Brandon. Yes, THAT Brandon.

Harder than Putty

The room is completely silent save for the whirring of the fan in the corner. I sit down on my bed. Well, there it is. Brandon Shay Owens, a fucking pathetic wannabe who can't live without someone telling me who to be.

"You're right," Aiden whispers, finally. I think my fit of rage scared her a little, but she knows me. She knows I always come back down, ever since we were little. "We all want labels, every single one of us. The people that say labels aren't important want to be labeled as confident and content. It's just a reverse process. I feel you, Babylon."

"I'm sorry," I groan into my hands.

"For what? For wanting to know all the answers? That has been the Brandon I've known since we were five years old; nothing new," Aiden sighs, taking the ponytail out of her hair. "I tell you what? You go on and get that football shit out of the way and then we'll have a good, long talk. Maybe invite Shelby?"

I shake my head. Shelby is awesome, but there's a reason he didn't tell us about his girlfriend, and if I think about it too much, that'll be another thing I can't deal with. Another thing I'll want to know all the answers to.

"Just you and me, I think. It's probably best if I sleep on it, though," I sigh. "I'm sorry, Aiden."

"Would you quit apologizing? Gosh, wanting to find out who you are isn't something to apologize for, Babylon. Get some sleep, Loser." With that, she leaves, closing the door after her.

I sigh. Everything has to be so complicated nowadays. "Just you and me, Satan," I mumble toward the snake. He stays coiled, looking off into the distance.

*****

"G-O! SAY GO! OH YEAH!"

Yikes, and I mean it.

Holding pep rallies is the worst thing a school can do for its athletes.

"F FOR FIGHT! SAY FIGHT! OH YEAH!"

Cheerleaders never turned me on. I always thought they were a bit too over the top. Our most popular girls aren't even cheerleaders. I mean, Hannah is pretty hot, and she's a cheer queen, but that's not why people like her.

"W-I-N! SAY WIN! OH YEAH!"

Hannah does a backflip thing, landing in the splits. Damn, she's flexible. Our Panther mascot dances around her while our crowd cheers. The JV and C team football players are in front, screaming for us. This will be some of them next year. The hype isn't all that.

Once the cheerleaders are done with their routine, Principal Evans hands the microphone to Coach Troy. Before she sits down with Janie, Hannah catches my eye and sticks a finger in her mouth, as if she's retching. I mouth 'same'. Pep rallies make me sick.

"This year, we're proud to take these twenty-eight boys to-"

Instantly, I tune out. We used to only do pep rallies when we were actually going to the state championship. Now, I suppose, we're just seeing how long we can last.

A bright light shines in my eyes from the crowd, as if someone reflects the sunlight from the windows off their phone. Sure enough, that someone is Christina. When I look at her, she makes her hands in the shape of a heart; Aiden, on her right, does the same. Janie on her left. I smile, shaking my head in disbelief.

After Coach Troy finishes his speech about how 'proud he is of us, win or lose', I hear some girls shout from the crowd: WE LOVE YOU, MITCHELL!

Sydney Mays holds up a sign with #13 in big, glittery font with two of her wannabes, and Stephanie has a giant sign with a number on it.

My number. Not Carter's.