"Eight gold rings like I'm Sha -- Shabba Ranks..."
Song: Shabba Ranks
Artist: ASAP Ferg
Sorry for the wait you guys. I've been busy with finals all week.
Happy Reading!
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX:
Adrian:
"What do you mean that we've been disqualified?" My voice projected throughout Colton and Scott's dorm. I had been woken up from my nap to a fuming Brooke that looked like she was ready to claw my eyes out at any given second. I'm not prepared for another round with anyone at the moment.
Brooke's eyes raged with a given flame. Of course, you couldn't actually see the fire in them but it's Brooke. It was there. I knew that for a fact.
"I mean just that," Her voice spoke to me coldly. "After that fight with you and Serena this morning I was called into the coordinators office. They told me that we were disqualified since our team clearly can't keep our cool with each other. The dance portion of the bash is out."
This seriously can't be happening. It's not my fault that Serena and I got into a fight. Everything is Serena's fault. If anything, those people should make her ineligible to dance and allow the rest of us to continue on preparing for the competition.
Just thinking about all the work we put into our routines. Making them perfect. The blood, sweat, and tears from literally everyone with each jump, twirl, or move we did to the beat of music was all for a reason. The reason why we were here in the first place. At the bash. It has been the most miserable time of my life but I didn't care because I was doing the thing that I loved most in the world.
Dance.
"How is South Lakeview taking the news," I asked, dumbly.
A look of disgust soon masked Brooke's face. I didn't know if it was directed towards me or the mention of our rival, and not knowing mad me fidget on my feet a bit.
"Like I'm supposed to know." She shrugged off. Her hands slapped down to the sides of her thighs after they finished flying in the air. Waving around exasperatedly. "Most likely they are preparing their pitchforks and stabbing knives to jam into our eyes."
I winced at the news of that possibly happening. My eyes will not look good on the point of a pitchfork. They belonged in my head.
"You really did it this time Adrian." Brooke growled causing me to flinch from the venom in her anger - filled words. She turned on the heels of her feet, not even sparing me a parting glance or even a flick of the disrespectful finger. Instead, she just walked straight of the room. Slamming the door behind her.
As I stood there still in shock to process the news, I felt the guilt creep upon me. It was poking and prodding at my head. Wanting its entrance into my thoughts. It wanted to make me blame everything on myself. Even though I had just put the blame on Serena. Guilt knew that some of it just wasn't her fault either.
Guilt wanted me to feel bad for my actions.
I'm not going to though.
Some people say that violence isn't the answer to anything, except, in some cases (Like Serena and I's) it is. That fight needed to happen. Did I want it to? No. It felt wrong sinking to that method of understanding. We had to fight to understand each other.
Serena and I had to fight to know each others thoughts. It was like we were speaking telepathically everytime a punch was delivered from my fist to her body. The new way of communication between us. It allowed me to hear what she really felt even when she had already spoken it to me. I don't know how to explain it really. We just knew that after the last blow was given ... things were never going to be the same again between us.
Love was now replaced with hatred.
A stone - cold hatred, at that one. People also say that you can't actually hate anything or anyone. Who were they to tell me how I felt though? I knew what I knew. And I knew that I now hated Serena. Nothing was going to change that feeling after today either.
It had to be done. That fight had to be done. Even though we both caused our teammates to lose in the end. It helped us gain a new light towards one another. We spoke what we felt.
And I felt nothing but relief.
~
The next day, was the big day.
Everyone had been awaiting this game for the longest time. The people around the bash were boasting about it. Making their bets on which team was going to win and who were going to flop. It was the football game. The make or break moment for South and North Lakeview.
"So you all are really not dancing?" Colton asked me again. I don't know how many times I answered this question when he asked. One thousand? Give or take a few? Let's just know that it was enough to make me groan out in frustration. "Okay. Okay. Don't have a complex."
He squeezed onto my hand that was entwined with his own while we continued to make our way down to the football field arena. There were groups of people chattering away with excite around us as they were heading the same way we were walking. At least they had something to look forward too.
The dance team danced at every football game to our fight songs, band chants, and halftime performances. Not today though. All dance team members had to sit on the bleachers and watch. I wasn't fond of actually having to sit the whole time and watch the game because I was used to moving around and getting the crowd pumped. Now, I actually had to force myself to pay attention since there was nothing else to do.
"I can tell you're clearly not happy," Colton chuckled out. If he were any other male specimen, he would've been kneed in the balls and on the ground in pain in a hot second. But he's my boyfriend. So I must refrain ... for now.
I rolled my eyes, then looked at him. "You don't say?" I spoke sarcastically. "The first time I actually have to stay stationary. Colton, I'm a genuinely lazy person so you would think not moving would be fun for me but it isn't. I really wanted to dance."
Yeah, I really did.
"Princess, I completely get it. I wouldn't even be able to imagine what I would do if Coach had told me that I would be sitting out this game because I was late to practice again yesterday --- "
"You're not though. Meaning you can't relate to the problem." I said.
He nodded his head. "You're right. Dance isn't completely out of the picture. It's just for now but when we get back home, you can dance your ass off and hopefully I'll be there to see it in the process."
Great, now I'm blushing.
I ignored his comment about my ass and we began talking aimlessly about stupid stuff like we always did until we entered the arena and we had to part ways. Now, I really don't want to sound like a clingy girlfriend because I swear those bitches sound so annoying but I didn't want him to leave me.
He's the quarterback. Yeah, I know that.
The whole freaking planet knows that he is the one that North Lakeview is counting on to lead them to success. I get that. I really do but as his girlfriend I had a right to pout whenever I had to leave him. When he walked into their locker room, I looked through the crowd to try and find my dance team anywhere.
All I could see were random students that had traveled from town today to be at this game wildly fanning around trying to get to their seats or just being the regular teenager and socializing. I looked stupid standing by myself looking lost but I wasn't by myself for long because I was soon approached by Liam, who looked at my glumly.
"I'm really sorry Adrian."
Those were the first words that came out of his mouth. I was at least expecting a flirty boy attitude. It was Liam after all. He was threatening me just a day or two ago and begging to have me back. He also was the reason Serena and I hated each other now.
I laughed a dry laugh. "For a second there I almost thought you were really being sincere."
His face fell a bit more and his shoulders slumped. "That's because I am. I saw the fight yesterday --- between you and Serena. I know that I was an ass for starting this whole thing in the first place because I was the one that allowed everything to continue on with Serena while you and I were together. Just know that I'm sorry."
I squinted my eyes at him. Trying to read his expression on his static face. He did look like he was being serious. And while we were dating, Liam did take his apologies into consideration. If I didn't know anything, I knew this. He really was apologizing to me.
"Umm ... thanks?" I stammered a bit. "I don't really know what to say, exactly."
He gave me a slight nod. "Just know that I officially know that you and me have no chances of ever being together again." A sudden awkward cough escaped my lungs. He should've known that from the start. "I've been a douche this whole time. Selfish even. Trying to get you back. When I should've known that you deserve the best, even though I'm not the person that's making that happen for you."
What is this realization time for everyone?
"Colton really is lucky to have you, Adrian. And after everything I put you through ... you deserve to be ... happy." I bet that was tough for him to admit. Just the look on his face, you could tell he was pained to even come to the conclusion. I couldn't even hide the small smile that was now escaping onto my lips. "And I deserve every bad thing that is coming for me now." I shook my head.
"So do you accept my apology?" He asked me.
I guess that's the least I could do for him. He did have to have the man junk to even gather the strength to even admit the truth. No, I was never going to be his friend or anything of that nature. But it would be nice to know that everything was hashed and settled between us.
"Yeah, I -- I guess so." He smiled at me. "Don't expect friendship in return, though. Just know that there are no problems between us. Serena and I are another story. You and her are another story. That's you two's business that I want nothing to do with."
"That's understandable. So we can't even handshake on it? To set it in stone?"
"No." I shook my head. "Good luck during the game and all Liam."
I didn't give him a chance to say anything else to me because I quickly turned and walked away from him. I saw a few girls that were wearing our dance team warm-up jacket huddled by the fence that separated the bleachers and walkway away from each other. I guess everyone else was just being fashionably late on getting here.
When I walked over to them, the three that were busy having a conversation looked my way with an intense glare. I'm assuming that they're also angry at me for not being able to dance this game and for the competition too. I didn't bother saying anything smart to them mainly because I wanted to be the bigger person and ignore them.
There was another girl though. She was standing beside them, not paying attention to the least bit of what they were talking about. Her blonde hair was in a sock bun and she looked nice overall. Paining me to not even notice her at all and we were on the same team.
"Ignore those ignorant people," She said. "If Serena had done what she did to you to me? God, we would rocking the same boat because I would've handled her the same exact way." I small laugh came out of me and she walked to lean up against the gate beside me. "I'm Sophia Emerson."
We had a Sophia on our team?
"And I'm Adri --- "
"Adrianna Pike. Yeah, I know." Oh. Now that makes me feel even worse about myself. "We've been dancing together since freshmen year. You're amazing but I'm sure many people have told you that anyways." And she's in the same grade as me. Have I seriously been so blinded by my own life that I haven't even paid attention to who I've been dancing with for the past three years?
"I'm sorry, I -- I just never noticed you before," I spoke softly. Ashamed of myself.
"It's fine, don't feel bad. I fly under the radar anyways. Everything's okay. You want a starburst?"
She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a packet of starburst that had only been eaten halfway down. "Sure." I spoke. Sophia handed me a red one --- my favorite --- from the packet while she took a yellow for herself. We stood beside each other in silence to eat our candies. "Do you want to sit with me during the game?"
"Adrianna Pike asking me to dwell my presence around her for a whole game? I'm absolutely flabbergasted. Of course, you don't have to beg me." She placed her hand overtop her heart and faked a swoon.
And that's when I knew that just because I didn't have Serena as a best friend anymore, everything was really going to be okay.
~
The game had whizzed by quickly when I had Sophia to keep me company.
She really is an amazing girl. I'm not trying to sound fruity at all when I say that but she really is. We have a lot of things in common and she kept me laughing the whole game. I didn't even have to remind myself to not look over my shoulder and see Serena shooting daggers at me with her eyes every few minutes, because Sophia had me distracted from that problem the whole time.
We were towards the end of the fourth quarter now --- the last quarter of the game --- and South Lakeview was leading by a touchdown. I looked at the scoreboard and saw that we only had thirty seconds of the game left.
North Lakeview wasn't cracking under the pressure though. My eyes trained onto Colton when I saw them leave there final huddle and take there places on the field. Did you know that he had a nice butt in his uniform? I just had to put that out there.
Sophia has stopped talking to me and was also watching the game, along with everyone else in the arena. Before I could even blink, the ball was hiked and the seconds were counting down on the clock. I was already down to twenty-five that fast. It is seconds after all. Colton had the ball now. Taking a few steps back to see if anyone on North Lakeview was open.
Fifteen seconds ...
I looked down the field and saw Josh running down the field, outrunning a South Lakeview player that was too close to him for my liking.
"Come on guys," Sophia muttered under her breath. She was speaking the words right on my mind. Josh turned around, throwing his hands up to show Colton he was open. Like a bullet being shot, Colton threw the ball with a great speed and force to get it to Josh. Colton was then tackled down by a South Lakeview player that had come just a bit too late.
It was like a blessing from above, I swear when the ball landed perfectly into Josh's hands. All North Lakeview fans cheered in excitement. We had a chance to win this game, that's why. The South Lakeview player that had been tailing after Josh, tackled him but much to his avail because he tackled him right into the end zone.
Putting our score tied with South Lakeview. The fans, including myself, cheered with delight. Sophia and I hugged each other, jumping up and down. There was no question that we were not going to make the field goal next. Brayden's kicks were always up to par. They had been the whole game. As the ball whirled between the field goal posts causing our score to go one point up and the buzzer run out on the clock. Telling everyone that North Lakeview had won the game.
"I just want to let you know that I was possibly the lucky charm that allowed us to win," Sophia chided at me, elbowing me in the side.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. Sophia we won! Do you know what that means?"
"Didn't Josh say something about removing South Lakeview's eyebrows if we won before the game? I have a razor back in my room! I want to participate!"
We had convinced Josh to bring his prank down a few notches from burning to shaving the eyebrows off because everyone believed Josh and flames weren't going to be a good mix.
She's like Josh's other half. "No," I said. "Well, actually I don't even know what it means. Just know that we won!"
The South Lakeview fans began clearing the arena almost like it was their job after the game was over. Sophia and I walked off the bleachers together to be the first to greet the team when they walked out of their locker rooms. The dance team trailed behind us shortly after we began walking. I didn't know if they were trying to shun me but at this point I didn't really care.
I was just happy.
Who knew after everything that happened I could just be happy?
Many people were still trying to get out of the arena to go celebrate. I'm pretty sure somebody was going to throw a party someplace around this campus later on tonight.
We waited around for about ten minutes until the football team officially came out of the locker rooms and the people that had stayed around were able to cheer for them. Colton had walked over to me with the biggest smile on his face, and I delivered one in return.
"I'm allowing you to hug me right now because you guys won. Just know that in the future after a football game, I will not allow touching due to your man stank that is still coating your body."
"You love my victorious man stank," He smirked now, pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his torso and hugged him back.
"Sadly, I do." I said.
When we pulled away I gave one to Brayden, Scott, and especially Josh for scoring the touchdown in the first place.
"Oh, come on Adrianna," Josh whined. "No kiss on the lips or anything? I won the game for us and daddy can't even get any sugar? What is the world coming to now a days?"
"Your world will be six feet under if you even pucker your lips towards her again," Colton warned.
Josh pulled his lips into his mouth and took a small step back.
"As for the eyebrows ... Josh, I found a recruiter. Guys, this is Sophia." Sophia waved at the guys from her spot beside me. "Sophia, these are sadly the guys."
"Nice to officially meet you guys," Sophia smiled. "Josh, just tell me the time and dorm. My razors and I will be waiting for the first eyebrow shaving."
"I like this girl," Josh laughed. I had a good feeling these two were going to bond. "Adrianna do you perhaps to have a chicken wing in your pockets awaiting to be eaten by the king because I am hella starving."
"Do you hear how stupid you just sounded," Scott retorted to him.
"Why would she have a chicken wing in her pocket?" Brayden asked. "If anything, that chicken wing should be for me because I kicked the damn ball."
"Wait ...," Colton spoke up now. "If anything, that chicken wing should be for me because I threw the ball to Josh, allowing him to score the touchdown, and giving Brayden the chance to kick the ball."
"No," Sophia said now. "The chicken wing should be for me because I love chicken, okay?"
"We love chicken too," Josh and Brayden said at the same time. Are they really arguing about this? I really have no chicken. If I did then the chicken would be gone because I took the time to bring the chicken in the first place.
"I don't think you're grasping what I'm saying." Sophia snapped. That's when they all started to argue over who would get the nonexistent chicken wing --- even Colton was arguing. I just stood there watching the madness all unfold in just shock when a felt a tap on my shoulder.
I turned around and came face to face with Nicole and the rest of the South Lakeview dance team. When did they get here and how in the hell did I not hear them show up behind me? "Whoa," I exclaimed. Surprised by them. "What's going on?"
"Can you tell I'm pissed?" Nicole asked me. Judging from the amount of makeup on her face I was pretty impressed that she could even make a facial expression with the amount of weight that had to have been added on. I didn't even get a chance to answer because she was already speaking again. "We're all dancers here," She said gesturing her hands to her team behind her. "And we just wanted to kick your teams ass at the competition tomorrow but since that has now been cancelled." Oh gravy sauce. "We're taking matters into our own hands."
"What do you mean?" I heard Brooke ask from beside me. My neck craned over and I saw my dance team standing off to the side of me. When did they walk up too? I know I'm not going deaf. I'm too young to go deaf. I still want to hear Beyoncé in a live concert, damnit!
The boys and Sophia were quiet also. When I looked at them they too were taking in the scene that was unfolding now.
"You know what I mean. A competition is going to happen regardless of what those asshole officials say," Nicole snapped.
"But its not since no one is allowed to compete," Sophia added in.
"Yeah ...," Nicole trailed off. "That would be problem, wouldn't it?" Just a tad. "That's why they won't know."
"What," Brooke, Sophia, and I questioned in unison. Freaky how that happened actually.
Nicole shook her head. Her minion of a team mimicking her same motion.
"You heard me. Adrianna ---" she was looking right at me now --- "You and me. Tonight at midnight in the auditorium. A dance off. The judges can be the football teams since no officials have to know." She's kidding me right? I'm not facing her in a fucking dance off. Especially, with no appropriate judges. All South Lakeview is going to do is cheat.
"She'll do it." Brooke quickly answered for me. Nobody is letting me say shit today, aren't they? "That's the least you can do for us Adrian. We'll be there. She'll be there. We can see who wins then."
"Perfect." Nicole smiled, her devil red lipstick making a great statement for the fire she was carrying in her soul. Yeah, I went there! "May the best dancer win and Colton ...," She looked at him with a disgusting look of seduction. I swear her voice box will be out of her throat in point two seconds if she just keeps it up. "... great game." She added a wink and with that being said her and her team walked away.
"Well, that's that then." Sophia spoke into the silence that now engulfed everyone.
"I don't like her," I said.
"I swear vomit came up in my mouth, babe." Colton spoke.
"Be ready Adrianna." Brooke stated.
"Does she know that the blonde highlights in her hair were completely off?" Scott asked.
"How would you even know that?" Brayden spoke up.
Scott didn't answer and I was too irritated to do anything. So instead of having a conniption, we all just stood there. It was like everyone was waiting for me to react. I just may.
"Seriously though, who would get the chicken wing?" Josh asked.
Geez. Just geez.
-------------------------
Hi Laughers!
So sorry for the wait but I've been studying for finals all week because they started on Thursday. I didn't forget about Wattpad at all. I love this website too, too much to forget it. I'm literally just sat down two hours ago and cracked this chapter out. So, I'm really proud of myself right now.
Adrianna now has a new friend, Sophia? How do we all feel about her? She's being played by Ashley Benson from Pretty Little Liars. Yeah. And the upcoming dance off? Thoughts about that too? Comment because I'm curious to see how your minds are churning right now.
Ask me so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so many questions on my ask.fm http://ask.fm/thegirlthatlaughs because I love answering ALL of them. Also, follow me on Instagram @TheGirlThatLaughs_ or laughersunite
That's all. --- Korrie xo