"Atlas! Atlas! Atlas!!" Carrie and Vixxie shout at me as I walk into school on Monday morning. Having had the weekend from hell their energetics startle me, to say the least.

I did a double shift on Saturday to make up for the rent I'd had to pay my adoptive parents and then on Sunday I'd forgotten to do the washing up so... I'd upset my dad. With my mom being completely spaced out by midday my dad had more ability to do whatever he wanted, harder hits, harsher kicks.

He tends to be tamer around my mom, she doesn't like it when he's violent though she doesn't stop it.

My body aches with every step, feeling the bruising and lashes scaring over.

"What's up?" I sigh, obviously less enthusiastic than them.

"The lists up! The lists up!" They chant jumping on my arms, I giggle purely for the fact that Carrie already knows whos made the team since it was her decision but she still acts like she's none the wiser.

"Have you looked yet?" I ask Vixxie, she shakes her head, pulling me down the hallway to where the extracurricular board is.

It's surrounded by other girls either bursting with pride of faces full of disappointment. I wait for the crowd to disperse slightly before I move closer to the pinned-up sheet of paper.

I skim the names on the list, my eyes falling down until about halfway... my names up there.

I'm back on a cheer team.

The feeling warms me inside, a smile sneaking onto my lips.

Besides me, I hear Vixxie squealing and I see her name also on the list, right under mine. She wraps her arms around me in a hug and continues shrieking in my ear. It takes me by surprise but I reciprocate the hug.

When she draws back she's still smiling bright, "Thanks Atlas, I wouldn't have had the nerve to try-out without you, I would have been laughed out of there. I know I come off as this edgy, freaky 'I don't give a fuck' kind of person but I do give a fuck and I've always wanted to be considered one of these girls, someone that's part of something." She smiles sincerely.

"Well I should be thanking you, I get to cheer again." And it's brought part of me back to life.

"Well done Grove." A husky voice startles me whilst I'm gazing at the board. I turn to find Blaze stood beside me, clad in his letterman jacket.

"You scared me," I say admiring his still slightly damp hair.

"I tend to have that effect on people." He smiles smugly.

"Yeah. You scare the shit out of me most days." Brady laughs from beside us, "Well done guys, It'll make the games more interesting seeing you three in skimpy little skirts." He winks. I know its completely innocent but I guess Ethan doesn't when he shoves him in the chest making us all chuckle.

A few periods later I find myself sat in chemistry with Brady, we're conducting some type of experiment with hydrochloric acid and Brady decided to make himself my lab partner... although his idea of a lab partner is making me do all the work whilst he fiddles with the chemicals and tries to distract me.

"Brady you have to start recording the results." I moan, thrusting him the results table. He turns around with the lab coat pulled up over his head and his goggles on upside down, "What are you doing?" I giggle.

"I'm bored, this is useless. I don't like chemistry, the only chemistry I'm interested in is the chemistry between me and that brunette." He winks referring at the girl working across the bench from us. He smiles at her, watching her hair flip over her shoulder with a flirtatious giggle.

"Less flirtin more workin!" I rhyme passing him a pipet of hydrochloric acid.

"I take it back, you're not as fun as I thought you were." He pouts snatching the bottle from my hand.

"I guarantee you, she's a lot more fun to work with than Hannah." Vixxie pops up beside us goggles on top of her multicoloured hair, "Shes been taking digs at me all morning, just because I made it onto the team."

"I wouldn't worry about her, you've got more talent in your pinky then that bitch, her daddy just paid her way onto the team. She's nasty, bullies her way around the school... and she's not even that good in the sack." Brady says whimsically, my eyes make their way around their socket whereas Vixxie lets out a howl of laughter.

"I'll remember that." She snickers walking back to her workstation. I go back to watching Brady mess about with the equipment but instead of paying attention, my eyes drift to Blaze. He's sat at the edge of the room, head on his desk, I'm pretty sure he's asleep. He didn't look happy when our Chemistry teacher decided to pair us up. He refused to work with the guy he's been partnered with and just sulked in his chair tapping away on his phone or like his now, 'resting his eyes'.

He's so... mysterious...but intriguing. I've obviously seen him around school before, everyone has. It's hard to miss the six-foot-four gorgeous boy who dominates the hallways here. He's the star quarterback, to my understanding before he got here the team was in shambles but now they win nearly every state and national championship.

There's the usual rumours that run around about him like the rest of the football players but apparently, nobody really knows much about him, except obviously his closet friends.

I'm going to regret this but...

"Brady...?" I tug on his jacket.

"Whats crackalankin?" He places the pipet down on the bench.

"Can I ask you something?" He nods questionably, "What's the...uh... the deal... with Blaze...?" I waffle out, feeling nervous.

"What do you mean?" He chuckles, "Like as in girlfriends, because he doesn't do them-"

"No!" I practically shout, feeling my cheeks heat. Lowering my voice I move closer to him," You know... like he's one of the most popular guys in school but he's so mysterious and...brooding...different from the average... jock." I try and explain the best I can whilst Brady lets out a hearty laugh.

"You stereotyping us now? What am I the big dumb blonde jock?"

"No!" I exclaim flushing, I've dug myself into a big hole.

"I'm just messing with you. Look Blaze is Blaze... we've been best friends since we were four and I'm still tryna figure the guy out. He's made more effort with you than he ever has with anyone outside our circle... especially with that jacket thing." He winks, "But he's just you know... gone through stuff... stuff that changes a person." He looks sadly down at the bench.

"How come?" I prompt, even more, intrigued.

"Ah come on Atlas... bro code, you know I can't tell you. If Blaze wants to tell you he will- by some miracle that would be though. It's his private life, I can't tell you that." He frowns at me, "He's just been through a lot... I know he comes across a bit of a dick but give him a chance..."

I nod understandingly, I respect Brady for his loyalty. That's half the reason I've always warded away from friends. You tell someone something and nine times out of ten it'll end up as gossip and everyone will know and I just can't risk people finding out about my life.

"Actually... on the subject of friends... why did you want to become my friend? I haven't spoken to you in like three years, I didn't think you even knew who I was. I'm mousey little Atlas and you guys are you know... the most popular football players probably in the state." I exclaim, curious as to why these four popular boys have pitched up and ended up as my friends.

"Way boost my ego," Brady nods with content winking, "I don't know... I always used to see you in my classes and you'd look so lonely but you always have such a sweet demeanour, which made me wonder why you didn't have any friends. Then Connor was such an ass to you and I felt bad. I didn't want you to think we were all like him and that I thought I could make it up to you by becoming your friend." He shrugs and goes back to fiddling with the acid, nearly burning the desk as my insides flurry. I don't think he realises it but what he just said was so sweet. I've only really been hanging out with this group for a couple of weeks but Bradys right, they're nothing like Connor.

Where the hell is Vixxie?

I pull my phone out of my pocket and read over the message again, she text me during the last period to say she'd meet me at the athletics block so we could grab our cheer uniforms together.

But here I am... looking like a weirdo... just standing outside like I'm waiting for something to happen.

Which I am? But other students don't know that, they must just think I'm a crazy girl standing here for fun.

Maybe she's already gone in? I look to the door as some more students walk out of the exit and use that as my opportunity to get into the athletics building.

It's only accessible to athletics students and you need a kind of key card to get in, which is also what we have to pick up today with our uniforms.

It may sound a bit excessive but it cost a lot to build the state of the art facility and came as a 'donation' from a lot of the governors. Our school's sort of envied for their facilities and because of this we often host a lot of home games as well as other teams games.

I step inside the well air-conditioned venue and the first thing I notice is the walls lined with memorabilia. Pictures of past and present sports teams, hundreds of trophies and medals. I only usually come to the athletics block for gym and even then the teachers let you in a generic way to the changing rooms, I don't think I've ever seen this part before.

I walk a little further down the corridor passing two weight rooms, two indoor gyms and a few storage cupboards but I stop when I come across a large dance studio on my right.

The doors ajar so I can see whats going on, curiosity gets the better of me, I creep up and poke my head around discreetly.

Two girls are in pointe shoes and leotards are flying through the air to a melancholy song, I watch intently as they Saute and gilssè.

My chest aches at the longing to be able to do that again. The grace, elance and poise of dancing about in points. My toes itch to be broken by the danm things again.

So deep in thought, I don't realise the girls have packed up and are heading my way, I dart back down the corridor and watch them leave before I walk back to the door.

I push it open slightly so I can take another look in and my feet decide to move themselves forward, shuffling across the floor where the girls were dancing not just two minutes earlier.

I watch myself in the mirror, reflecting this washed out, tortured soul who once used to eat sleep and live in dance studios like this.

My bag drops from my arm and lands on the floor with a slight thud. Moving over to Barre in front of the mirrors I reach out to touch it. My hand hovering just above the equipment.

There's no harm in touching it.

You can do it, just touch it.

One step at a time.

As my hand finally reaches the barre my mind triggers back to a fond memory.

"Am I doing it, mommy?"

My leotard spins in achievement as I watch my momma beside me.

"Almost baby, just turn those feet out a little more." I copy her fluent movement, admiring how elegant she is. I want to be the exact same as her when I grow up, I want to be a dancer.

Tears brim at my lashline and I snap my hand away with such force I stumble backwards. I'll always remember dancing with her. She taught me to dance before I could walk.

I'm sorry momma, I tried.

"You know Blondie, the athletics block is only open to... athletes... technically your trespassing." Blazes' voice resonates around the hall, shocking me to my core.

"Jesus, don't scare me like that," I say rubbing my eyes quickly before I turn to see him leaning against the doorway, his wet hair dripping onto his forehead- obviously coming from practice.

"What are you doing in here." He nods to my dropped bag on the floor, I hastily rush to pick it up.

"Nothing, I just got lost on the way to the office to pick up my uniform." I lie looking back at the barre in regret.

"It's down the end of the corridor on the right." He says unconvinced.

"Oh yeah, uh thanks-" I look back from the bar but he's already gone.

Disappeared just like that...

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