Chapter 26

LUCY’S POV

Today was the last day of the cheerleading competition.

Everyone was so excited while us cheerleaders were very nervous. We’ve been beating our asses off for this competition and we know that we were gonna be great, but that didn’t stop us from worrying. We’ve always believed that we’ll win, but that doesn’t mean that we will. There’s a part in each one of us that worries whether or not everything we worked hard will be a waste.

My team and I were seated at the right side of the gymnasium, waiting for our turn as we watched the first team do their cheer. Not gonna lie, their cheer was good. They were a tough competitor.

I rubbed my hands together, chewing on my lip as I breathed in and out through my nose. Kayla, who’s sitting beside me, was just as nervous as I was. She rested her head on my shoulder and released a long sigh.

“They’re really good,” She said.

I nodded my head. “They are. But we’ll beat them.”

“Of course we will. We’re the best and we have the best captain there is in the whole entire world,”

A laugh escaped my mouth. She’s the best best friend I could ever wish for. “I have the best team and you being my best friend is one of the best things that ever happened in my life,” I put my arm around her.

“You’re flattering me. You must need something from me,”

“Can’t I just express my appreciation for you?”

“You may. And may I add something?”

“What is it?” I narrowed my eyes at her.

“I’ll add Amber to one of the best things that ever happened to you,”

My cheeks suddenly got warm, tearing my gaze from her. “Kay…”

“I’m sure that you’re whipped when it comes to her,”

“I am not whi-“

“There’s Amber!” She stuck out her index finger, pointing at the other direction.

The moment she said that, my head snapped to where she was pointing, noticing that there’s no Amber. Her body vibrated as she laughed quietly, hiding her face close to my body. I gritted my teeth and pushed her away from me as hard as I could. And because she was sitting on the edge of the bleacher, she fell on the ground, landing on her butt. That didn’t stop her from laughing, like she didn’t feel any pain from falling.

“Whipped as a cream.”

“Not even funny, Kayla,” I helped her to get back on the bleacher and gave her enough space to stay away from me.

“It actually was,” She grinned.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring her laughter. “Laugh all you want,”

“I will,”

Thinking of doing the same thing, I pointed a random girl and said, “Lexi is there!”

Like me, she snapped her head to the girl and realized that it wasn’t her girlfriend.

“You’re whipped!”

“I’m proud to let everyone know that I’m whipped for Lex. You on the other hand, are not admitting that you’re whipped for Amber,”

“Cause I’m not!” I snapped.

“If only you could see what your face looked like awhile ago. There’s this spark in your eyes and they widen whenever you hear her name. There’s this excitement you feel whenever you see her and whenever you’re around her. The way you watch her when she laughs like it’s the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard. When she smiles, your eyes glisten like it’s the most amazing art you’ve ever seen. You can’t deny that you’re very whipped,”

Best friends really do know you. She was right. My heart flutters whenever I touch Amber; my heart beats fast whenever we hug. But the first time we kissed, my heart slowed down and was beating normally. The heart usually beats faster when you’re nervous about something. But when we were kissing, it was beating perfectly. Seems like Amber knows how to calm my heart down.

Ever since the day when we first talked at my party, she never left my mind. She piqued my interest just like that. I asked Kayla if I could hang out with them the next day and seeing Amber again made me smile. Then next thing I know, hanging out with them became normal for me. Teasing her, hugging her, flirting with her, hanging out with her became part of my new routine. Do I feel nervous around her? Every damn time. I’m just good at hiding it.

The moment I started liking Amber was when we were at the cafe. When she gave me that mango cake, I was really surprised cause she never looked in my direction when we were all hanging out. Who knew that Amber was also observant. As I found out my feelings for her, she’s the first thing that comes to my mind as I wake up every day. Someone I looked forward to seeing everyday. I was already drawn to her.

But thinking about her sexuality, it did make me sad. Me liking a straight girl who could never feel the same way was like a sick joke. When I found out that she had a date with Reed, my heart broke; so I kept my distance for awhile. Olivia even introduced me to her friend, Caroline. She asked me out and I gave her a chance. We had fun and I was the one who asked her out for a second date. While I was waiting for her, I realized that she’s nowhere near like Amber.

Being ditched sucked. But also, being ditched can be a good thing. Seeing Amber hiding behind the newspaper made my frown turn into a full blown smile. There she was, trying to be discreet by blocking her face with the newspaper. I saw her the moment she stepped into the room.

That day was one of the best days I’ve had. Especially when she kept my flying kiss, showing me that she also feels the same way.

“Earth to Lucy, hello?” My best friend waved her hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my daze.

“What?” I hissed.

“Chill. You’re in your Amber world again,”

“I’m no-“

“Hey, it’s Amber!”

“Kay, you’re not gonna fool me agai-“

“Hey, guys!” Amber greeted.

“Hey, Amber!” I greeted back, making me jump out of my seat.

“W,” Kayla started.

Amber’s eyebrows knitted and fixed her glasses. “W?”

“H,”

“H?”

“I-p-p-e-d.” Kayla finished.

“Whipped? What do you mean whipped?” Amber asked.

“Whipped means Lucy,” she smirked.

I elbowed her on her side making her mumble out an ‘oof’ sound. “Don’t mind her, she forgot to take her meds.”

Looking amused, Amber sat beside me, running a hand through her brown hair with a warm smile. I feel myself smiling back, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. “How are you?”

“A little out of breath. I was afraid that I wouldn’t make it so I ran all the way here,” That made sense. Her hair was down and kinda messy, her chest was heaving up and down, lips parted as she struggled to catch her breath. She was wearing our school’s T-shirt along with matching shorts. She didn’t bother to change her PE uniform. She still looked beautiful.

“You’re just in time.”

Kayla tapped Amber’s shoulder, making her face her. “Where’s Lex?”

“She got caught up with the quiz. She said she’ll do her best to finish it ASAP and go straight here,”

The first team was finished and it was our turn to show them what we’ve got. Amber placed her hand on my thigh, leaving a burning sensation.

“Wish us luck,” I said, cupping her cheek.

She picked up a strand of hair on my shoulder and placed it behind my shoulders, “Goodluck.”

Having my lucky charm with me definitely made me feel good about this competition and gave me strength. I know we’re gonna kill this and we’re gonna win this.

I motioned for the girls to go to their designated places, Kayla and Olivia were beside me. I nodded my head and counted from 3 to 1. As soon as the countdown ended, we began doing our cheer.

I pumped my fists up high and jumped, doing a quick split up in the air. I did a cartwheel twice along with Kayla and Katherine. Katherine continued and ended with a backflip. People were screaming and cheering for us. My eyes landed on Amber who had a grin on her face. I gave her a flying kiss and she caught it. Instead of crushing it on the ground, she kept it in her pocket and shot me a wink. My cheeks heated up quickly and removed my gaze from her for a second to contain myself from blushing and smiling.

Fucking whipped.

I kept my focus on our performance. I grabbed Olivia’s hands and pushed myself up, placing my feet on her shoulders. The goal was to jump from Olivia to Kayla’s shoulders. Taking a deep breath and believing in myself that I can do it. I took a leap, landing on Kayla’s shoulders, but as soon as my foot hit her shoulder, it slipped. And just like that, I lost balance and fell on top of my best friend who lost her balance too. Like dominoes, each one of us fell on the ground. I can hear people gasping and their ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’.

A sharp pain shot through my back, letting out a soft groan as I put pressure on the spot with my hand. At this point, some will just give up and let their embarrassment eat them down. But us Rosewood weren’t quitters. We’ve worked so hard for this and we’ve made it this far. It’s too late to quit- no. There’s no place for quitting.

I got up, helping the girls who were still on the floor. My eyes settled to Amber. I was scared to see a disappointed look on her face, instead, she has an encouraging smile. A simple look can give you a boost.

“Come on, girls. Let’s finish what we’ve started.”

Everyone saw us get back up again. People cheered more for us, Lexi’s voice stood out and was heard by her girlfriend. Giving Kayla a flying kiss, Kayla nodded at me, telling me to keep going.

My team built 2 pyramids for me to climb onto the top of the other then jump to the other, doing the same thing where I messed up. I made it through the first level, then the second. Olivia whispered to me that I can do it. Once again, I hopped on her shoulder, holding her hands for support. I held my breath while some people did the same. I exhaled slowly and closes my eyes for a second.

When I was ready, I opened my eyes and mustered all my strength to jump over the other pyramid, which I successfully did. I raised my hands up high with a grin on my face. I got back down with the help of my girls, feeling achieved.

Once we’re done, we all did a group hug, sweaty faces and bodies were mushed together. All of us were so happy that we kept going and finished our whole cheer.

Amber and Lexi were running up to us, enveloping us into a hug. Amber didn’t bother my sweaty self and that told me something about her. She didn’t care if my body was full of sweat; she didn’t push me away and told me to change first before we can hug. She’s the type of person who will hug you even if you’re drenched in the rain, or got mud on your shirt. She’s really something else.

“That was amazing, Lucy!” She said in amazement, holding my cheeks before pecking my forehead.

“Thanks, Ambs,”

“You’re blushing. Is it because you’re tired or because I kissed you on your forehead?”

I bit my lip. “Both.”

“Whipped.” Kayla whispered in my ears.

“Just like Amber.” Lexi whispered to us both.

The lovebirds chuckled together, while I looked back to Amber who was staring at me and has a small smile on her face. Maybe Lexi was also right.

Someone tapped the microphone, causing a loud feedback and my face to wince. Mr. Kieran took his glasses from his pocket, putting them on.

“Hello, Rosewood students and Clane students. I have the results here with me. Now for the Clane cheerleading team, the judges said that your cheer wasn’t the best of all performances. But did the cheer completely without mistakes. For the Rosewood cheerleading team, the judges were impressed on how good your performance was but it all faded when you messed up,”

I chewed on my lips as I fumbled with Amber’s hand. “This is what I was afraid of,”

She looked to me. “Mistakes don’t change how good you guys are,”

I’m thankful that she’s here with us right now. “I’m really glad you’re here,”

“With the score of 89 over 100, the champion is…” Mr. Kieran stopped for suspense.

My hand gripped Amber’s in nervousness, my heart felt like it’s gonna rip out of my chest.

“Congratulations, Clane High School!”