Forward

Blended.

Five, six, seven, eight...

Olivia counted every combination in her head as she went over the sideline dance for the tenth time that afternoon. Her audition was in two days and she had to make sure she perfected the pom dance which was a bit out of her comfort zone. While she was used to more traditional dance technique and routines , the Baltimore Ravens cheerleaders were more pom oriented and even threw stunts unlike many of the other professional cheerleaders in the NFL. This was new for her but she still wanted to give it a try.

"Girl, you look fine. If I hear that song one more time, I'm going to throw myself out the window," Trinity, Olivia's roommate, exclaimed. She stuck her fingers in her ears and hurried past her roommate who had started the song over.

"You know this pom stuff is not my thing. I need all the practice I can get," Olivia replied, taking a sip of her water. "Just watch my toe touch to see if my knees are turned up."

Trinity waited around for a second, watching her friend hit two toe touches before she threw up a lazy thumbs up and headed towards the kitchen.

"At least have a little more enthusiasm, bitch," Olivia laughed, restarting the song and beginning her routine all over again.

Though she was born and raised in Los Angeles, Olivia now called Baltimore home. After the events of the summer before her senior year and relapse, Beverly Hills began to feel too toxic for her mental health and recovery. Her parents sent her away to a treatment facility in Baltimore before her 18th birthday and Olivia decided to finish the remainder of her high school classes online without returning to California. Luckily after her stay at the facility, Billy's cousin, Lucille allowed Olivia to stay with her as she finished online schooling and applied for college.

Attending an HBCU had been Olivia's goal as she learned more about her black identity over the last two years of high school. She attended Howard University, graduating with a degree in Media Journalism and Communications. Now, she was working for the Baltimore Sun and living in an apartment with her best friend, Trinity who was also her roommate at Howard.

"Oh my God, I think I hate Dua Lipa now," Trinity shouted from the kitchen when Olivia restarted the song again before it played all the way through.

——————
Spencer pushed through one more rep before sitting up on the weight bench. He adjusted his chain and took a swig of Powerade.

"Good job, James. I think you're ready. As ready as you'll ever be," Tina, Spencer's trainer, said as she clapped her hands. "Baltimore is very lucky to have you."

"I hope so. Feels like I've been preparing my whole life just for this moment. I'll be far away from home but I'm ready," the player replied, thinking about leaving his family behind while he moved across the country.

"Doesn't your friend Olivia live there," Tina questioned, not realizing how the name alone was triggering for Spencer.

"Uh... yeah, I think so," he quickly changed the subject. "You think that purple will look good on me though?"

"If you play well, it doesn't matter what color you're wearing. Now let's get some stretches in before you get out of here."

Just as Spencer was wiping down the equipment to begin stretching, a message popped up on his Apple Watch.

Liv: Congratulations! 🎉

That was the first message he'd gotten from her in over 6 months and the first one he had sent to her in six months. He typed out a quick 'Thanks!" and returned to his workout.

Author's Note: So I got hit with another story bug early this morning. I unpublished Reverse and it's on pause right now. I may or may not bring it back.