Years Of Love

The Cheer(Leader)

Paige:

The entire team was at the dorm, getting ready for the night out. Paige sat on her bed, lacing up her sneakers as Kk hurried around the room, dragging her feet to move faster.

"Yo, Jana and Inês, make sure to keep an eye on Azzi while we're out, alright?" Paige called out, her voice casual but hiding the worry she felt about leaving her clingy, goofy girlfriend behind.

"We got it!" Jana yelled back from the living room, followed by Inês's thumbs up.

Paige shook her head, trying not to think too much. Tonight was supposed to be fun.

Suddenly, Kk's voice cut through her thoughts. "Paige! Let's go already!"

With a huff, Paige threw on her jacket and followed the rest of the team out the door, leaving behind the feeling that something might go wrong. They headed to the bar, laughing and cracking jokes as they walked in, immediately slipping into the vibe of the night.

Paige found herself a seat near the back, but it didn't take long for someone familiar to catch her eye.

"Hey, Paige."

She looked up, her stomach flipping. It was Shay, her ex-crush. The same Shay who rejected her back in high school, before Paige became a name everyone knew.

"Shay," Paige greeted, a little uneasy but masking it with a small smile.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Shay asked, leaning closer.

Paige hesitated for a second but shrugged. "Sure, why not."

Shay went off to grab the drink, and Paige kept herself busy by watching her teammates dance and laugh. When Shay returned, Paige didn't think much of it and quickly drank what she was handed.

Time blurred after that. The music got louder, and suddenly, Shay was pulling her onto the dance floor. Paige couldn't stop herself from laughing, feeling light-headed and unsteady, but it was fun. Or at least, that's what she told herself.

"Be right back," Paige slurred to Kk, her vision slightly swimming as she broke away to follow Shay to a quieter part of the bar.

The next morning, Paige woke up with a splitting headache. The sun streamed through the blinds, and she blinked, confused. Her brain was foggy, and something felt off. She turned her head and froze.

Shay was lying next to her, still asleep.

Heart racing, Paige bolted upright and quickly grabbed her phone from the nightstand. As soon as she unlocked it, a flood of missed calls and texts appeared on the screen. The most recent was from Azzi, along with everyone else on the team.

She scrolled through the messages in panic:

Azzi:
"Paige, where are you?"

Kk:
"Yo, what's going on?"

Caroline:
"You good?"

Ice:
"Paige, call me back. We saw something wild..."

There was also a picture attached. Paige's breath hitched as she opened it—a photo of her, clearly drugged and high, kissing Shay from the night before.

"Oh no..." Paige muttered under her breath. She glanced over at Shay, who was still passed out, and quickly got dressed. There was no way she was sticking around for that conversation.

She slipped out of the room quietly, closing the door behind her. As she made her way down the hallway, she spotted her entire team standing near the door, mugs in hand. Everyone was there, except Azzi, who was still asleep back in the dorm.

Kk raised her eyebrow, crossing her arms as Paige approached.

"So... you wanna tell us why you're trending right now?"