[|]

"Thanks for the practice," I said while waving at the other cheerleaders as they walked away, waving back at me.

I dropped my hand and noticed someone out of the corner of my eyes. Axel was leaning against the side of his car, using his phone. I checked my wristwatch and then my cheerleading uniform. The outfit was an attractive one and I had noticed the way some of the basketball players had been looking at me when I did some of the simple moves with the others. So, I wondered what Axel would think of it.

I took deep breaths and walked over to him. I stopped before him and he raised his head. I held back my laughter when his eyes widened and lips parted in shock.

"Jackie?" He whispered in astonishment and slowly eyed my body. "You look so... So beautiful. Wow, you're the only cheerleader that looks great in this uniform."

I blushed. "Oh, come on. No need to lie now."

Axel chuckled. "I'm not. Anyway, how was practice?"

"It was fun. The girls were nice to me," I replied and tugged at the hem of my uniform. "I love the uniform. It's comfortable ye uncomfortable at the same time."

Axel smirked, which reminded me so much of his brother. It was at that moment I saw how alike they were. While Lucas looked taller, they possessed almost the same look. Dark hair, sharp face, and blue eyes that stared into your soul like a microscope.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked and pressed his car key then the headlights flashed with the sound of the doors clicking.

"Yes, I am. Thanks for waiting. You didn't have to," I said when he opened the passenger's door for me.

"It's nothing," Axel said and I boarded the car.

When he closed the door, I placed my backpack and the paper bag on the floor of the car. My eyes spotted the edge of the new phone box peeking out from the unzipped part of my backpack and I frowned. I needed to do something about this phone because I wasn't going to use it at all.

"Are you ready?" Axel asked the moment he got into the car.

"Yeah, I am," I said absentmindedly. I was too focused on thinking about what to do with the phone then an idea clicked in my head. "Could you drop me at the mall, please? I have to check something there."

"Okay."

[|]

I sighed in relief when I finally found a phone store then I got a text from Axel, telling me he needed to leave for an important task. I sent him back a text, telling him I was fine going home by myself before placing the phone back into my backpack.

I read the name of the store and walked into the cold and slightly busy place. My eyes scanned the place, taking in the counters with different phones displayed on top of them and the attendants speaking to customers. I spotted the one with the phone's brand logo printed on the front of the counter and then walked over to the young woman behind it. She looked up and smiled warmly.

"Hello. How may I help you, please?" She asked and leaned on the counter.

"Uh, I'm here to..." I dragged to a pause, not sure how I could pass my words across to her. Instead, I took out the phone from my backpack and dropped it on the counter.

"Um," the woman said while staring at the phone.

"I am here to sell this. Well, the thing is, I haven't used the phone since it's been bought and I don't want it. Can I sell this to you?" I rambled.

"I don't know but yeah if it's still in good shape and doesn't have a fault," she said and took off the top part of the box.

The young woman picked up the phone from the case and turned it on. The phone looked so slick and new that I felt so bad for selling it off but I had to, I needed the money for my college savings. As the phone powered on, she dropped it beside the box and took out the carton platform inside of it.

I furrowed my eyebrows when I saw a green-colored phone case. She took it out and blinked rapidly at it then looked back at the box. She picked out multiple stickers from inside the box and placed them on the smooth counter.

I could not help but be shocked at the stickers of Kermit the frog scattered on the counter. They were the same stickers on the back of my old phone and the phone cover was of the same character.

"Hold on, I think I remember selling this phone to a guy that came in here last week," she said and searched the box. "Yup, he was the one. This is my handwriting."

She showed me a receipt which I took from her hand. My eyes scanned the writings on the paper. Lucas' name was written on it as well as the price of the phone which was so expensive.

"You're one lucky girl because when he stepped into our store, he was so good-looking. Darn, I forgot I was in my early twenties. Well, he came to me asking for the most expensive phone on my counter which was that brand. He started rambling on how he needed it to have these stickers. We didn't have them so he paid me $100 to go find them in the mall. It took me thirty minutes but it was worth the money he paid me. I set everything up for him and you need to see the excitement on his face when he finally got the phone. Man, I wish I had a boyfriend like him. There are no good guys these days."

Too bad he isn't the good guy you think he is. I wanted to say it to her face but held myself back.

"Well, we broke up," I said with a fake sad expression on. "I don't want the phone anymore so can you please buy this? I have places to be."

The woman's expression changed instantly before she checked the phone and handed me what the phone was worth even though it was missing five percent of what Lucas bought it. I was still glad and walked out of the store.

I had not walked too far when I spotted Lucas talking to his sister, who I recognized from the party. My eyes widened when Ruth spotted me and patted his arm. I immediately looked around for a place to hide but there wasn't one. Before I could think of running away, Lucas turned his head and saw me.

I swallowed hard. If Lucas finds out I sold the phone, what would he do?