I roll over in my bed too tired (and sore) to open my eyes. I search around blindly for my phone that's dinging with text alerts, waking me up. This week has been intense. Payton wasn't kidding when she said she'd give me a stunt boot camp. I've basically lived and breathed cheerleading the last two days. She arranged for my stunt group to meet for extra reps before and after practice each day so I could be caught up to speed. I'm exhausted but surprisingly feeling much more confident filling in for Payton in the routine.

BFFS:

Payton: Rise and Shine☀️.....it's Pep Assembly Day!!!! It's Lila's debut routine at Romeo and I am here 👏 for 👏 it 👏

Kelly: Yesssss 👸🏼 Let's do this!

Rachel: Agreed, you're gonna be awesome Lila! Nobody has worked harder than you 💪🏻

Claire: So excited for today. We'll miss you out there with us, Pay 💔

Payton: 💜

Lila: Payton, haven't I told you not to text me before 7am?! 😴 But anyways.....thanks girls 💗 😱

Payton: I've been up for an hour! I'm too excited. Can't wait to watch y'all kill it 🙌🏻 Lila, you especially 🥰 How are you feeling about today?

Lila: Anxious but also surprisingly ready. I couldn't have gotten this far without all of your help. 🥰

Payton: Heck yea you're ready! That's our girl! PS We'll always have your back!

Rachel: Always♥️

Kelly: Yep, you're stuck with us for good now 👯‍♀️

Claire: agreed💗💗

Lila: I think I'm ok with that 😊

******

Everyone's filing into the gymnasium for the Pep Assembly and my palms are getting sweaty. I sneak off to find a quiet corner so I can visualize the routine in my head one last time. It's a trick my old coach taught me before big competitions. I imagine myself hitting each skill, each step on the mat, every motion from start to finish. It's my way of blocking everything else out to get into the zone. I have my eyes closed and am walking through the routine in my mind when I sense someone next to me. I don't have to open my eyes to know who it is.

"Hey."

I open my eyes to the tall gorgeous boy wearing the number thirty three jersey.

"—Sorry, I wasn't trying to interrupt your 'pre-game rituals' or whatever you're doing. Just wanted to tell you good luck. Not that you need luck. You're gonna be great." Tyler gives me his signature smirk that always makes my heart skip a beat.

"That's alright, I was basically done. Just going through the routine in my head one last time to try and focus my nerves into something more productive. But enough about that, how about you? Talk to me about something else to distract me. Are you ready for your big game later tonight?"

"Yeah....I think so." Tyler shifts his weight from one side to the other uncomfortably. I sense a slight hesitation in his voice. "The Titans are having a really good season so it won't be easy. I know their QB pretty well, he's in the running to be an All American." The look on his face tells me he's not saying everything.

"I know someone else who's in the running to be an All American...." I give him a gentle nudge on the shoulder.

Tyler is an incredible player. He's got tons of schools scouting him from what I hear. Yet, right now I don't see the confident star quarterback standing next to me. Instead, I see someone who is trying to put on a front to hide how he's feeling inside.

"You know you can always talk to me, Tyler. I'm told I'm a pretty good listener." I place my hand on his arm out of instinct.

Tyler's eyes turn to mine. For a moment everyone else disappears.

"I don't know how you do that."

"Do what?" I ask.

"See me." He smiles. "You always seem to see right through me. I've never known anyone who could read me so easily the way you can."

"Oh." I blush.

"But sense you asked and their's no point in hiding stuff from you....I'm actually pretty anxious about tonight. Between the scouts that are supposed to be at the game, how well the Titans have been playing and the pressure from everyone, Coach, my teammates, the whole town.... I guess I'm just feeling the weight of it all. I know that probably sounds dumb to you, I get that it's just a game, but football is all people see me as. I'm 'TJ the QB', I'm never just me. If we lose the game tonight everyone will blame me and I really hate the idea of failing everyone."

"I don't think that sounds dumb at all." I pause to make sure Tyler is hearing me. "You know, someone wise once told me not to carry the weight of all my teammates on my shoulders...or maybe in this case, the weight of the whole town...." I give him a little smirk.

"That's some pretty good advice. Must be a smart guy." Tyler grins. The twinkle in his ocean blue eyes returns.

"Win or lose, I'll still be cheering you on." I squeeze his bicep. "And I think you're wrong....You're more than just a QB to people. At least you are to me."

Tyler's face ignites into a giant smile. He looks visibly more at ease then when we started this conversation.

"Thanks Lila, and I'll do the same for you. I'll still cheer you on whether you crush your pep assembly routine in a few minutes or completely crash and burn in front of the entire scho-"

I swat Tyler in the stomach before he can finish his sentence.

"Ooof." Tyler grabs his gut, laughing. "Easy Bruiser, I have a big game tonight remember? I can't have injuring me before it starts."

"You think you're so funny....." I say with an exaggerated eye roll. Cocky, banter Tyler is back which means he must be feeling better. "Thanks for building up my confidence right before I have to go on." My voice is thick with sarcasm as I begin to walk away from him.

"Hey Lila!" Tyler calls out to me.

"Yeah?"

"Be fearless out there. You're gonna kill it. " This time when he says it, I know he's not joking.

I give Tyler a big smile. "K."

*****

"This is it ladies. You've worked incredibly hard this past week so now I want you to go out there and show your school what you can do!" Coach Kim shouts to us mid huddle.

I'm lodged between Payton on crutches and Kelly. Everyone is squeezing each other tight, filled with all the anticipation and adrenaline. There's a palpable energy radiating off of each of us. It's one of the best feelings in the world.

"Let's put our hands together for the back to back Cheerleading State Champions! Your very own Romeo Bulldog Varsity Cheerleaders!" The MC announces over the loud speaker.

My team rushes the mat. The entire gym erupts in a roar. It feels like we're making our entrance to the Super Bowl or something. From the corner of my eye I see Tyler yelling and clapping for us in front of the Senior bleachers with Jake and Mason. He gives me a reassuring head nod which I try not to let distract me. I take a steadying breath and say a quick prayer. Please don't let me fall on my face.

The opening of the routine is an explosion of tumbling which keeps the crowd cheering loudly for us. Kelly and I perform our spring tuck pass together with power. A few more teammates throw passes as the music amps up to our partner stunts. This is the true test for me. Here goes nothing. My heart is pounding in my chest. Kelly squeezes my ankle extra tight when we load up the OLE. We're the second stunt to go up in a ripple. I pull to a Heel Stretch facing the front and then we quarter turn so I can pull to Mav before twisting down to cradle. So far so good. Next it's a moving Show-N-Go to transition to the Pyramid stunts. Payton's spot is the center, which means I'm now the center. No pressure. Side stunts go up next to me, Claire and another girl on our team, Zoe, reach down for my hands. Claire and Zoe hoist me into the air as bracers so I can do an assisted Tic Tok Lib to Flat Back. From there my group drops me down to prep before throwing me back into the air so I can do a forward flip back to cradle. I'm gripping my bracers for dear life throughout the whole sequence. By some miracle I land upright in a Cupie extension just like I'm supposed to. I can't believe we just did that!

For a split second I look out into the crowd while I'm still at the top of the pyramid. The gym is booming with the sound of all our classmates and teachers cheering for us but the only person I want to see is Payton. I spot her on the floor next to coach a few feet off the mat screaming like a lunatic. She's got her crutches waving around in the air and the biggest proud smile on her face.

I come down from the pyramid so relieved I've done Payton proud. She's been so patient with me and worked so diligently the last few days. I may never become as talented as she is when it comes to flying but right now none of that matters. Hitting this pyramid is just as much a victory for her as it is for me.

All that's left of the routine for me is my final tumbling pass. My teammates break into a few eight counts of dance while I catch my breath. I get to my spot at the corner of the mat as I watch them kill it. The crowd is totally into the dance too. They even start clapping to the beat of the music. Finally it's time for my teammates to clear a runway across the floor. It's my turn to go. I burst from the corner of the mat doing a Punch Front, Round Off, Double Spring, Full Twisting Layout. My feet barely hit the floor to land when the gymnasium goes insane. Everyone is on their feet in an uproar as the final pose is hit. We did it. We hit it all. Every stunt, jump, tumbling pass, everything. My fingers are pulsing from all the adrenaline I have coursing through my veins.

"You did it!" Payton yells in my ear. She's tossed her crutches completely and resorted to jumping on one foot to meet me at the corner of the mat. All my other teammates swarm us in celebration.

"No...we did it! There is absolutely no way I could have done this without you. Thanks for believing in me." I shout over all the noise to Payton.

"I knew you had it in you since I first watched those YouTube clips this summer." Payton laughs in my ear.

Kelly, Claire, Rachel, Payton and I settle onto the floor in front of the Junior Class Bleachers. I'm still trying to catch my breath while riding the high from our performance a minute ago. There's a megawatt smile cemented to my face. That is until I see Quinn Davis giving me a nasty look from across the floor. She's with the dance team getting ready to go on next. Seriously, does this girl have nothing better to do then give me dirty looks all the time?

Quinn takes the front and center position in the middle of the gym floor. Of course. The music begins and we all watch as the Dance Team begins their HOCO routine. I don't like admitting it because I don't particularly like the girl, but Quinn is an extremely talented dancer. It's hard not to notice her as she performs each perfect pirouette. Which, if I'm honest with myself, totally sucks because watching her puts a sour taste in my mouth. I don't want to stoop to her level but choosing to be the bigger person is getting increasingly harder by the day.

When the dance team finally finishes their performance Quinn saunters over to the Senior bleacher section. She looks me dead in the eye and then conveniently cozies up next to Tyler on the floor. I hate the fact that Quinn being close to him makes an instant pit form in my stomach. It shouldn't. Tyler isn't my boyfriend. We're just friends. English partners. Sometimes we casually flirt with one another but Tyler does that with everybody so it shouldn't feel special. Yet seeing her close to him makes me look away defeated.

"Alright it's time for everyone's favorite Pep Assembly game! The Ten Person Class Pyramid Competition!" I'm pulled from my thoughts to the voice of the MC over the speakers again.

"The what?" I question Payton who's sitting to my right.

"It's a silly competition we do at every Pep Assembly. Each class has ten people build a pyramid as fast as possible. The class that gets everyone up without falling over the fastest gets to keep the trophy until next year." Payton tells me.

"Oh. That's kinda strange." I laugh. "Who does it?"

"You do this year!" Kelly grabs my arm and yanks me up. "Payton is normally our top girl but she's out being cripple so you can fill in." I'm dragged by the arm to the center of the gym before a word can even escape my mouth.

"This is serious Lila, it won't be easy to win but we gotta try. The teachers are the judges and they always favor the senior class every year so we have to be so fast that it gives them no choice but to declare us the winners." Chase coaches me as the eight other juniors in our group start lining up. "I'm gonna need you to pull out that inner beast of yours and climb to the top of this human pyramid the same way you scaled that rope in weight training."

I can't help but laugh. Chase is completely serious right now.

"Oh is that right? You need me to pull out my inner beast?" I say in air quotes.

"You heard me right! Look at those cocky seniors over there. Do you really want to let Jake, Mason and TJ beat us? I know I don't!" Chase says.

Across the floor from us is the group of ten seniors getting ready like we are. Tyler looks our way, dragging his thumb across his throat and gesturing 'you're dead' to Chase and I.

Oh it's on.

The seniors do have a stacked team which will be hard to beat, but we can take them. I'm suddenly one hundred percent in on this silly game, especially when I realize Quinn of all people is the seniors top girl.

"Let's do this." I say to Chase, Kelly and any other members of our team who are listening.

"That's my girl!" Kelly lets out a loud evil laugh and we all get into position.

"On your mark, get set, GO!" The MC yells into the microphone.

All four groups hustle to build their pyramids. Each section of bleachers is wildly yelling random encouragement down to the ten students below that represent their class. Since I'm the top girl on our team I'm the last to climb up. I'm watching all the other groups form their pyramids while I wait impatiently for my turn to go. The freshman class is struggling big time. They keep collapsing before the third row can even get fully on. The seniors are solid and fast like I expected, but not fast enough!

I climb up to the top in a swift three steps. When I reach the top I pump my fist in victory! Across from us I watch Quinn reach the top of her pyramid a moment later. It was close but the juniors clearly won and we know it. Our group is celebrating in a giant hug while the group of teachers in the center get ready to present the winners (clearly us) with the trophy.

"And this year's winning team is......the Seniors!" The MC yells out on the mic.

"What?!" Kelly looks ticked. "You've got to be joking me!"

"No way! We clearly won!" Chase yells towards the MC who only shrugs back, giving no further explanation.

A giant "BOO" from the Junior Class bleachers rings out through the gym. We were totally robbed and everybody knows it.

Quinn jumps on Tyler's back while they all celebrate their (fake) victory. One of the teachers hands her the trophy and all the seniors start chanting "SENIORS, SENIORS!" It sucks that the teachers let the Seniors win, but what stings more is seeing Quinn all over Tyler.

Chase swings his arms over Kelly and I as we turn to go back to our seats defeated.

"Come on, it's not worth it. It's the same situation every year. The teachers always throw it for the Seniors. Everyone knows we're the real winners." Chase tries to sound encouraging.

"Yeah, you're right.....still annoying though." Kelly grumbles under her breath.

I don't say anything, I still have my eyes glued on Tyler and Quinn celebrating with their classmates.

"Hey you ok?" Payton whispers to me when I sit down next to her again.

"Yeah I'm good." I lie. I shouldn't be this upset over losing. But lets be real, that's not really what's bothering me.

Payton doesn't believe me. I swear she can read my mind sometimes.

"Don't worry about Quinn, she's nothing compared to you." She gives me a little wink.

"Wha....I wasn't....?!" I laugh under my breath. "Thanks, Pay." I give her a smile that says what she already knows. I'm definitely crushing on her brother whether I like it or not.