Cheerleaders Don't Cry

31

Albert Cooper

"So are you gonna tell me who was sucking on your neck or are you gonna make me guess?"

It was 4 in the afternoon and I was sitting on a chair in my sister's room while she smeared foundation on my neck. Faint red and purple marks stained the skin - you wouldn't really see them unless you were looking for them - but I wasn't about to give a speech at graduation with visible hickies.

I shifted in discomfort. "Just cover it up, Miranda."

"Mmm hmm." She dabbed a makeup brush on my neck. "Kathy."

My nose scrunched involuntarily. "No."

"Oliver?"

I poked her stomach. Miranda jerked back. "I'll do it myself if you don't shut up."

She glared at me and squeezed a dot of foundation onto her finger. "Well aren't you -" She smeared the dot on my nose. "- snappy today."

***

Marcy Hannon

I slept until noon the next day, waking up to a patch of drool on my pillow. The first thing that crossed my mind was the thought of the sour taste of morning breath in my mouth. The second thing was like a bullet - fast and without warning, the memory of 2 a.m. in Ralph's parking lot punched a hole in my brain.

"Why haven't you ever tried to kiss me?"

But then his hands were on my thighs and his tongue was in my mouth and I couldn't breathe.

Fuck.

What had I been thinking? Stupid and drunk on frustration and overconfidence, rattled by the encounter with Travis, thinking about as clearly as anybody hanging out with their crush at 2 am would be. Of course I threw myself at him.

I sunk beneath my covers, pulling them over my head as the warmth of humiliation flooded my face.

The car ride back to my house had been dead silent. I kept hearing Cooper take a breath, as if he was about to say something but kept changing his mind. When he dropped me off, I could barely look at him.

"Who knows, we might hate each other by the end of the summer."

I didn't know what that meant. I didn't know what any of this meant.

How was I supposed to face him at graduation today? I wouldn't be able to look him in the eye, let alone talk to him. He'd know I was avoiding him if I didn't show up - and besides that, Amber would be disappointed if I didn't attend the ceremony.

I took a quick shower, trying to ignore the fact that his smell still clung to me.

He probably regretted it.

He probably didn't even like me. Stupid, why the hell would he like me? I was the exact opposite of his type. Mr. Sensible, Mr. "I have a reputation to uphold" wouldn't be caught dead actually dating Marcy Hannon. No way.

The cut on my hand stung. It had scabbed over slightly overnight, but bled whenever I stretched my palm open too much. I remembered Cooper's gentle touch as he placed bandaids over my hand, the immediate concern in his eyes when he saw that I was crying.

"I don't go around making out with random people unless I really like them."

Unless -

I pushed the thought out of my head. If high school had taught me one thing, it was that guys didn't just "like" me. Not like that, anyway.

***