Dylan

Biker Poet

I try out for cheerleading anyway, and Dylan is scowling across the field the whole time where he has football practice. The head cheerleader isn't very nice to me, but I figure it must be her insecurities. She seems to have loads of them. 

Stella is her name, I think. She seems to be on the same wavelength with Dy because she is scowling at me with the same intensity he is. Huh. 

"Alright, girls," she says with false cheer, pumping her pom poms into the air. "Stay out in the sun and watch me."

All of us girls trying out have to stand in the sun while she does a quick routine in the shade. I squint but the glare from the sun is more than a bit blinding.

"Got that?" she smiles like a little blonde witch. "Now I'm going to count, and the first five that get it right is in. Ready? Five, six, seven, eight!"

And she keeps counting. I close my eyes and try to remember what her moves were and repeat them. 

"You!"

My eyes fly open. Me! 

But no, she is pointing at someone else. That girl happily skips into the shade. After that, everything goes downhill. 

I sulk, lying flat on the grass face-down. Earlier they'd chosen five plus an extra as reserve and I didn't get in. Hmph! I open my mouth and munch on some grass. It burst in green taste and a bit of earthy soil.

Someone starts laughing hysterically beside me. I turn my head, squinting against the sun, a lump of grass and dirt in my mouth. Oh. It's just Ethan-The-Hot-Biker-Guy. He wipes away a tear that rolled down his cheek. 

"What in the world are you doing, Merissa?" 

I spit out the grass and pout. "I didn't get in." Then I turn back to the grass and take another munch out of it.

"So you're eating grass? As comfort food?" He sits down beside me, shoulders still shaking with laughter.

I scowl at the empty patch in the ground. "I dunno," I mumble around the earth and grass. 

He pats me on the back. "Come on, I know a good place for food."

I scowl harder. "Havenff goff momeh oh meh."

"Haven't got money on you?" he guesses accurately. Whoa? I spit out my mouthful real quick and gape at him with shining eyes. 

"How did you guess?" 

He grins. "I have a little sister. I know how these things work. Come on, my treat."

I shoot up from the ground so fast the world spins. He grabs at me before I can plant myself in the ground. "Free food!" I yell at him. "Let's go!"

He laughs and searches his pockets, producing a badass biker bandana. "Here, you should wipe all that grass and dirt from your mouth first."

He leads to me his bike as I scrub furiously at my mouth. He grins at me, white teeth in the middle of all that tanned sun-kissed skin. My heart skips a beat and I looks at my chest curiously. What is that about?

Ethan hands me a helmet and I put it on as he swings himself onto his bike. Damn, his bike is so cool! Then he smirks and crooks a finger at me, motioning for me to get on. I try to imitate his movements but I swing myself right over like a javelin and I would have flown perhaps to space if Ethan didn't grab my arm and haul me back in time.

His shoulders shaking with silent laughter, he kicks the bike into gear and we zoom off. 

I have never been on a bike before, and it feels amazing. Wonderful. Liberating. I stretch my arms out and feel like I can fly as the wind tugs against my clothes. I can almost feel Ethan's smirk as he releases the handles and stretches his arms out as well. I know I should be afraid that now there's no one steering this ship, all I feel is thrilled. A car zips by us and honks loudly and for a long time, probably releasing some pent up frustration maybe from work or his wife and taking it out on us.