𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 | 𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐋𝐄𝐘

III. DEFINITELY NO MADONNA

But she absolutely found it tiring.

"Singing for us tonight, we have a very special guest." The speaker man started. "All the way from Nashville, our very own Tammy Thompson!" The crowd broke into cheers, recognising Tammy immediately. Laurie was absolutely confused by Tammy Thompson's surprise appearance. From her recollection, the girl was definitely no Madonna. Maybe an off brand Hawkins Madonna, but even that was a stretch.

"Go, Tammy!"

"We love you, Tammy!"

The moment the girl began singing was the moment Laurie felt herself holding back a lot of things. It wasn't her being rude, but she wasn't in tune whatsoever. She was straining her voice and the microphone was squeaking way too much, making some people visibly wince.

Chrissy leaned closer to Laurie, whispering into her ear, "I feel bad for her."

Laurie subtly nodded. "Yeah. Poor girl."

While trying hard not to die on the spot from Tammy Thompson's unfortunate singing, Laurie didn't fail to notice how Lucas looked back to the stands, his face dropping when he saw none of his friends. Laurie felt her heart drop for the poor boy, who looked absolutely devastated that they didn't even try and see him possibly play.

Like, yes, Lucas had been benched for most the year, but that didn't mean he'd always be benched. Dustin and Mike should've at least tried to be there to see him, even if it meant seeing him sat on the bench.

If Laurie wasn't a cheerleader, she would still be here for Lucas. Even though she despised basketball and found the screaming overbearing. She'd endure it to be the one supporter Lucas wanted in the crowd.

The moment the whistle blew, the crowd broke into shouts of absolute support.

While the cheerleaders were bouncing around in chants of support, the basketball players threw the ball to one another, catching it and throwing it around. Now, Laurie didn't really fuss around with basketball at all, finding the game almost boring to even watch. But, as a cheerleader, she had to and hence here she was. She could see Lucas on the bench, like he always was, and felt annoyance encase her simply because she knew the Sinclair boy would play, it was just he never got the chance.

She could see Jason bossing the team around like he always did. His constant reminder of staying on them for each player rang throughout the cheers. He had pointed at Chrissy with his usual smile when he had scored one for the team, though Laurie could see how odd the girl was acting.

She subtly nudged her, reaching down and grabbing her hand to give it a squeeze. She was cold to touch, which made Laurie shiver. Chrissy was never this cold. "You okay?"

Chrissy nodded. "It's okay." She gave a weak and strained smile to Laurie which didn't assure the girl at all. A pit of worry engulfed Laurie whole.

There was something Chrissy wasn't telling her. Laurie could sense it. She'd ask Chrissy again if she was okay after the game.

Laurie continued watching and cheering, holding back winces every time something didn't go to Jason Carver's plan. It happened more frequently than she had expected, albeit she was somewhat glad when a team member was injured. Maybe now Lucas would be given a chance.

And he was given his chance.

Laurie broke into loud cheers the moment Lucas rushed into the game, although he looked absolutely shocked he had even been given a chance. Laurie made sure Lucas could hear absolutely every cheer she had for him for every moment he became victorious, passing the ball to other players and securing more points.

A proud smirk was painted across her face. It was about damn time that Jason Carver realised Lucas Sinclair wasn't that bad after all.

The hype grew more and more the closer the time came to the end of the game. Laurie felt absolutely sick with nerves watching the competing team gain more and more points. She continued her loud cheering, along with the other cheerleaders and also the crowd in general. Everyone was absolutely on edge. Chrissy turned to Laurie with a prominent smile on her lips as she watched the game grow closer and closer to victory. It was so close, they could all just feel it. The timeout brought time for the cheerleaders to cheer on, while the basketball players plotted out victory, or perhaps doom.