dressed in front of girls instead of behind a curtain in the boys locker room. I was wearing a top that showed skin and a skirt exposing my legs, sneakers were on my feet rather than cleats.

I was tying my hair up in a orange and white bow when the cheer captain, Cassidy Moore, walked out. She clapped her hands together and looked around among us all.

I drowned out her too high pitched voice and grabbed my poms poms from the bench. The girls suddenly cheered loudly startling me making me jump, they shook their poms poms and jogged out from the locker room.

The girls were jumping and waving their arms in attempt to hype up the crowd. I heard the guys hooting and hollering from the tunnel as they ran out behind Icy.

They jogged to their bench skipping the entire ritual, which was everyone's favorite part. I looked away from the football team and smiled up at the crowd.

"Let's go, Eastside!" I yelled shaking my poms poms. We started up our cheers once the game started, but we didn't have much of a good start.

We kept up with the cheers and chants even though our team was getting their butts kicked. Reese launched the balls across the field, but it slipped right through Cody's fingers.

"How in the hell did you miss that call, Dakota?" I mumbled to myself. "Little league plays better than this."

The buzzer finally sounded for halftime letting us stop for a break, my throat was aching from all the yelling. Coach looked as if he was about to snap his clipboard.

I tossed my water bottle to the side after I gulped almost all of it down. Cassidy started off a cheer making us join in, I was in the middle of the routine when I heard a deeper voice.

"P-E to the T-T-Y!" Justice yelled, he was trying to copy our moves, but was failing miserably. He suddenly came beside me, but I attempted to ignore him. "Can you come with me?"

"Go away, Justice," I hissed in a whisper, I stomped my foot and my waist was grabbed lifting me from the ground.

"Justice, put me down!" I yelled struggling to get out of his firm grasped. He set me down on my feet and I twirled around to yell at him, but I couldn't get a word out before he tossed me over his shoulder. "Lacey!" She looked over at me, but looked away continuing the cheer.

After beating on Justice's back and kicking my feet viciously, he finally set me back down when we reached the boy's locker room.

"Blake, we're getting our asses kicked out there," Logan spoke up first. "It's like we're missing half the team without you."

"That's not my problem if you guys can't play the game," I shot back turning around to look at the team. "My absence has nothing to do with the fact you can't catch or throw a ball."

"You'd rather shake those shiny things rather than be on the field?" Zach asked.

"Let's see, get tackled which can result in injury or look good in a uniform without getting pummeled?" I asked pretending as if I was thinking. "I think you can see which one makes more sense."

"This isn't you, Blake," Reese snapped at me, I looked over at him shocked he was speaking to me. "When you told me I was dead to you, I didn't actually think my best friend would die and become this."

Kingston took my pom poms from my hands and Praxton held out my jersey in front of me.

"You're meant to look good in a football uniform, not being something you hate," he said, Hensley lined the top of the uniform with the number 21 below it. I peeled my eyes away looking back at the guys.

"You can burn that jersey, because I'm not putting it back on," I said. "No girl is meant to play football with a bunch of boys." I took my pom poms from Kingston and started to walk out, but my path was blocked.

I bit my bottom lip before I looked up at Mason. "Can you get out of my way?"

"This isn't the girl I lied to just so I could hang out with her," he said.

"What're you talking about?" I asked, my stomach started to flips, but I pushed the feeling aside.

"Justice didn't ask me to bring that pizza, I offered to do it," he admitted, my lips felt as if they were sealed shut. "I did that, because I wanted to hang out with you."

"What a heart warming speech," I said sarcastically. "Now, move out of way so I can get back to my squad."

"This isn't fair, Blake," Justice shot my way, I looked back at him. "We're your family, Blake, always have been."

"I thought you would've learned by now," I said, I turned and walked to the door. "My family always leave, one way or another." I pushed the door open and walked out.

***

"You walk like you're a god, they can't believe I made you weak," Halsey seeped through my speaker as I headed towards Dre's house.

I pulled in the driveway, parking behind the other parked cars. I pulled my key from the ignition and stepped out of the car.

I avoided walking through the grass knowing my heels would sink into the dirt. I walked past the familiar cars to walk through the garage.

I heard a familiar voice shout once I walked past the threshold. "Ha, pluck two." I untied my flannel from my waist and tossed it on Dre's counter.

They must of heard the click of my heels approaching, because their attention turned my way once I got into the game room. Dre insisted on having all hardwood floors.

"Heading to the strip club?" Dre asked looking back at his cards.

"How high are those heels?" Jay spoke up next.

JaShawn Washington, Jay was famous for making girls drool over him. His features looked as if God took his time with him, but it was the green eyes that made you fall.

I'd never met Jay's parents, but I hated them with everything after hearing what they put him through.

"About as high as your ego," I shot back, a laugh came from the end of the table. Chase Daniels.

Chase was two years older than me, but I'd known him since I was eight. He was an orphan that ran away from his foster home, they didn't even know he was missing. Dre found him wandering the streets one night during a storm and brought him home.

"What in the hell are you wearing, Blake?" Dre shot my way as he observed my outfit with a disgusted look.

"I think I'm wearing clothes, Dre," I replied, the smile disappeared from Chase's face and Jay looked at me crazy.

"Excuse me?" Dre said standing up from his seat. "Don't think I won't back hand you and not think twice about it, Blakely Greyson."

"You asked a stupid question so I gave you an obvious answer," I replied with a lazy shrug.

"You're pushing the wrong person, Blake," he said in a calm tone, but there warning in his voice. "First, I come to your football game and you're with the cheerleaders shaking your ass."

"Mom always complained that I acted much like a boy, so I'm being a girl like she wanted,"

"So, you wait five years and after she's dead to do what she wanted?"

"Is it so hard to believe I want to be this way?" I shot back.

"I've known you my whole life," he said. "I basically raised you."

"Yeah, and look how that turned out," I shot back, Dre's jaw twitched and I stared in to his dark eyes.

"Don't think just because you're seventeen, I won't turn you over my knee," he said through his teeth, I crossed my arms across my chest. "You're terrified of clowns, but you look like one your damn self."

"I'm not going to stand here just to be judged by someone's opinion that doesn't matter," I snapped at him, he gripped my jaw and pulled me towards him.

"I'm not judging you," he said through gritted teeth, his grip tightened making me clench my jaw. He turned around and threw me down to the floor. "I told you from the start, you could be whoever you wanted to be. Lesbian, bisexual, you could be attracted to fucking trees for all I care."

"Then why can't I be this?" I shot back rubbing my aching arm.

"I'm not loving you for being someone that you're not!" His voice raised bouncing off the walls in the silent room. "You can argue with me till you're black and blue, Blakely, but I'm not letting you be something you're not."

"Then I won't waste my time," I snapped back, I pushed myself up from the floor. "I don't need you."

"Blake, he's right," Jay spoke up from behind me. "I mean, you wore a cape to school for almost a year. You've never cared what anyone thought." I turned around on my heel to look down at him.

"I'm constantly around guys," I snapped at him. "I live with all guys, I'm surrounded around by guys at school, and then an extra hour after school."

"It's always been that way, because it's never phased you," Chase intervened.

"I don't want to be looked at as just one of the guys," I said sharply, my thigh suddenly stung making my leg tingle. I hissed as I bit down on my lip, I touched my thigh and turned around to Dre. "Why did you just hit me with your belt?"

"You're so fucking stupid, Blake Hensley," he said through gritted teeth, he laughed dryly shaking his head. "No, actually, you're so fucking pathetic, it's not even funny."

"I'm not pathetic," I said through my teeth, my fists clenched by my sides.

"You think becoming this," he gestured towards my body. "A guy is going to love you?" I bit the inside of my cheek as I stated back at him. "Sorry to break it to you, sweetheart, but all you're going to get is humped and dumped."

"Wouldn't you know? You probably were one of those douchebags," I shot back, he laughed shaking his head.

"Yeah, actually, I was one of those guys," he replied. "Except, my story didn't turn out like these cliché love stories. Where the beautiful girl falls for the player that changed his ways for her."

"Are you done?" I asked lazily. "I have better things to do than listen to your sob story." He moved aside letting me walk past.

"Oh, and, Blake," Dre spoke up again, I stopped and rolled my eyes. "Don't you ever come back to this house again." My mouth gaped and I looked at him. "You're dead to me." I started to speak, but instead I closed my mouth and walked out.

I felt my eyes burn, but I blinked rapidly refusing to let even a single tear escape. I slammed my car after getting and hurried out from the driveway.

I slowed down to a stop as I approached a stop sign at an intersection. I gripped the steering wheel tight and then punched it making the horn beep.

Everyone leaves sooner or later.