JAMES WALKED THROUGH THE
narrow corridor of the changing room and joined in with his teammates.

"Did you do it?" he asked his friend and the guy nodded.

„Yeah. They're fucked as soon as they get off the field." he whispered back and James nodded.

„Good."
He then turned to his team.

"Everyone! Remember be careful in the line and with running them over! I don't want anyone getting send off the field." James said and looked precisely at his friend Alister, who looked annoyed.
He then put on his uniform and got shoved aside by his coach.

"Boys. Everyone gather round, hurry up." He yelled as they surrounded him.

"For next year most of you will end up being Oxford Cambridge opponents. This is your last chance to make history in Maxton Hall."
The team cheered.

"Beaufort my winner here for the past two years made sure that we have a reputation to lose!" James kept his face straight, being focused on the game that layed before him while his team and his coach cheered on him.

"So go out there and kick some East View ass!" The coach shouted and the whole team roared

"MAXTON-!.."

"..HALL!"

"MAXTON-..!"

"..HALL!"

•

Livia put on her uniform and wore the number '17'. Her number was changed to this year. For whatever reason, the numbers were reassigned, so unfortunately she now had the same number as James Beaufort.

What a dream!

She got her pom poms and then stood in front of the row of her time. She felt her heart race and her body fill with adrenaline.

"And now. May I introduce our school cheerleading team 'Dynamos'!"

The stands are full and the atmosphere is electrifying. Liv led her group out with a beaming smile and perfect synchronization. Hands on hips, they ran onto the pitch and got into position as 'Hair' by Little Mix played.
They began to move, hands with pom-poms in the air. The hot sun blazed on Liv's shoulders as she performed the moves, swaying her hips with a proud smile. Two girls stand on each other's shoulders before being thrown into the air and landing back in their arms after a spin. The audience cheered and applauded as they put on a good show.

In the middle of their figures, as Liv stood on her friend Hannah's shoulders, James Beaufort caught her eye. The boy looked her up and down, a grin on his face, while his friends looked at the girls too, probably whispering disgusting things and laughing. She couldn't help feeling uneasy about Jaime's smile. It was the kind of smile a person has when they know something bad is about to happen.
And that's when it happened.

The brunette was thrown into the air, did her spin and expected to land in the arms of the other cheerleaders. Instead, she felt a few hands try to grab her but failed and not even a second after that she felt the air getting pressed out of her lungs, as she hit the hard ground.
A startled cry went through the audience, while Liv heard a beeping in her ear. She looked up at Hannah, who should have caught her, accusingly.

However, the girls above her all had a trance in their eyes and grabbed their heads. Liv quickly scrambled to her feet and they finished the last few moves before ending in the final pose. A blonde girl stood on Liv's shoulders and collapsed on top of her as soon as the music ended.

"What's going on?" yelled Liv as they dragged themselves off the field and the lacrosse players began to play.

"I blacked out for a moment, I'm so sorry." said Hannah, breathing heavily and sweating more than usual. It wasn't just her, all the girls had their hands on their faces or temples, sweating and panting. Some had to brace themselves on their knees, others sat down and one girl ran behind the corner and threw up.

"What is this?! Did you take something?!" Liv freaked out and, out of the corner of her eye, saw the principal approaching with another teacher.

"What's that all about! What's going on?!" He scolded as he saw the girls sitting on the floor, their faces pale and sweaty. Her eyes were glazed over, as if in a trance.
A couple of paramedics came running towards them and started to examine them.

"This looks a lot like scopolamine," said the paramedic, looking sternly at the captain of the cheerleading team.

"What?" Liv asked, shocked.

"Taking this drug is illegal, especially before sport, it can cause serious problems." His voice now grew stricter and louder.
The brunette girl heard the rush of blood in her ears as her brain rattled. She saw the principal's eyes.

"Mrs. Ashwand do you have your athletes using illegal and harmful substances?" He asked, while Liv stood there and heard the cheering of the audience in the background, one single name consuming her thoughts.

James Beaufort.

•

After the game, Liv found herself running across the pitch to the changing rooms of the boys, while her cheerleaders received first aid in the infirmary.

She pushed open the door and the smell of sweat and dirt hit her. The loud cheers and banging on the lockers hurt her ears as she briskly made her way through the towel-wrapped boys and heard the whistles behind her.

James heard the whistle and just as he turned around, he was grabbed by the shoulder and slammed into the locker behind him. The boys around her responded with an:

"Ouuu!"

"Damn!"

"Are you serious? Drugging my cheerleaders?!" She scolded him, but James had nothing but a smirk on his face.

"What do you mean?" He asked innocently.

"You know exactly what I mean! Don't play fucking innocent! You gave them scopolamine!" she hissed, close to his face.
The girl then looked around and noticed that all the eyes that were on them.

"I didn't do anything. But you seem to have some serious issues with drugs!" She heard Jaime's mocking voice and turned her face back to him. She knew exactly what the boy was referring to when he said that and grimaced down at her.

"Does that run in your family?" He then asked and the boys around him inhaled sharply and held a fist to their mouths.

An "Ooohh" sound filled the room and Liv couldn't actually believe he just said that. She saw his hard gaze that looked down at her arrogantly.
Liv's hand, which was now in the middle of his chest, pushed him back against the lockers.

James chuckled, ignoring the stabbing pain in his back and how much her strength surprised him.
He literally saw flames in her eyes as she stared at him like a dagger, making her look truly terrifying. She looked at him like she was going to plunge a knife into his throat in the next second, and probably would have actually killed him on the spot if she hadn't been interrupted.

"Ashwand!" The coach called her name and Liv turned to face the man.

"What are you doing here? Get out!" She demanded it and the brunette girl turned back to James, her hand pressing harder on his chest as he leaned down towards her.

"This is not over."
With one final push, she let go of him and walked out proudly, whistles behind her.

Points for handling this situation:

1, 2 and 3.. All points failed.

•
Authors note:
What do you think of the story so far?

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1259 words