Beverly Lights

31

The marching bands were playing loud. The stadium at Crenshaw was filled with fans from each team long before the players arrived. The sun had already started to set and it was a chilly November night. Juliet stood with her teammates stretching when she saw Jordan and Spencer getting off the bus smiling with one another, which was a nice sight to see. "So how have things been with Jordan?" Alyssa asked walking up behind her. The smile faded from Juliet's face and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. "Fine, thanks." She replied as she turned to face her. Alyssa kept her distance from Juliet ever since she confronted her at the Cafe. Alyssa was your typical mean girl, she ran her mouth constantly but as soon as you stood up to her, she would coward down.

"Have you talked to Kyle lately?"

"Alyssa, don't even-"

"No, I don't ask because I'm trying to start something.. I asked because he hasn't talked to me in over a month."

"He hasn't?"

"No, and we used to be pretty close."

Juliet had no idea that Kyle cut his cousin off after the stunt that she had pulled. She knew he was angry with her, but not angry enough to still hold a grudge. "Well, I haven't talk to him, no. Sorry I couldn't be much help to you."

As Alyssa turned and walked away, Olivia appeared next to Juliet, "What the hell did she want?"

"Kyle won't talk to her and was wondering if I've heard from him."

"Why would you hear from him?"

"I wouldn't. I can only assume she was looking for something she can use against me." Juliet looked down and noticed that Olivia wasn't in Eagles fan gear. She grabbed at her leather jacket and laughed as she said, "What's this? Where's your Beverly Eagles attire?"

"I'm neutral."

"Neutral?!"

"Yeah, my brother and best friends are on the team that's playing my boyfriend's team ."

"Well you're brother and best friends are on your schools team, and not to mention your dad is the coach?"

"Yeah.."

"How are you?"

"I'm great. Absolutely great."

"Liv.."

"I'm fine, I promise."

Olivia reached out and squeezed Juliet's arm as she turned and headed for the bleachers to sit in the spot her mom saved her.

The cheerleaders were lined up for the last Beverly Eagles introduction for the season. The crowd was going wild as the starters ran out one-by-one while their names were being called.

"Ladies and gentlemen," The announcer called, "Number 83, Asher Adams!" You could hear the groans coming from Crenshaw's fans. "Number 1, Jordan Baker!" Still, you could hear the faint boos amongst the cheers from the Eagles. "And number 11, Spencer James!"

As he ran through the smoke and reached the end of the cheerleaders, Juliet noticed the fan cheers were louder than they were with the other players. When she looked around, and when she did she saw that not only were Beverly's fans on their feet, but so were Crenshaws. She looked back to Spencer and saw the look of pure shock on his face, she couldn't help but smile as she knew he deserved it.

The cheerleaders made their way to the sidelines as the football team gathered around for a huddle before the start of the game. As Juliet passed by the players, she grabbed onto Jordan wrist just before he got to the group. "Good luck." She told him then quickly pressed a kiss against his lips. He smiled down at her and said, "We've got this, baby." And slapped her butt as she walked away.