The One That Got Away || Benny Weir

12

"My tingles are never wrong." Benny states. "Look. Forces of nature: earth, air, fire, water. That's what makes a star..." Benny trails off. "Oh, man. E, this isn't just some chick cheer. I think this is some kind of incantation."

"Forces of nature. That's what makes a star..." Ethan goes over the cheer. "We may look like girls..."

"But that's not all we are." Benny and Ethan finish.

"Oh, man. Stephanie doesn't just act like a witch..." Ethan starts.

"She is one," Benny says. 

"So that vision I had in the gym, it wasn't Erica's; it was Stephanie's. And tomorrow's rally has nothing to do with team spirit."

"She's after the human spirits of the whole school. The girls are in for a nasty shock." Benny says.

Ethan's phone chimes. He picks it up and his face goes to worry. "Sarah says she and Reagan are on their way over. She's bringing Stephanie and the whole squad... to see Betty and Veronica.

Benny nervously chuckles.

*

After they finished getting ready, Ethan and Benny made their way to the living room, Stephanie greets them.

"There you are! Don't be shy, girls. Join the fun. The spirit squad is now in session."

Sarah and Reagan jump up and walks over to the boys.

"Hi, gals!" Sarah gasps. "Nice hair!"

"Oh, my gosh. Cheerleader sleepovers are so fun!" Reagan giggles. "Later on, we're gonna give each other mani-pedis!" She squeals. 

"And make sundaes? And do each other's hair?" Benny exclaims. 

Sarah and Reagan gasp. "Yes! We need sundaes now!"

"Sarah, Reagan, what are you doing? You know Stephanie's a witch, right?" Ethan tells them.

"I know she seems like a witch because she acts like a witch, but she's actually really sweet!"

"You know, as long as you're not ugly," Reagan whispers before giggling and going back to the squad, Sarah behind her,

"I think they're under Stephanie's spell," Ethan whispers to Benny. "They're acting like a total... girl."

"Yeah." Benny agrees. Out of all the years of knowing Reagan, he and Ethan have never seen Reagan acting so girly. She was never the one to be a cheerleader, wear skirts, wear pigtails, or have peppy makeup. "You and I, on the other hand, are just..."

"Point taken." Ethan nods.

The cheerleaders began to have a pillow fight. The boys seemed to forget their plan as they watched the girls have a pillow fight to what it seemed like in slow motion. 

For the rest of their evening, they enjoyed their sleepover under Stephanie's spell.

*

"The moment has come. This is it. Our finest hour. No stopping us now. You can't resist our power. We're forces of nature. That's what makes a star. We may look like girls, but that's not all we are!"

After their stunt, the cheerleaders were starting to form a circle. "Garna virto immortalis. Garna virto immortalis. Give up now 'cause you're gonna be beat. We are out for power and you're in for defeat!"

Once they formed the circle, Ethan looks at Benny. "Benny, now!"

"Subsistoris o lemi mark now." The boys chant together while the cheerleader chant theirs. "Subsistoris o lemi mark now."

"Back off, geeks! I've been waiting 50 years to bring this school down, and no one is going to stop me now!" Stephanie yells at the two, her eyes turning magenta. The gym doors slam shut and the lights switch off.

Stephanie starts to levitate as the spirits of the students circled the cheerleaders. Ethan and Benny continue to chant their reversal spell, but nothing was working.

"Etha, I don't think this is working. Maybe we're saying it wrong." Benny says.

"Step out of the pentagram," Ethan tells him. When they both tried to move out of the pentagram, their feet didn't move. "Push Grandma's pompoms closer to Sarah and Reagan!"

As they tried to reach for the two girls, Stephanie continued her chant. "We join our hands together. See the perfect shape we make. Our five-star tradition is impossible to break."

When they finally reached the girls, Reagan and Sarah gasp. "What happened? What is going on?" Reagan asks confused.

"Stephanie's a witch. She's sucking the souls out of the whole student body." Ethan explains to them.

"Get back in formation!" Stephanie yells at the girls. "The cheer must be completed!"

"Here's a new cheer for you!" Sarah yells. She steps out of the pentagram, causing the rest of the cheerleaders to fall to the ground.

Affected by the impact, Reagan falls to the ground, landing on her hands and knees. Benny quickly runs over and pulls her up, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her steady. The lights switch back on and the students on the bleachers start to wake up.

"You! You ruined everything!" An older Stephanie yells at the boys.

Evelyn walks in front of the teens and shakes her head at her. "Poor Stephanie. I remember how mean folks were to you back then." Stephanie conjures a knife in her hands and Evelyn shot a volt of purple from her hand, hitting Stephanie. "What I forgot was just how much you deserved it."

"Three cheers for Grandma!"

Reagan, who was still in the arms of Benny, mutters, "Bruja malvada."