SEVENTEEN [ THIRTEEN REASONS WHY ]

[0.1]

Alice Rose-

The cold crisp air nipped at Alice Rose's skin as she walked out of the girls' locker room and onto Liberty High's turf. Dreading cheerleading practice, the girl reluctantly began her stretches in front of her teammates in hope that they would follow along.

"Why did this practice have to start so early?" Chloe Rice groaned as she started to stretch her quads. 

"Early? It's only- six in the morning," Alice shrugged and laughed along with her teammates, "This will be the only early practice this week, I promise. Besides, we need to work our butts off if we want our back-to-school pep rally to be the best one yet".

Jessica Davis then joined along by groaning loudly. All the cheerleaders' heads snapped toward their school when they heard deep-voiced laughter. 

"Football players," Alice mumbled coldly while staring at the boys jogging by the girls- catcalling the girls as they passed by. 

"Ignore them, ladies, they're all pigs-" Alice started to say, but was quickly cut off.

"Except for Bryce, of course," Chloe said quickly and waved over at the boys, "besides, the baseball players are the pigs".

"All of the baseball boys are on the football team, Chloe," Jessica mumbled, glaring over at Bryce, "All of them are pigs. Including the one you're dating". 

"Okay, let's stop before there's a fight. We're going to start with our roundoff's, Jessica- you first," Alice said after she glanced at the boys. 

-

"Senior year, crazy right?" Chloe said loudly looking over at her best friend, Alice.

"Right. Thank god, though". 

Both girls stood in front of Alice's locker while she placed her books down in it. Alice stared at the back of her locker. The green, cold, and metal thing seemed to judge her back as memories from the previous three years at Liberty High mocked her from the inside of her mind.

"Alice?" Chloe groaned causing Alice to laugh at the pouting girl beside her.

"What?" Alice asked before she slammed her locker shut and gripped her bookbag straps and began walking to Chloe's locker.

"Are you okay? You seem to be too spacey today and I'm not liking it," Chloe said softly as the girls approached Chloe's locker.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking-" Alice began but was soon cut off by her best friends boyfriend.

"Bryce!" Chloe Rice squealed as Bryce placed his hands around Chloe's waist.

"How are you lovely ladies doing this morning?" He asked winking at the girl across from him, making Alice lose her breath. 

"Perfect as always," Chloe said, smiling into their kiss, "okay, I was thinking-"

"That's never a good sign," Alice said quickly before abrupting into fits of laughter. 

"Oh shush, you're going to like this wuss puss," Chloe replied slapping her friend's arm and grabbing onto Bryce's hand.  

Though Alice would never admit, she was somewhat jealous that her beautiful friend had found 'the one' that she was happily dating. Alice longed for the feeling of someone making her feel special and wanted- but for girls like Alice, it was either she dates a complete douchebag of an athlete or the unusual weird kid who takes pictures of her friends- and neither seemed like the right choice for her.

"Okay, what is this idea?" Alice said now curious as to what Chloe was talking about.

"Bryce and I want to set you up with one of his friends. You need a boyfriend for your senior year and I know the right person for you," the girl said confidently. 

"Who?" Alice asked nearly jumping out of her comfort zone to agree with Chloe.

Alice watched as Chloe scanned the hallway for the boy she was looking for and desperately wanted to find, "he's around here somewhere," Chloe reassured her friend and suddenly jumped with joy when she saw him, "Montgomery- over here!" Chloe yelled while waving her hands in the air. 

Bryce scoffed at the boy Chloe had picked for their friend and Alice hid her blushed cheeks with her binder when she stared in agony as the boy walked toward them. 

"Ah- there you are Bryce," Monty said scratching the back of his neck.

"You're in for a treat, bud," Bryce said before patting Monty's back.

Montgomery scrunched his face up in confusion as he looked around at the girls standing next to Bryce.

"Well, Monty, you're single, right?" Chloe blurted out.

"Oh- yeah?" he replied. 

"Okay good. So is Alice so you guys go mingle," Chloe exclaimed as she pushed her friend toward the jock. 

"Hi," Alice said nervously as this was the first time she talked to Montgomery since the boy hit puberty and became a walking sex-machine.

"Ah, the beautiful, Alice Rose. At what do I the pleasure?" he asked making Alice blush a little more.

"Milkshakes at Rosie's after school?" Alice asked the boy desperately. 

Before Monty could answer, the school bell rang loudly signaling the students to get to their first-period class. Alice shrugged and sighed loudly before walking the opposite way than her friends. 

Alice entered the classroom and took an empty seat next to someone she knew. She played with her hands and looked up at the boy next to her.

"Clay," she groaned and sighed once again, "I need help".

"Alice," Clay Jensen said mockingly, "help with what?"

"Boys"

"Boys?"

"Yes, the male sex. You know.. what you are," Alice said trying to help her case in getting Clay to give her advice.

"Okay, um, lay it on me".

"What do you think of Montgomery de la Cruz?" she said quietly. not wanting the other kids in her class to hear. 

"Oh, him," Clay said breathlessly.

"Oh god, that doesn't sound good" 

"I mean- he's dreamy, he's a jock, and he's tall? Isn't that what girls like?" 

"You're no help," Alice huffed back. 

"Okay, seriously. For real, he's fine, I guess. Beside the pushing and shoving of Tyler or any of the kids in this school, he doesn't seem half bad. I'd watch out for his friend group. Bryce specifically," Clay said, his eyes not leaving Alice's.

"Bryce isn't bad," Alice said defending the boy- but her defense Alice stayed out of the drama around the athletes, she wasn't one who cared to know about the other kids business. 

"I'm sorry you think that way. Besides, haven't you spent more time with Monty- you know.. when Jeff was alive?" 

Alice rolled her eyes at the sound of her ex-boyfriends' name, "Jeff did everything he could to make sure I wasn't around the athletes, hence why I don't follow the drama around this school," she said folding her arms. 

"Jeff did a good job of keeping you away from the boys' on his team. I- maybe just don't spend much time with his friend group. If you do end up with Montgomery, be in it for him and not for him and his friends," Clay said emphasizing the 'friends' part of it.

"Thanks, Clay," Alice said and for the rest of class, Alice imaged all of the things that could be wrong with Bryce or the rest of Monty's teammates. Meaning, if the athletes or Monty were that bad- Chloe wouldn't spend all of her time around them, right?