"Okay, Clover, you know we love you and all look up to your leadership skills." the principle spoke, outside of the gym. Clove applied a layer of red lipstick, sticking the tub back in her bag. "But, i've been advised by some parents that they think you're a bit too...political."
"Isn't the president suppose to be political?" the blonde frowned her eyebrows, checking herself in the mirror as she pushed on her cheek bones, wiped the corners of her mouth, made sure her mascara didn't smear under her eyes.
"A few of the students told their parents you've been talking about your rather different opinions." the principle nodded. "While I love your enthusiasm, I don't want people to believe we don't treat all our students equally."
"But, you don't." she looked at
him with raised eyebrows. Most of her confidence came from knowing the principle wouldn't kick her off student body president after all the money her mom and dad had donated, now that their daughter had a big say in what happens at the school and they wanted to provide her with all the financial resources she needed. "That's why I talk about it."
"I'd just much rather if you could avoid taking about topics regardless." he nodded down at her. "Actually, I advice you to stop."
"Then you can find a new student body president." she smiled at him. "I'm sure plenty of other parents would love to donate you more then double your salary in order to support the school they send their children too."
It was board line black mail, and rather harsh. But Clove fought so hard to be elected president. It was rare for a freshman to even be considered, let alone picked. Especially if they were a no body, and Clove Reyes once was more then a nobody. She had to push herself out of her comfort zone, had to suffer the humiliation and bullying that was tossed onto her in the process of trying to get others to stop and listen to all she'd do for the school if she was elected. She had to stand infront of a crowd, given her speech, and get trash thrown at her for it. She suffered daily because of it, but she fought right up until the end when all that went away.
And she won the election, because while they didn't necessarily like her, what she had in mind for the school was smart.
"Hi, Hawkins High." Clove smiled into the mic as she walked out into the gym, waving. "Cheer squad, you guys are amazing! I mean, aren't they just amazing?"
The crowd cheered. A people pleaser she was, it was figured out soon after the election and people started to like her more. Max made it into the bleachers, moving her head past a few infront of her to get a better look at Clove.
"Before I welcome Jason and the remaining Tigers out here, I wanted to talk to all of you, as your Student Body President, about a possible petition." she held the clip board up into the air. The principle sighed, because this wasn't part of the plan. "I don't know about the rest of you, but don't you think it's rather, what's a good word, beyond ridiculous, that we have a boys basketball team, a boys soccer team, a boys literal club just for boys yet the girls don't get any of that?"
A few people from the crowd cheered. Clove smiled. "While I can respect budget cuts, and I understand we can't have a girls and boys team for every single sport, nor every single club, but according to how much sports funds we're provided, we have plenty of money to make a girls soccer and basketball team for any of my at athlete ladies out there."
Quite a few girls cheered, clearly agreeing with her.
"If we give girls the morning to practice and the boys the afternoons, then electricity won't be much of any issue." Clove read on from her clip board.
"Get her out of there." the principle whispered to Jason.
"And, it seems like every single one of the teammates get free uniforms, I mean, hello arts and craft club? Would you want to donate our girls some nice homemade uniforms?" Clove asked as the club cheered. "See? And transportation? Is that an issue? Hello? Ca-"
Jason tried to pull the mic from her. "We gotta get going."
"Car pulling!" Clove called as her and Jason fought over the mic. Max gave a snort from the crowd, coving her mouth.
"Yeah!" Dustin cheered as Mike clapped.
"If you like what i've said then i'll be right over there with the clip board!" Clove yelled quickly into the mic, letting it go as Jason stumbled. The blonde waved to the crowd as they clapped for her, she met Max's eye, the redhead shook her head and smiled at the same time. Clove gave her a subtle wink as the basketball boys broke from the paper, people beginning to line up to sign Cloves petition.
"Good morning, Hawkins high!" Jason waved as he recovered from the faint embarrassment. "First off...hey. First off, I'd like to thank each and every one of you. Without your support, we wouldn't be here. Give yourselves a big hand!"
Clove cheered as did the crowd. She smiled as she got more signatures. "Don't forget to tell your friends, encouraging your lovers."
"Of course I have to give a special shout-out to the best and the prettiest fans of all time, the Tiger Cheer Squad!" Jason went on, grinning toward the girls that sat before the band.
"Copy cat." Clove mumbled considers she'd complimented the cheer team first.
"Chrissy...Chrissy, I love you, baby." he smiled at the girl with bangs.
"You know... I think I can speak for all of us when I say it's been a rough year for Hawkins. "So much loss. And sometimes I wonder "How much loss can one community take?" In dark days like this, we need something to believe in. So, last night, when we were down by ten points at half to Christian Academy, I looked at my team, and I said, "Think of Jack." "Think of Melissa." "Think of Heather." "Think of Billy." "Think about our heroic police chief, Jim Hopper." "Think about each and every one of our friends who perished in that fire." What did they die for? For us to lose to some...some crap school? No! For us to return home with our heads hung low in defeat? No! Lets win this game! Let's win this game for them, and that's exactly what we did!"
"Are you joking?" Clove scoffed in disbelief, walking toward the principle. "You're really going to approve him using the literal dead people of this town to talk and gloat about his game but shut me down for wanting to have equal sports teams? What about the families of the lost ones, you think they want to hear about their dead relatives being used in a speech about basketball?"
"He's speaking in a positive note." he shrugged down at her.
Clove scoffed as she walked back to her original spot. "And he wonders why."
"We embarrassed those candy-assess in their own house, and now tonight, tonight, we're gonna bring home the championship trophy!" Jason cheered on himself and his team.
As everyone started to leave, Max walked toward Clove. "Hey, blondie."
"Max, i'm so sorry about that self tanning, natural blonde asshole." Clove scoffed in disbelief as her girlfriend stood infront of her. Despite having an inch on her now, Clove had taken a liking to platform shoes recently and stood about three inches above Max in general now.
"I like fake blondes more anyways." the redhead shrugged. "Can I sign that?"
"Yeah, totally." she passed her the clipboard. "How's today going? I had to come in early so I didn't get to pick you up for school."
"It's going fine." Max spoke quick. She knew Clove meant well, and she loved that she loved her, but the constant worry and the constant questioning got overwhelming at times and made her think she was in another counseling meeting. "What about you? You take your medicine?"
Max didn't realize that Clove felt the same way she did. While she knew everyone just cared and loved her, the medicine talk was over whelming. After she'd gotten on anti-depressants back in January, she had a different out look on life. She felt and notice a difference in herself, how she rarely had any more random sad spells, how she rarely genuinely felt like she couldn't get herself out of bed, the weight on her chest all the time. Everyone saw the change too, and they feared if she stopped taking her medicine or forgot them, she'd get back into that headspace. So, like Clove had Max, she worried about her just as much.
"First thing this morning." the blonde frowned her eyebrows when she saw a little cut above Max's lip. "What happened there?"
She reached up and brushed the top of her lip, removing her finger. Max rose her eyebrows. "Is it that noticeable?"
"A little." she admitted shyly. "What'd you do?"
"I saw that flyer they put up with you in the hallway this morning. The one with Student Body President on it." Max nodded, giving a dry laugh at her own stupidity. "I got so happy for you that I kissed the paper, and got a paper cut."
"Max!" Clove laughed.
"I know." the red head nodded.
"I think it's sweet." she leaned in to hug her, because no one batted an eye when girls hugged. "Are you coming to the game tonight? I get to introduce our guest and then my Dad was gonna bring us by the restaurant."
Stella and Leven had always been business people, that's where their money had come from. But now that the car dealership was going okay, they decided they wanted to open up a little restaurants off the west side of Hawkins.
"Maybe." Max nodded her head, even though she knew it was a no. "I might have a lot of homework. It'll be on channel two though, right? The news will be here again?"
"Yup, you'll see me in shining, hollywood lights." the Reyes girl joked. "But, if you do make it, i'll be happy to see you."
Max gave her a little grin. "I gotta get going. We'll talk in third, okay?"
"Yeah." she nodded. "I love you."
"Love you too." Max nodded, walking away as the blonde gave a small exhale, leaving the gym to run and catch up with the boys.
"Just talk to Eddie." Dustin mocked Lucas as Clove caught up, squeezing in between Mike and Lucas. "Oh, social hour has arrived."
"What's happening?" she asked, holding her clipboard out for Dustin to sign.
"Why don't you just talk to your coach and get him to move the game?" Mike rolled his eyes, she realized he'd been going on about the game tonight.
"This is the champion game." Lucas gave a look of disbelief as he took the clip board next.
"And this is the end of Eddie's campaign." Dustin pointed out, thinking his statement was just as high. "A semester of adventuring has led to this moment, and we need you. It's bad enough Clove didn't even join."
"I wanted to!" she defended herself, waving at a group of people that passed. "I thought I could, but-"
"But your Student Body President." the three spoke on sync, cutting her off.
"Well, excuse me for being happy for myself." she smacked Mike with her clip board when Lucas gave it back. "Sign that, will you?"
"You've been on the beach all year." Mike pointed out to Lucas as he got his name down.
"That's not the point." Lucas rolled his eyes.
"Please, arrive at the point." Dustin begged him.
"If I get in good with these guys, i'll be in the popular crowd, and then you guys will be too." Lucas turned to them. "Clove is the entire reason I got on the basketball team. Maybe I can do that for one of you."
"Has it ever occurred to you that we don't want to be popular?" Mike shrugged casually.
"So you want to be stuck with the nerds and freaks for three more years?" Lucas gave a dumb, almost disappointed look. "Cloves gonna leave us for her popular friends!"
"Never gonna happen." she shook her head.
"We are nerds and freaks." Dustin explained. "Clove too. Being a politician doesn't exclude that."
"You've got me there." she agreed with a point, pursing her bright red lips.
"Yeah but maybe we don't have to be." Lucas dropped his tone. "Look, i'm tired of being bullied. I'm tired of girls laughing at us. I'm tired of feeling like a loser. We came to high school wanting thing to be different. Right? Clove has helped a lot with her new role here, imagine if there were two of us helping. So now we have that chance. If I skip tonight, that's all out the window. So i'm asking you guys, as a friend, just talk to Eddie. Get him to move Hellfire. Come to my game. Please."
The bell rung as he walked into class, Clove smacked Dustin and Mike with her clip board. "Nice going, you hurt his feelings."
"Everyone rise for the National Anthem." Clove spoke over the mic at the game that night, waving. "Singing for us tonight, we have a very special guest. All the way from Nashville, our very own Tammy Thompson!"
Everyone stood and clapped as a girl with a bright smile and curls walked from the doors, waving out to the crowd. Clove didn't see Max, looking to the news crew that were filming. "To anyone tempted to kiss a flyer of me tonight, don't get a paper cut."
With a wink, she hugged Tammy and passed her the Mic. "O say can you see-"
Cloves face fell as she made it to the side lines, her jaw falling slightly. She looked to Robin, who was eating it up. The girl next to her had signed Cloves petition earlier, laughing at her face as Clove laughed because she was caught. It made her miss Max, wishing she'd have been here to laugh with her.
The game started after Tammy's dreadful song came to a thankful end, Tigers were pretty much in the middle, Clove clapped. "You've got this boys! Keep your head in the game!"
The blonde watched as Lucas was waved onto the court. She stood up, jumping up and down. "Yes! Yes, Lucas! Woo! Woo!"
Lucas had the ball, keeping another boy blocked behind him as he passing it to number four as he scored. Clove clapped her hands together. After having to attend every sports game, she realized over the last semester that she kinda understood her drunk uncles sports obsession. The score stayed close through the whole game, if one team scored, the other was close behind. Jason called a time out and huddled them team in, Clove tried to listen in but couldn't.
"Come on, Lucas!" she cheered him on as they spread on onto the court again, throwing the ball to Jason. As he threw the ball, it bouncing off the rim and made the crowd winc. Clove crossed her fingers as Lucas ran with the ball, stopping right infront of her to throw the ball. She stepped closer, almost like she was ready to hug him in joy or comfort him in disappointment. Her fingers were paling as she squeezed them tighter.
He scored.
"Oh my god! Holy shit! Moth-yes!" Clove yelled, running over to hop on Lucas' back. "Lucas! Lucas!"
"Clove!" he yelled back, getting shaken.
"Im so happy for you." she kissed him on the cheek. "My best friend scored the winning point!"
Her words made them cheer even more. With Clove still on his back, the two were hoisted into the air. She gripped onto him more, the gym began to chant his name. Lucas looked over his shoulder at Clove. "What now?"
She looked around the crowd. She was sad Max wasn't here, sad non of their friends had been. It was just the two of them, she smiled. "Now we party like there's absolutely no tomorrow."
•
kylie speaks
i genuinely didn't realize how
much i missed my baby until
i started writing this chapter!
literally such a clove lovebot
honestly