The hotel hallway was filled with the energy of teenagers, the sound of laughter leaking from other rooms. Emerson dragged her cheer bag, the strap cutting into her shoulder. She was exhausted, but adrenaline still pulsed through her veins from Revelation's win earlier that evening.
She couldn't wait to sleep in the room she shared with Cayden, who was just as loud as Emerson was.
Cayden had beaten her there, apparently. The door to their room was already cracked open, and inside, Cayden was lying across one of the two full beds, still wearing her Revelation hoodie and her socks mismatched, as usual. The TV was on, muted, playing some random drama Emerson didn't recognize.
"Finally," Cayden said, sitting up when Emerson stepped inside. "I thought you were gonna stay out there forever. I'm starving."
"Why didn't you grab food?" Emerson asked, tossing her bag onto the floor by the window. She flopped onto her bed without even taking off her shoes.
"Because I'm not about to walk around alone in a hotel full of random cheer teams. Plus, I figured you'd wanna come with. But also, congrats on taking three hours to get here."
"I was talking to Coach, then to my mom, then to Maya. Sue me." Emerson rolled over, propping herself up on one elbow. "We did well today, though. Like, the crowd was insane."
"Insane," Cayden agreed, dragging the word out. "You know what wasn't insane? New girl's facials during the pyramid. Like, girl-are you happy or constipated?"
Emerson let out a loud laugh, burying her face in the pillow. "You're evil. But yeah, I saw that. I swear she looked terrified during it."
Cayden smirked. "And then trying to act like she wasn't about to drop poor Kylie. I was watching the judges' table-they were not impressed."
"Okay, but shoutout to Kylie for not losing it up there," Emerson said. She kicked off her shoes and wiggled her toes, finally feeling like she could relax. "I would've freaked out if new girl was supposed to catch me."
"Right?" Cayden leaned back, grabbing her phone from the nightstand. "Anyway, speaking of her, tell me why she's been DMing Jordan from my school like they're best friends."
"Wait, Jordan..." Emerson furrowed her brow. "Jordan Keene?"
"Yeah, Mr. Hotshot quarterback himself." Cayden raised an eyebrow. "I saw it on his story the other day. She commented like, 'Can't wait to hang out again!' or something. I'm like, 'Sis, since when do you know him?'"
Emerson sat up straight. "Oh my god, you're kidding. She's definitely trying to get with him."
"That's what I said!" Cayden laughed, shoving a pillow at Emerson's head. "But like, it's weird, right? She doesn't even go to our games or anything."
"It's her. She doesn't care about football. She cares about clout. I bet she's trying to 'accidentally' run into him next time you guys have a game."
"Well, joke's on her because Jordan's still obsessed with Cara. And Cara is not about to let new girl anywhere near him."
"Wait, who's Cara again?" Emerson asked. "Is she the blonde girl in your Snap stories all the time?"
Cayden snorted. "Yes. Blonde, tall, probably spends more on nails than I do on gas. She and Jordan have been on-and-off since, like, freshman year."
"Wow. So she's like, that girl at your school?"
"Pretty much," Cayden said. "But don't get it twisted-she's nice. Kind of dramatic, though. She threw a whole fit at our homecoming game because Jordan was talking to some girl from the other team."
"Honestly, I get it," Emerson said, laughing. "If I had a boyfriend and he was out here talking up the competition, I'd lose my mind."
"Right? And it wasn't even shady, but still. Cara was not having it. She made him leave the after-party early, and everyone was talking about it for weeks."
"High school drama is undefeated," Emerson said, shaking her head. "And now new girl is trying to join the chaos. Classic."
Cayden rolled her eyes. "Enough about her. What about your school? Are you still beefing with that girl...what's her name? Serena?"
"Oh, Serena's been quiet lately, thank god," Emerson said. She stood up and started rummaging through her bag for pajamas. "I think she got scared off after that whole thing in biology."
"What thing?" Cayden asked, leaning forward with obvious interest.
Emerson grinned. "Okay, so we were doing this lab, right? And she kept trying to boss me around, like, 'No, you're doing it wrong.' And I wasn't even doing anything yet. So I just handed her the beaker and said, 'Fine, you do it.'"
Cayden's eyes widened. "And what happened?"
"She shattered it. All over the counter. I just stood there like, 'Great job, Serena.' And of course, Mr. Barker made her clean it up."
Cayden let out a wheeze of laughter, doubling over. "Oh my god, she must've been livid."
"She was so mad," Emerson said, pulling a sweatshirt over her head. "But she couldn't say anything because it was totally her fault. Honestly, it was kind of satisfying."
"I love that for you," Cayden said, still giggling. "She's been annoying you forever."
"Seriously. And don't even get me started on her fake 'nice girl' act. She's always like, 'I just don't understand why people don't like me!' Maybe because you're the worst?"
"Big same energy as new girl," Cayden said. "They'd probably be best friends."
"God, I hope not," Emerson said. "The world can't handle that much fake energy in one place."
The girls dissolved into laughter again, and for a moment, the room felt lighter. The competition, the stress, the rivalry between schools-all of it melted away in the comfort of their gossip and shared exhaustion.
"So," Cayden said after a while, her voice quieter. "What happens if we don't win NCA? Like, do you think Coach is gonna freak?"
Emerson shrugged. "Probably. But honestly? I think we've got a shot this year. Tonight felt different, you know?"
"Yeah," Cayden said, nodding. "It did. We killed it."
"We're just that good," Emerson said with a smirk. "Now, can we please order pizza? I'm starving."
Cayden grabbed her phone. "Already on it. Pepperoni?"
"Always." Emerson stretched out on the bed, her body finally relaxing. "And maybe some breadsticks. We deserve it."
Cayden grinned, tapping away on her phone. "Hell yeah, we do. Champions gotta eat."
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S4H idk what next chapter aka February gonns be about
