Breathing Blue

20. "Why stay?"

Before we knew it two weeks had already flown by and it was Friday.
Cheer practice after cheer practice drained us, but we were finally ready and excruciatingly tired.

"I feel like I'm going to collapse right in the midst of the game tonight." Cami muttered as she parked the car on campus.

"Yeah, it hasn't been easy." I chuckled as the car's engine could no more be heard. We both shuffled out of the car, cheer bags in hand. After stuffing everything in some lockers and walking among the very loud students of our college we both bid our goodbyes and went to class.

The typical day quickly flew by, filled with annoying professors, rude students, and a couple of jocks making crude remarks to a numerous amount of girls.

As I made way to the girl's locker room to meet up with the cheer team and set up everything, I couldn't help but think about the fact that I hadn't spoken to Aaron since last Monday, when we'd finally agreed to distance things between ourselves.
Had he taken it the wrong way?
I didn't want us to ignore or avoid each other, I just didn't want us to keep falling into the same toxic pattern. We had our differences, but it felt as if we couldn't keep our hands off of each other every time we'd be close. That's what I felt the need to stop. Not our 'friendship' or whatever he wanted to call it.

If only he'd stop being such an asshole.

"Earth to Havoc!" A high pitched voice snapped me out of my daze. I slightly shook my head and focused on the brouhaha of the girls around me.

"You're out of it." Sarah giggled and threw me a pair of pompoms that I swiftly caught.

"Can't argue with that." I smiled at her as I placed the pompoms inside my locker, before fishing out the bag where I had put the skimpy cheerleading outfit Claire picked out. 

"I look hot!" Cami exclaimed as she looked at herself into the large mirror we had installed in the room.

"The only bummer about this outfit is that we have to wear it in front of the whole student body, another college, parents, and professors." Maria grumbled as she slipped the tight blue skirt on.

"How exactly am I supposed to cheer in this?" I groaned as I myself slithered into the outfit.

"We'll find a way, I guess." Cami said before applying some makeup on.

The chirpy atmosphere and laughter helped us cope with the stress of our first game of the year. Everything was pretty much smooth sailing until the awful sound of heels clicking against the floor could be heard.

"Incoming." Fatima sighed as the sound of heels increased.

"You're not here to chit-chat," Claire screeched as she entered the room.
The girls and I hushed, preparing ourselves for the worst.

"You girls aren't on the fucking cheer squad to talk. We have a game tonight and you better be ready, because if so much as one of you fuck up it'll be on me." She seethed, locking eyes with each and every one of us with her emerald green eyes.
Her makeup was done to perfection, her usual porcelain skin masked with spray tan and her long fiery hair put up in an immaculate half-up, half-down ponytail.

"Claire, you're the one that wanted to be cheer captain. Suck it up." Delphine groaned.

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you." Claire snarled as she sashayed over to Delphine, chin high and arms crossed.

"Let me remind you that your daddy works for my father. Not only is your mother unemployed but your idiot dad can barely do his job right. My father is dying to fire him. One more squeak, and I'll just have to slip a word to him. And poof," Claire made jazz hands with her manicured nails before continuing, "Daddy dearest won't have any way of making money." She chuckled as Delphine's posture deflated. She now stared at her feet, her face locked and devoid of emotion.