Second Chance At Love

Nothings Changed.

Brynn

"Do you think he'll be mad at me?" I ask Lauren as we stretch for cheer practice. "Left!" she yells out to the girls. We switch our stretch to our left legs but I turn my head to face her. "Girl, no. You didn't do anything wrong. You're overthinking this," she says. I told her what happened yesterday between Cgc and I. I kind of abandoned him after half an hour of hanging out. I feel bad since I asked him to hang out, too. "You had to help your brother out with something, I'm sure he didn't mind," she adds. I told her the fabricated story I told Cgc. If she knew the full extent, then maybe her answer would be different.

I don't know. Maybe I am overthinking it. I just want to apologize for my weirdness. I tend to get that way whenever Ryle gets involved. My feelings and brain get all scrambled and I start thinking incoherently. "Yeah, thanks, Laur," I say with a forced smile. She nods, "Middle!" I pull my upper body forward between my legs. I'm planning on apologizing today so I just hope Lauren is right and he doesn't ask much more questions about what exactly happened.

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Lauren and Coach Jade really put us to work today. We ran two miles and lifted weights after. While being a college cheerleader has its fun moments, we also train extremely hard for Worlds. Worlds isn't until mid-April, but conditioning is important for not only football games but keeping up with our two and half minute routine. A lot of girls start getting tired after tumbling and stunts so cardio helps us keep a strong stamina. I exit the practice building, beads of sweat dripping down my face which is a light shade of red.

My sports bra and shorts stick to my skin from all the sweat I've produced. I'm still trying to catch my breath after that last set of chest presses. I'm going to be extremely sore tomorrow. "Hey," a deep voice speaks, interrupting my sudden daze. I look up and spot Valdez inching towards me. I force out a weak smile. "Hey," I pant out. "Good workout?" he asks with a smile. "Oh, the best," my tone is full of sarcasm. "Cheer is that intense? I never realized," he tells me. "Not a lot of people do."

And it's true. There's always been a debate on whether cheer is considered a sport or not. For any idiot that says it's not, it is. Put me on that fucking field with those football players and I bet I can outrun them. I'm kind of weak when it comes to lifting weight so I can't get on that, but I am strong. My arms are more defined than most, and my legs are skinny but have muscle. I would not have this body without all the training that comes with being a cheerleader.

Maybe I'm exaggerating when I say I can outrun football players just a little bit, but it helps my argument.

"I believe you. You have more muscle than DJ does," he says, pinching my bicep softly. I laugh, "You did not just call him out like that." DJ isn't the most muscular guy on the football team but he definitely has more muscle than me. Valdez laughs too. "Max and I are getting him in the gym more, he'll get there." I nod as we walk into the student lounge together. The cold air from the building feels amazing against my warm body. I tie my hair up in a ponytail as we take a seat across from each other.

"Hey, how's everything been by the way? Is stuff coming together even a little?" Valdez and I have become closer than I ever thought we would. He was one of Cgc's friends who was the most welcoming to me when I first started hanging out with them. We text occasionally and hang out in between classes. I wouldn't say it's anything like Cgc and I's relationship, but I know I can rely on him. "Yeah, a little. My dad is still being absurd but I've worked the other things out," he tells me. I give him a warm smile and rub his hand shortly.

"I hope it works in your favor. I've never dealt with an agitating parent but I can't even imagine how terrible it may be," I say with a slight frown. He shakes his head a bit. "Speaking of agitating parents. How is C feeling after last Sunday?" Oh, God. Last Sunday had become a mere thought in my head by now. I tried to push it out of my head per Cgc's request. It was worse for him than it was for me since they are his parents. "I have no idea. I think he's kind of not thinking about it anymore. You know how he is, he lets shit get to him for a bit but then pushes it away too quickly," I say.