Just like this morning I sense many sets of eyes watching me while Payton leads the two of us through the crowded lunchroom. This school is much smaller than my old school in the suburbs of Chicago. I didn't know half of the kids in my grade there so it was a lot easier to blend in. Here it's different, I stick out like a sore thumb. I'm hoping like most things in high school, something else will happen that's more newsworthy and my being new here gets forgotten quickly. I don't know how much longer I can handle all this extra attention if not.

It's clear we've arrived at our table when a trio of cheers echoes above all the other cafeteria chatter. All of the girls get up and take turns hugging Payton.

"Alright, alright enough hugs. You guys act like we didn't just spend every waking moment with each other this summer. Ladies, I want to introduce you to Romeo's next great Bulldog Cheerleading Legend, Lila Daniels!" Payton gestures towards me. She's doing that thing again where she decides for me that I'm joining the cheer team before I actually commit to it. Right on cue she begins to laugh as if she is reading my mind.

"Ok well she *may not* have agreed just yet, but Lila's coming to practice today and I know once she meets everyone on the team and gets a taste of what it's like she won't be able to resist." Payton adds as I turn to greet her friends.

"Hi, nice to meet you all. Payton has told me so much about all of you today."

"Hey Lila, it's so nice to finally meet you. The whole school's been buzzing all day about the new girl! Also, ignore Payton's antics, that's what we all do anyways! Unfortunately once Payton has her mind set on something it's pretty much impossible to stop her." The tall stunning blonde says with a laugh. "I'm Kelly by the way. And just so we're clear, we would really love to have you join our team but only if you're interested."

"Thanks, Kelly." I say with a smile.

"Nice to meet you Lila, I'm Rachel." Says the petite brunette with dark complexion. "Kelly is right, Payton is impossible when she feels passionately about something or I guess in this case, someone. You might as well give up fighting her now to save yourself some time. Trust us, it's easier!"

Payton's friends all burst out laughing. I do the same joining them. I'm happy to find Payton doesn't seem upset in the slightest by her friends poking fun at her. When the laughter dies down the quietest friend in the bunch introduces herself to me.

"Hi Lila, my name is Claire. I think we might have had science this morning together. How are you liking Romeo so far?" Claire has light brown hair that's pulled into a low twist and the pale blue in her dress brings out her soft blue eyes. Her demeanor is subtle and understated, sort of like how I feel I am at times.

"Hi Claire, yeah I think you're right, Mr. Wertzel? Glad to know you're in that class too. All and all today has gone pretty smoothly so far, nothing major to report." Except for that one teeny tiny part of the day where I plowed down the hot senior football player in the hallway and he turned out to be Payton's brother, but no biggie.

"Glad to hear you're adjusting to Romeo so well. If it were me I think I'd be having a hard time." Claire confesses quietly as we all get settled into the lunch table and begin eating. I knew I could sense this girl and I were alike.

"So Lila, I'm dying to know as an outsider coming in. What do you think about the guys at our school? Anyone caught your eye yet?!" Kelly blurts, a mischievous smirk on her face as she waits in anticipation.

My face immediately turns crimson. How the heck am I supposed to respond to that?! The truth is yes, someone has definitely caught my attention. He quite literally caught me while I was flying through the air, actually. But he's also a super gorgeous senior, the older brother of the first friend I've been able to make at this school and already made it clear he sees me only as a friend. Besides, Tyler is way out of my league so I don't see the point in admitting to Payton I think her brother is dreamy. I mean what if she didn't like hearing that and got upset? I don't want to jeopardize my new friendship over a lost cause. I'm fumbling around in my brain to come up with an answer for Kelly when Payton senses how uncomfortable I am and cuts in.

"Kel, can you take it down about ten notches? Poor Lila just got here. Give her a day or two before you bombard her with super personal questions like that."

"Sorry Lila, I wasn't trying to pry. Sometimes I forget to have a filter."

"Cough, cough, or you never remember to have a filter." Rachel jokes.

"It's ok, Kelly."

"So, Lila..." Claire says taking the cue to change the subject "Payton obviously showed us all the videos she found of you from your past gymnastics competitions online. We were very impressed. What got you into gymnastics in the first place?"

"Well, it was actually because of my three older brothers that I got started. They were all really active and into rowdy, crazy young boy stuff growing up. By the time I came around I was trying to mimic whatever the boys were doing. My mom caught me trying to jump off the top of our swing set when I was three because I watched one of my brothers do it. After that my mom decided to enroll all four of us into a trial gymnastics class. She figured if we were going to do dangerous stuff like jump off things we could at least do it in a gym with mats and coaches guiding us. My brothers stuck with the classes for only a few weeks before they lost interest and moved onto other sports. I on the other hand instantly loved it. My mom would have to drag me out of the gym at the end of practices. That was all it took, I've been in a gym since I was three. Well I guess since moving here. I miss it a lot actually. I've never gone this long without being in practices."

"Wow, that's incredible! No wonder you're such an elite tumbler. But could you go back to the part where you said you have three older brothers? What are they like? Cute? Are they single?—" Kelly's questions get interrupted by a swat from Rachel's hand to her arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" Kelly rubs her arm where Rachel hit her.

"You'll have to excuse Kelly." Rachel says to me. "The way Payton is driven about getting what she wants, Kelly is equally as driven...just about cute guys." Rachel rolls her eyes and Kelly just shrugs her shoulders not ashamed or disagreeing.

"Oh" I laugh to myself. "I mean technically my brothers are all single as far as I know. But unless you like long distance relationships then you're out of luck. They all live in different states currently pursuing their next steps in life." I sound more sad about it than I mean to. Talking about my brothers reminds me how much I miss having them around, especially now that we've moved and I'm having to start over.

"That must suck for you. Are you close with them still?" Rachel asks genuinely.

"Pretty close. We FaceTime each other and text pretty often. Charlie, my oldest brother, is who I am probably closest with. He's in Florida right now. He got his dream internship after college and is hoping it will turn into a position for him by the end of it. Even if it doesn't pan out that way, I don't think he'll ever move back to Michigan after living in a state that's warm year round and has ample opportunity to hang out at beaches. Can't blame him there." I laugh lightly. "He's promised me he'll be home for Christmas though so that will be nice having him home for a few weeks."

"That does sound nice." Claire adds.

"But enough about me, I want to learn more about you guys."

"Yeah Payton, why don't we learn some more about you! How about you start with what's going on between you and Jakey Jake? You never said your love life was off limits like Lila's so you have to answer." Kelly teases.

For the first time I see a tiny, almost unnoticeable, blush wash over Payton's face. She looks over her shoulder towards a table full of senior football players. I don't know most of them but I recognize Tyler, Mason and the guy Jake I saw Payton walking with earlier. I knew my hunch wasn't wrong, there is definitely something going on between them.

"Oh shut up." Payton regains her composure and turns back to us. "I've been flirting with Jake all summer and I feel like he reciprocates it but still nothing has happened. I've dropped multiple hints that I'd like him to ask me on a date yet it's never happened. So maybe he isn't as interested as I thought he was?" Payton looks disappointedly at us.

"There is no way that is true. I've seen you two together. It's sickening how much you both gush over each other. He's like a sappy little puppy dog when he's by you. I think he's just not man enough to ask you out, personally." Rachel chimes in. She's definitely the no nonsense friend in the bunch. She'll call it like she sees it, no bull or beating around the bush, which reminds me of Tuck a little.

"Maybe he's shy?" Claire suggests trying to make Payton feel better.

"You have a bunch of brothers Lila, you probably understand guys way better than us. What do you think?" Kelly asks me.

"Uh well, I'm not sure I'm the right person to ask. My love life is basically non-existent. But alright, I'll try. Let me ask you this Payton, you and Tyler are close right?"

"Yeah....why?"

"....And is Tyler good friends with Jake?"

"Yeah. They've been friends and teammates for a long time. Why?"

"So maybe that's your problem. I know my brothers would never have let any of their friends or teammates date me. Well honestly they don't let anyone date me but that's besides the point. My point is, maybe Jake wants to ask you out but isn't sure how to because he and Tyler are friends and that makes it awkward? Maybe he feels like he can't ask you out because Tyler would get upset?"

Everyone goes completely silent while my words sink in.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Lila that makes perfect sense. You are a genius! How have we never put this together before?" Payton looks at me like I just resolved the worlds hardest equation without a calculator.

"Don't get too excited. I could be wrong. I don't know all the specifics between you two after all, I'm just speculating. But maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask your brother how he would feel about you dating Jake and go from there? You guys seem close, so maybe Tyler would be ok with it?" I try to sound optimistic because I can tell Payton is crushing hard on Jake.

"You're absolutely right Lila. I'll have to talk with TJ and see if that's it."

The rest of lunch flew by. The more I talk with Payton, Kelly, Rachel and Claire the more I can see how close they all are. Their different personalities compliment each other and they each seem extremely loyal to one another which is super important to me. The girls mainly talked about cheer the rest of our time together since all four of them are on the team. I haven't told them this yet, but I can already feel myself warming up to the idea of joining them on the team. I do really miss gymnastics and the closeness of having teammates to hang out with. Cheer wouldn't be totally the same, but it would be a way to compete again while getting to see my new friends. Who would have thought I would ever willingly consider putting myself in a sport that forces me to be the center of attention? Not me. It still freaks me out some, but the longer I listen to the girls talk the less scary it feels. I think I may have found my people here at Romeo.