helloooo everyone happy wednesday welcome to chapter 4 woo
couple quick things: i have suddenly and arbitrarily decided that in this story janis is lindsay heather pearce's (just a bit taller lol) bc i saw her on tour and i'm not gay for her at allllll. also cady is danie wade and damian is grey henson but if any of that puts you off you can ignore it and just imagine whoever you want!
also for the sake of the story we're gonna pretend football and cheerleading are year round sports instead of just in the fall!! bc that's a lot for like three months :p
anyhoo! tw for
general homophobia
use of dslur
party shit (alcohol etc)
drugging
as always if i've missed something please let me know so i can add it! and enjoy!
—————
"Cady, first practice is after school in the gym today," Regina says at lunch.
"Already? Tryouts were only yesterday," Cady says.
"We need to start practicing, the first game is in two weeks," Regina tuts. "Is that an issue?"
"No! No, uh... I'll just let my mom know. I'll be there," Cady stutters anxiously. She pulls out her phone to text her parents and let them know to pick her up late. "Um, what time will we be done?"
"Four," Gretchen says kindly. "Ish."
"I'll take you home. We should take you to the mall, update your wardrobe," Regina says. It's not a question. Cady isn't sure how her parents will feel about it, but she gets the feeling it's better to deal with whatever her parents will do than the wrath of Regina George.
"Thanks," Cady says gratefully. She gets the information sent to her parents and clicks her phone back off. "So, um... who all is on the team?"
"The four of us, Sophie Kowachi, Dawn Schweitzer, and Rachel Hamilton are varsity," Karen says. "We don't really talk about junior varsity. Sonja Acquino is the mascot. Oh, and Damian Hubbard is varsity too, I forgot about him."
Regina snorts when she hears his name. Cady looks at her in confusion. "Why is that funny?"
"Can't you tell? He's a total weirdo. Him and his little art freak," Regina titters. "Both flaming gays. Shame it's in the wrong direction, those two freaks would've been perfect for each other."
Cady looks where she's pointing and sees the punk girl from first period math she saw on her first day sitting across from a tall boy. He's facing away from her, so she can only make out his curly brown hair and pink plaid flannel.
Anyone who wears flannel can't be so bad. They seem a little lonely all alone there, sure, but Cady can't sense anything inherently bad about them. Then again, she couldn't sense anything bad about her friends, either, and they're already showing their true colors.
"Who's that girl?"
"Janis Sarkisian. Damian's little... friend," Regina says.
"Janis and Regina were best friends in middle school," Gretchen says. Cady looks back over at her. She finds that really hard to believe. Janis doesn't seem the type.
"She's so weird, she was, like, totally obsessed with me," Regina says, obnoxiously smacking her lips after a swipe of gloss. "Guess we know why, now."
"O-oh-" Cady stutters.
"She's totally gay!" Gretchen butts in.
"That's, um..."
"I mean, she was my best friend, but she started getting, like, really weirdly jealous of my boyfriend at the time," Regina hums. "Like, texting me all the time when I blew her off to hang out with him and stuff like that."
Isn't that normal? Cady wonders desperately. "How weird," she says instead.
"Yeah. And then for my thirteenth birthday I had a pool party at this really nice hotel and my mom said I could only have, like, six people so I couldn't invite her and she totally freaked out. Like, lost it, freaked out. She's got problems," Regina continues. "Everyone thinks she's good at art but it's just because she had to go to art therapy."
"Yeah. And after that her parents pulled her out of school and we haven't talked to her since. She came back freshman year looking like that," Gretchen says, barking a laugh.
"Weird," Cady says again. In the best way.
————
Cady's less of a stumbling baby giraffe today, actually managing to make it to all her classes on time and only getting lost once on her way to chemistry. Her teacher is, luckily, very understanding. He seems... eccentric, which is exciting for a chemistry class.
Her only other afternoon class is calculus. Sweet, sweet calculus. Ms. Norbury is rapidly becoming her favorite teacher. She's awkward, but in a funny way, and somehow manages to keep a bunch of high schoolers engaged in admittedly quite dull calculations (not that Cady would ever think so, of course). Cady was engaged in it anyway, but she's even more interested with a teacher like Ms. Norbury.
She's early today, plopping into her seat by the window a few rows back from the board. She takes her time unpacking her notebook and pencil as she looks around the classroom.
Cady almost jumps out of her skin when she looks back in front of her. Hello.
A tall boy sits directly in front of her, and she finds herself not really minding that he blocks most of her view of the board. Who needs calculus when you can stare at that swoopy hair?
She tries to stop her eyebrows shooting up her forehead when he turns to face her. Holy handsome, batman. She vaguely registers his lips moving. Talking. He's talking to me. Shit.
"Sorry, what?" she asks, shaking her head to try to snap herself out of it. Whatever it is.
"It's cool. Do you have a pencil I can borrow?" the boy asks. Cady wordlessly hands the one she was already holding over. He nods in thanks and turns back around.
Jesus, Cady thinks, resting her chin in her hand. She's definitely not just watching him. Not at all.
"You're new, right?" he asks, turning back around. He peeks at her name written in Sharpie on the cover of her notebook. "Caddy? I'm Aaron."
"It's Cady," she says quietly. He nods.
"Cady. Cool name."
"Thanks," Cady grins. "I got it for my birthday."
She has to resist the urge to smack her hand against her face. Stupid. But, lucky for her, Aaron just laughs.
The bell rings then, and Ms. Norbury begins the lesson. Cady pulls an extra pencil out of her bag and focuses in. This class suddenly seems much less interesting by comparison.
Oh boy. Literally.
—————
Cady's father drops off a pair of shorts and a tank top for her at the end of the day so she doesn't have to go to practice in her flannel and jeans again. Thank goodness Regina, Gretchen, and Karen are going to help her with her fashion sense. She sticks out like a sore thumb in her frumpy flannels and hand-me-down vests.
She gets changed in the locker room, shoving her backpack into one of the available lockers and snatching her water bottle before she jogs out to the gym.
Everyone is already started on warm ups by the time she gets to them. She looks around at her new teammates. The boy who came to talk to her yesterday, Damian, is one of three boys and the only one who made varsity. Cady recognizes some of the other girls from tryouts. They all seem nice enough.
She heads to her friends, who are doing some jumping jacks and arm circles for their warmups.
"Hey, sorry I'm late," Cady says when she makes it. "I had AP Calc last period."
The math wing is about as far away from the gym as you can get at North Shore High. The building has an odd shape, and the math wing is the most recent addition to it. Unfortunately for Cady, there's no quick way back to the main area of the building, which means there's no quick way to the gym.
"Calculus? Isn't that a senior class?" Gretchen asks.
"Technically, I think so. There's a few other juniors, though. I just had to take a bunch of placement tests when I moved here and I tested into advanced math classes," Cady explains. She decides to leave out explaining that she picked calculus because it's what she did for fun back in Kenya.
"Just don't let it happen again," Regina replies. Her tone has Cady scared for her life. Maybe running all the way from calculus every day can be her warm ups.
"I won't. Sorry, Regina."
Since Cady was late, she's still warming up by the time everyone else has moved on to stretching.
She knows she's technically not supposed to, but everyone else did a quick tumbling pass as part of their warm up. She knows what the gym is like now, and how it impacts her tumbling. She has about a 99% chance of not breaking her neck, and decides those odds are good enough.
So, she kicks off with a roundoff and begins, flying and flipping her way across the gym. She's so focused on her landings and form and making sure she doesn't crash into the wall that she totally misses everyone yelling at her to watch out.
Cady only comes back to herself when she suddenly can't move. Because she's in someone's arms.
She looks up to see the girl Regina had been talking about at lunch, who had been sitting with Damian. Cady also recognizes her from her... chemistry class, maybe?
She has a solid grip on Cady, but it's somehow gentle at the same time. Her hand is warm and soft, almost... electric, against Cady's bare thigh. Cady is so fascinated by the girl's stunning eyes and heavy makeup that she almost forgets where they are.
"Nice catch!" Cady begins when she comes back to herself. "Sorry about that, are you okay?"
"Uh... yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," the girl replies with a shy smile. She ever so carefully pops Cady back onto her feet and takes her phone when Cady hands it to her. "Nice... um... flippy thing."
"Thanks," Cady giggles. Something about this girl is so intriguing. Cady might not remember her name, but still. She realizes after a beat that she should apologize about... everything that's just happened. "I really am sorry, I should've paid more attention before I started tumbling."
Cady just hopes her Kenyan observational instincts aren't fading already. She's not sure she could handle that.
"No, I wasn't here when you started. My fault," the girl replies with a shy chuckle. Cady finds herself wondering what it sounds like when she really laughs, full and clear. She snaps back to the real world when the girl continues, "I was in the locker room and walked in your way."
Cady didn't remember seeing her at tryouts yesterday. She feels her brow furrow and her head tilt as she asks, "Locker room? Are you on the team too?"
Not that that would be a problem, she adds in her head. But it's hard to imagine the punk girl in front of her with pompoms in her hands.
"Not this one," the girl says. "I'm on the football team."
That explains it, Cady thinks. "Really?"
"Yep. First girl ever on the team," the girl explains. She's obviously very proud of herself. And Cady finds herself feeling a weird sense of pride, too.
"That's really cool, um..." What is her name?
"Janis," the girl says. Cady tries to hold back an, 'Oh yeah!'
"That's really cool, Janis," she says instead. "I'm Cady."
She's confused when Janis exclaims, "That's it!" until she explains, "Sorry, uh... Damian, there, is my best friend. He tells me about you guys sometimes. I couldn't remember what he said your name was."
Uh oh, Cady thinks. What has he told you about me? About them? About us? What does he think of me, what do you know?
"Oh!" she says, stamping down the growing panic inside her and trying to force a bright smile. "He's really nice." So far.
"Yeah," Janis sighs, looking fondly at her friend. "He can be."
What does that mean is that a threat oh god, Cady panics harder.
Before Cady can spiral too hard, Regina hollers, "Cady, stop talking to that dyke and get over here, we need to get back to work!"
Cady and Janis both freeze at the d-word. Cady doesn't know what it means, but judging by the pained flash in Janis' eyes and the way her shoulders tense, it's nothing good.
Cady isn't sure what to do, she wants to stay, apologize for Regina, keep talking to Janis, but Regina's wrath grows with every passing second.
So Cady starts walking backwards back to her squad, hesitantly. Both because she doesn't want to leave, and also because walking backwards seldom ends well for her.
She mouths a, "Sorry." as she heads away. Janis smiles a bit.
"It's fine. I have my own practice I'm late for anyway," Janis says quietly, so Regina won't know Cady apologized.
Cady gives her a small wave before she runs the rest of the way back to her team, going into her splits next to Gretchen to get her muscles stretched out.
"What did she want?" Gretchen asks eagerly.
"Nothing, I don't think. She just caught me and said I did a nice job," Cady answers.
"She didn't like... grope you, or anything?"
"No! No, of course not," Cady says immediately. "It was just a weird thing. I'll probably never talk to her again."
"Best not to, with her," Regina says. "She'll sink her claws in and drag you down with her. Stick with us."
Alarm bells go off in Cady's head as she switches legs, but she chooses to switch them off.
A paper is thrust in front of her as she stretches into her middle split, making her jump. She grabs it and peeks at it, finding it contains the words to all of their cheers. Cady's glad to have a physical reference this time, rather than desperately trying to follow the crowd like she had to at tryouts.
The cheers seem simple enough. A few of them go in tandem with songs played by the marching band at certain points in the game, so the timing will probably get tricky, but the words are easy enough to remember. A lot of 'blue and yellow', 'let's go lions', 'beat them' and repeating 'NSHS' over and over. Even Cady can handle that.
She quickly learns that the halftime show is where things get dicey.
A good chunk of it is the marching band's responsibility, but it's also the cheer squad's time to shine. Regina and the coach explain their goals for the choreography that they'll work up to over the course of the season, and it doesn't sound like Cady's feet will be touching the ground very much. Great.
"Now, Cady, how flexible is your back?" Regina hums.
God, help.
—-
She's not sure whether to be relieved or not when practice is finally over and she's released out to change and go shopping with her friends.
"Get in, loser," Regina yells, pulling up in front of the building where she told Cady to meet them. "We're going to the mall."
"I've never been to a mall before," Cady admits as she climbs into the backseat of Regina's convertible next to Karen.
"You are so cute," Regina hums. Something in her tone tells Cady it's not a compliment.
"It's just, like, a bunch of stores all in the same building," Karen explains. Cady is oddly glad for her presence.
"Oh. That sounds fun," Cady says. "Oh, but I didn't bring any money, I won't... be able to get anything."
"Just pay us back later. You need stuff," Gretchen says, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder.
"You guys don't have to do that," Cady says sheepishly.
"Yes, we do," they all say at the same time.
"We're all rich, money face emoji. It's not a big deal," Karen shrugs.
"Oh. Well, thank you. I'll pay you back as soon as I can."
—-
Cady is immediately overwhelmed when they walk into the mall. It's so bright, and loud. Everything is white and shiny. It gives her a headache almost instantly.
And then there's the people. Most of them seem to be crowding around a fountain feature on the first floor. Cady leans against the railing to observe. She finds herself flashing back to watching the wildlife around the watering hole back home. It's not quite a comforting reminder. More... threatening.
"Cady, come on," Regina yells from a ways away. Cady snaps her head up to see where her friends have gone before she goes running after them. "We should start with Zara."
"We had a zebra named Zara," Cady recalls absently.
"Is it true that zebras are part tiger?" Karen asks.
"Um... no," Cady says gently. Where did she hear that? "They're totally different species."
Karen looks confused and goes quiet. Cady frowns, sad she's upset her new friend.
"Um... they have stripes for similar reasons, though," she says gently. "Zebras have them to hide from predators and tigers' are to camouflage them from prey while they hunt. So... you were... close?"
"Ooh!" Karen says. She runs a couple steps ahead to inform Gretchen of her new discovery, leaving Cady trailing after the three of them.
The actual 'shopping' part happens in a whirlwind, as her friends ask her sizes and run off in different directions, grabbing tight tops and short skirts and shoes that look like weapons. Cady spends most of the time standing aimlessly in the middle of the stores waiting for them to return.
Most of the clothes they bring back aren't... totally her vibe, or what she'd choose to wear. The fabrics are itchy and cling to her in a way that makes her feel uncomfortable. But as she pulls away the curtain of the changing room to show her friends outfit after outfit, she finds herself liking the clothes more and more. Her friends clap and squeal when she finds something good, and delicately let her know when a color or cut doesn't suit her. She blends in now. She's camouflaged.
Cady leaves carrying a mountain of shopping bags, stumbling back out to Regina's car and wondering how this is all going to fit long enough for them to drive back home.
Somehow, they make it work, and Cady breathes a sigh of relief knowing she has a whole new wardrobe that should make her high school career a little bit easier.
She just hopes it didn't cost too much.
—-
"Hey, Binti, how was-wow," her dad says as Cady shoves her way through the door after her friends drop her off back home. Your house is so adorable, Regina had said. Cady isn't sure how she feels about that.
"Hi, Dad," she pants.
"Have a little shopping spree, did we?"
"Oh. Uh, yeah, my friends took me to the mall," Cady says shyly. "New clothes."
"Did you have fun?" her dad asks, leading her to the kitchen and tossing a pack of cookies her way. Cady fumbles catching it, but smiles as she picks it up from the ground. She still isn't totally used to having whatever food she wants right at her fingertips. Cookies aren't exactly abundant in the Kenyan wilderness.
"Yeah, I did. They're nice," Cady says. "They want to help me fit in more."
"Well, that's nice of them," her dad says. "Just so long as you don't forget to stand out, too. Package came for you, by the way."
Cady jumps a bit as a large box is plopped on the counter in front of her, almost choking on her Chips Ahoy. "Whoa."
"Open it open it open it," her dad says childishly. "Come on, I wanna see."
"I don't even know what's in it," Cady giggles, carefully taking the knife her dad hands her and slicing through the tape. Her dad pulls one of the flaps aside to peek in. "Oh, my cheer stuff!"
She giggles as her dad pulls out the large clip-on bow and places it in his short hair. "What do you think? Go... team. What do you cheerleaders say?"
"I dunno, I only had my first practice today," Cady laughs, gently pulling the bow out of his hair. "You should think about bows as part of your wardrobe."
"I think my patients might have some qualms with that," her dad chortles. He watches as Cady pulls out her blue and yellow top and skort, along with her special shoes and another bow. One is for home games and the other is for away games, but she's not sure which bow is which.
"Hey, my pompoms!" Cady says happily. "They're so sparkly!"
"Oh, yes," her dad says, taking one and hunting for the handle hidden amongst the shiny blue and gold foil strips. He shakes it around once he's got a grip on it and they both laugh at the ruffling sound it makes.
"And... my bag for all my stuff!" Cady says, pulling out the black bag embroidered with her name in a fancy white font with some pompoms beneath it. It even has a special clip just to hold her pompoms without smushing them. Her dad peeks into the box to see if Cady missed anything.
"They want you to buy more stuff?"
"I think it's to fund the sports programs?" Cady says. She looks at the order form for more cheer squad merch that isn't part of her uniform. T-shirts, sweatshirts, even scrunchies. "Can I get some stuff?"
"Well, if it's for funding, I don't see why not," her dad shrugs. "For now, though, homework, Monkey."
"Okay. I'll be in my room," Cady says, giving her dad a hug and running upstairs.
————-
Two weeks fly by much faster than Cady expects. There's a lot of pressure on her shoulders as the head cheerleader. She doesn't even want to think about how much pressure Regina is feeling as team captain.
She's gotten to know Damian rather well, since he's in charge of stopping her from falling to the ground and cracking her head open. Coach made them spend a lot of time working on trust exercises, since it's important for Cady to trust the people throwing her several feet in the air. She likes him, and he seems to like her. Maybe she read him wrong.
He hasn't dropped her yet, at any rate. She takes that as a good sign.
—-
On the day of the game, Cady puts on her whole uniform for the first time. Apparently the whole squad wears their uniform to school on game days, and the football team wear their jerseys.
Her mom helps her tie her hair half-up and clip her bow in (the blue one, which she's learned is the one for home games). She grabs her book bag and runs out the door as Regina lays on the horn.
-
Cady feels the excitement building throughout the whole school day. It's finally happening, her very first game.
And, she gets to see Aaron in his jersey for the first time. So cute.
He turns around again to look at her as she slides into her seat behind him. "Hey."
"Hi," Cady says shyly. "You look nice."
"Uh..." Aaron says, looking down at his jersey. "Thanks. You look cute."
"Thanks," Cady grins, trying not to blush.
"Didn't know you were a cheerleader."
"Oh, yeah," Cady says, sheepishly tugging on the hem of her blue skirt. She wonders how the entire cheer team gets away with this every week. The uniform is nowhere close to meeting the dress code. "I grew up tumbling, and my friends are all on the team, so they let me try out."
"Cool," Aaron says, shooting her a grin. "Hey, uh... my friend is having a party tonight to celebrate the season starting, would you wanna come?"
"Me?" Cady asks shyly.
"Yeah. It'd be cool if you were there," Aaron says. "Whole football team is going, and most of the cheerleaders. You should come. Surprised nobody else invited you yet, if your friends are on the squad. But, yeah. You should come."
"I will," Cady says with a smile. "Thanks."
Aaron just nods and turns back around, leaving Cady to grin and blush at her notebook.
——-
Regina invites her over before the game to help Cady get ready. Cady barely has enough time to go home to drop off her school backpack and pick up her cheer things before she has to run to Regina's house in the next neighborhood over.
A woman in a bright pink tracksuit pulls the door open in the middle of Cady trying to find the doorbell. Regina's house is huge. The porch alone looks like the entrance to the Buckingham Palace.
"Oh, hi! You must be Cady, come in, come in!" Pink Woman says. "I've heard so much about you!"
Cady grunts a little bit as she's pulled into a very tight hug, crushed against the woman's chest. Which, for some reason, is rock solid. Might wanna get that checked out.
"I'm Mrs. George, I'm Regina's mom. You can call me Sabrina, welcome!"
"Um... thank you, Sabrina," Cady says shyly.
"Aww, you are just so cute! The girls are in Regina's room upstairs, you're just in time. I made tacos for you girls. Oh, and if you need anything, just tell them to ask me. I have been through it all."
Cady is more than a little concerned, wondering what that could mean. Either way, she has no doubt that the woman is telling the truth.
"Thank you," she says again. "Um... where is Regina's room?"
"Upstairs and to the right. Her door has her name on it. Bright pink, you can't miss it," Mrs. George says. Cady takes off her shoes and takes the first few steps.
"Thanks."
"Anytime, honey. Tell Regina I want pictures before you leave!"
-
Cady knocks on Regina's door when she finds it, earning herself a strange look when the blonde herself pulls it open. "Hey, Cady."
"Hey," Cady echoes, joining her as she steps into the room. It's huge, and almost wall-to-wall pink in varying shades. Whoa. "Your room is really nice."
"Thanks," Regina hums. "It was my parents' room, but I made them trade me."
And they let you? Cady asks herself desperately. "Uh... that's... um... cool."
She gets another weird look for stuttering, but Regina shrugs and turns back to Gretchen and Karen who are already there. "You can put your bag anywhere. Gretchen, move."
Gretchen scrambles out of the chair in front of Regina's vanity, making room for Regina to sit. Cady sheepishly sets her bag by the door.
"Cady! Hey, have a taco," Karen greets as if nothing has happened. Maybe nothing has, to her. Maybe this is normal. Regardless, Cady grins and gently sits next to her on Regina's hot pink bed.
"Don't get rice in my bed, losers," Regina huffs, swiping some blush onto her cheeks.
"We won't," Cady says immediately. She knows she won't. You have to be a careful eater in Kenya, or risk attracting pests. Karen, however, surreptitiously swipes some grains out of the sheets while Regina has her back turned. She and Cady share a sly grin before looking back over.
"Alright, Cady, eat quick, we need to get you made up and everything," Regina says, snapping the pallet closed and putting it back where it belongs.
"Made up?"
"We all have to look the same, Cady. Part of the uniform," Regina tuts. "If you don't have anything on your face the lights in the stadium will wash you out and nobody will be able to see your face."
"Oh," Cady says with a nod. "I'm... really not good at makeup. I don't have any."
"That's why you're here," Gretchen says with a cheshire grin. "Girl squad, we totally can't leave you to struggle through your first cheer makeup alone! It's a rite of passage."
"Thanks," Cady grins back. She stumbles a bit as Gretchen hauls her up and over to the vanity before shoving her down in the cushy chair. "Whoa."
"Your skin is so nice, what is your skincare routine?" Regina asks, tilting her face from side to side while Gretchen puts a little headband on her to keep any flyaways away from the masterpiece her face is about to become.
"Um... I just... wash it. I wear sunscreen," Cady says sheepishly. "Nothing crazy."
"You are so lucky," Gretchen sighs. She holds a bottle of what Cady thinks is foundation up to her cheek. "Is this close to her color?"
"No, that's too pale, that'll make her look like a fucking ghost, Gretch," Regina huffs. "This one."
Cady blinks in shock as a sponge suddenly starts dabbing makeup all over her face, but she relaxes into the repetitive tapping and closes her eyes.
At one point all three of them are doing something. Regina does her eyeshadow while Karen swipes a lipstick on her, and Gretchen handles trying to work her curls into a high ponytail and getting her bow securely fastened.
Regina applies a small sticker to her cheek just beneath the outer corner of her eye, and she's done. All three of her friends step back and allow her to check herself out in the mirror.
"You look so pretty," Gretchen coos.
"What do you think?" Regina asks as Cady stands and leans in to the mirror.
Cady isn't sure how she feels about what she sees.
It feels like a mask, almost. Her freckles are totally gone, covered in layers of itchy foundation. A bit of bronzer and blush make her look a bit more alive instead of one flat color. Her eyes are caked in royal blue and glittery gold eyeshadow, along with thick winged eyeliner and a lot of black mascara, which does make her blue-green eyes pop, if she does say so herself. Small gems rest on the inner corners of each eye, and she has the small blue star that Regina put on as the finishing touch.
"I love it," Cady says. "Thank you guys."
Maybe she can get used to this.
She's left to carefully finish her tacos while her friends work on their own makeup and curl their hair. Cady observes while she munches, watching her friends primp and prime before they grab their cheer bags and head out. Cady wolfs down her last bite and grabs hers, running out the door after them.
"Regina, wait, I need pictures!" Sabrina insists, running to the porch after them.
"Mommy, we don't have time for pictures, we're gonna be late," Regina growls.
"Oh, baby girl, there's always time for pictures," her mom chuckles. "Get your tiny butts back over here."
"You get ten," Regina insists. "That's it."
Cady thinks she might be the only one with a genuine smile for the photos as her friends crowd together and wrap their arms around each other, striking some cute poses and smiling at Mrs. George's phone.
Cady has her arm around Regina's shoulder, and feels her relax a little bit as her little sister, Kylie, does goofy dances behind Mrs. George to make them laugh. It's almost weird, seeing something make Regina... human.
"Okay, gotta go, bye," Regina says once she's decided they've had enough. It was nice while it lasted.
————-
Cady looks around in awe at the stadium all lit up, crowds of parents and students and friends swarming up the bleachers on both sides to watch. She's been here before, but Cady is still overwhelmed seeing it in full swing for the first time.
Her parents came to watch her cheer for the very first time, so she gives them quick hugs and waves as she sees them find a good spot on the bleachers.
She has a split second between that and the start of it all to warm up and stretch, and takes full advantage of it, knowing she'll really be hurting later if she doesn't.
She takes her spot on the track, facing the home crowd and armed with her pompoms, and it begins.
The band kicks up with their school's fight song, and Cady feels her muscle memory kick in as she starts dancing along with her squad. It was exhausting at the time, but she's glad now to have had so much practice time. She knows if she hadn't she would be totally lost right about now, what with all the dizzying stimuli around her. Thank you, muscle memory.
————
Cady feels like she blinks and the game is over, first victory of the season in the books. She packs her things back into her backpack and tugs her varsity jacket on, now that the sun has gone down and it's a chilly evening.
"Cady, over here!" Aaron calls as she makes her way to the parking lot. "Hey, you need a ride?"
"Oh, yeah! Um... can I say bye to my parents real quick?"
"Yeah, of course. Take your time," Aaron says, looking at her fondly.
Cady gives him a grateful smile and runs off to find her parents. She finds them as they escape the dense crowd of people filing out of the gates. "Hey!"
"Monkey, you did amazing!" her dad says. He blinks in shock when he sees her face. "Wow. Nice makeup."
"Thanks," Cady says shyly, hugging them both.
"You really did do very well, Binti. We're very proud of you," her mother says, squeezing Cady gently.
"Thanks, Mommy," Cady grins. "So, um... my whole squad is going to this party to celebrate the win and the season starting, can I go too? My friends will be there and I have a ride."
Her parents look at each other, having a conversation without words. Cady watches, anxiously rubbing her upper arm as she waits for their response.
"You have your phone? Location turned on?" her dad asks. Cady nods. "Keep it on. No drugs, no boys, nothing stupid. Stay with your friends and text us regularly."
"Okay," Cady agrees immediately. "I can go?"
"Yes, you can go," her mother sighs. "Just be safe."
"I will. Love you, bye!"
Cady goes running back over to Aaron with a wide smile on her face.
"Sorry about that," she says. "They worry, and... stuff. Homeschooled weirdo, and all that."
"It's chill," Aaron says with a smirk. Unlike the ones she's seen from Regina, this one doesn't seem malicious at all. "It's sweet. Uh, anyway, let's get going."
"Yeah, absolutely," Cady says. Aaron gestures for her to throw her cheer bag in the backseat and slide in the passenger seat next to him. "Thanks for driving me. Your car is really nice."
"Thanks," Aaron says. "Had to have a nice one for her. Lucky I got to keep it after we broke up."
Cady gets the sense from his tone that asking about this her is not the brightest of ideas. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
"No, no, Cady. It's not you. It's... in the past now," Aaron sighs. "Stupid."
"Stupid with love," Cady agrees softly. "So... you... don't..."
"Nah," Aaron says with a shake of his head, seeming to know what she was trying to ask. "If that's love, it's not something I want. Trying so hard to impress, to be... cool, but I just... ended up acting like a tool."
"That rhymed!" Cady says unthinkingly. She claps a hand over her mouth, trying to swallow back any more word vomit that might escape. "I am so sorry."
Aaron laughs. Cady smiles back shyly. It's a nice sound. "You're fun."
"I am?"
"Yeah. Funny, too. You notice shit nobody else does, it's cool," Aaron says.
"Oh. Thank you," Cady says sheepishly. "You're cool too. You don't have to try."
"Thanks," Aaron replies, looking away from the road briefly to smile at her. "Anyway. Tragic backstory, I'm swearing off of dating-"
"You're what?!" Cady interrupts, trying to keep the hysteria out of her voice. Way to keep this under wraps, Cady. "Sorry, that, um... didn't come out right. But, swearing off of dating?"
"It's cool," Aaron says with a small chuckle. "It's too much work. Like I said, if love is like that, not something I want. For now anyway."
Shit, Cady grumbles internally. "That's... um... probably a good choice." No, it's not. This is the worst possible choice. "People at North Shore are..."
"Nuts," Aaron chuckles. "One way or another. It's a lot."
"It is," Cady responds. "Makes me feel like I'm right back on the savanna."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Cady says. "More similar than you would think."
"Huh," Aaron chuckles slightly. "Hey, you good? You look kinda peaky."
"Yeah, I'm fine," Cady says anxiously, surreptitiously wiping her sweaty hands on her skirt. "I just... I've never been to a party before. I don't know what to expect, and everything. Feels like when I was in charge of feeding the hippos."
"Hippos?"
"They're dangerous," Cady insists. "A hippo would rip you to bits in one bite and never once hesitate."
"Duly noted," Aaron says. "Well, if it makes you feel better, there won't be any hippos. Just a lot of dumb teenagers doing dumb teenager shit. You'll be fine."
"But what if they think I'm weird?" Cady whispers anxiously. "I'm sixteen and I've never been to a party. I'm a homeschooled jungle freak who's never even been to a party that's indoors."
"Then they think you're weird," Aaron shrugs. "Not like they're not weird too. Everyone is. And most of them will be too wasted to notice you, anyway."
"Oh," Cady says. She doesn't have any more time to prepare as Aaron pulls to the side of a crowded street and puts the car in park. Cady slides her phone into the pocket of her shorts and follows him to the house.
"It's my friend Chris' place," he says, having to shout a bit over the loud music blaring from inside. "C'mon."
Cady does, following him through the unlocked front door and into the loudest experience of her life.
It's not entirely unlike the savanna during mating season. Crowded, loud. Crazy.
"Whoa," she whispers. Aaron gently rests a hand on her shoulder and guides her down the hall towards the living room. Cady thinks she distantly sees Regina watching them, and she doesn't look happy.
Much to her relief, Aaron doesn't leave. He finds an empty spot against the wall to lean against, motioning for Cady to join him. Cady does, and they make light conversation for a while as Cady adjusts to where she is.
"Do you want a drink?" Aaron asks after a while.
"Like... alcohol?" Cady asks shyly.
"If you want," Aaron chuckles. "Don't have to if you don't want to, there's soda too."
"No, I, um... why not? I'll try it," Cady says. She can't have him thinking she's a total baby. How much damage could one drink do?
"Sick. Wait here, I'll be right back," Aaron says, pushing off the wall and heading to the kitchen.
Cady looks around as she's left alone, trying not to hunch in on herself like a total hermit. Be cool. You're a cheerleader and friends with the queen of the school, you got this.
"Hey," Regina says, coming to take the place Aaron just vacated. Speak of the devil.
"Hey," Cady echoes with a small smile.
"What are you doing here?"
Cady bristles a bit. "Oh, um... Aaron... Samuels invited me. We have calculus together."
"He did? That's so sweet," Regina coos, sickly sweet saccharin practically dripping from the words. It leaves a bad taste in Cady's mouth. She knows enough to know Regina doesn't mean it. Artificially sweetened.
"Um, yeah," Cady replies. "Sorry for crashing."
"Oh, no, it's totally fine," Regina scoffs. "Not my party, anyway. We just didn't invite you because we didn't know how you would feel about parties like this. Since you were homeschooled."
"That makes sense," Cady nods. "I like it so far. But thanks for thinking of that."
Regina raises an eyebrow at her. Cady feels like she's under a microscope, every aspect of her being analyzed by the queen bee. Did I say something wrong?
"You're welcome," Regina says after a beat. "I gotta go. Love ya."
With a two finger kiss blown Cady's way, she's gone, leaving Cady alone once more. Cady relaxes, the smallest bit of tension leaving her body. She hadn't even noticed it was there in the first place.
"Hey, new girl," a boy calls to her. Cady turns to see one of the guys from the football team headed towards her. What's his name? Shane, or something. "Aaron got caught up, told me to give this to you."
"Oh! Thanks," Cady giggles. She takes the offered solo cup and a solid swig of whatever's inside. It's a little bit salty, but not bad. "Nice job tonight."
"Thanks," Shane replies. "You weren't so bad yourself."
"Thanks," Cady echoes. Her head is pounding, suddenly. Huh. She takes another swig of the drink to clear her head. "Is there alcohol in this?"
"Yeah, he said you wanted some," Shane says, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. "I can get you a soda."
"No, no, it's... 's okay," Cady says. Man, how quick does this stuff work? "I like it."
She chugs down the rest of her drink. How do people drink more than this? She's already impossibly dizzy. A nap sounds very nice right about now.
"I need to-to go to-"
"Hey, you good?" Shane asks.
"Yeah, yeah, just... dizzy," Cady says in confusion. Is the room spinning or just her? "Where's... where's... bathroom?"
"Here, let me help you there," Shane says, gently hoisting her off the ground and carrying her down the hall.
She's rested on a bed, and it all goes dark.
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thanks for reading! hope you enjoyed!