Fifteen: Free Fallin'

Chapter 32: Lady

Brooke was a ball of nerves for Avery. The shark on the Winchester team was every bit of his nickname and was out for blood. He and Avery were the best of both teams and they knew it. Everyone knew it. They had one more race and this would be the tie breaker.

"Avery's got this, right?" Brooke asked through closed fingers. Jaden laughed and removed her hand from her eyes. "He's got this. The man is a fish." They all cheered as the two took off. They were so close it was hard to tell from the stands who was in the lead. As they finished it was still uncertain who had one until the judges announced the win went to Texas U.

They were all on their feet screaming cheers. "That's my boy!" Caleb cheered as Aria and Sophia Kate clapped on excitedly. They all met Avery at the front of the Aquatics Center and congratulated him. "You were amazing," Brooke smiled giving him a hug that he returned. "Thanks. Thanks to all of you guys for coming out and supporting me. It really means a lot." They all nodded. "That's all great and dandy, but can we eat now?" Preston grumbled. "Oh, the poor baby needs his bottle," Elsa cooed making fun. They all laughed as they made their way to the campus café. "I got a bottle I'll put in your mouth," Preston whispered in Elsa's ear causing her to gasp and blush.

JT watched on and shook his head. "What's your problem with them?" Faye asked him as they all walked towards the café. "He's going to break her heart and then I'll have to kill him and I really don't want to kill a friend or go to jail. I'm too pretty." Faye chuckled at him. "Do you trust Elsa?" He nodded wholeheartedly. "Then trust her enough to know she's aware of what she's risking and doing it anyway because she likes him that much." JT thought on it and then looked at her. "You're not just talking about Elsa, are you?" Faye shook her head no. "I know that you're going to break my heart, JT, but you're worth the pain anyway." She smiled as she walked into the café.

They grabbed their food and talked about what the remainder of the day would entail. "Okay, so all the boys come pick us up at Bridgestone Manor at 6:30 pm sharp. The ball begins promptly at 7 pm, but we want to be able to walk around and take pictures." Elsa instructed with a clap. "I'll be with the guys," Gracia informed garnering her looks from the girls.

"What I want to be just as wowed as they are going to be when I see my lady in her dress. Besides, who do you think is going to keep these knuckle heads in line." The girls nodded in agreement. It was already 1:45 pm and the girls still had nails, hair and makeup to do before getting into their dresses.

Jaden, Preston, Gracia and Caleb were all getting dressed in Caleb's room, while Tyler, JT, Stefan and Avery were all getting dressed in Avery's room. Both rooms were on the same floor and across from each other in Ellenton so they were able to just walk across the hall to talk or grab something.

They had a lot of time in comparison to the girls so they all sat in Caleb's room watching James Bond, while Gracia painted her nails. "So, on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being brains exploding, how are we going to be tonight?" Tyler asked. Gracia smiled up at them. "Honestly...15." They all groaned happily.

"I'm not even kidding. I think all of their dresses were made for them. Ty, that pink on Olivia...you might cry." She chuckled as he smiled widely. "JT and Preston, I know you two are the big bad hombres, but when you see Faye and Elsa you might want to change your ways."

JT scoffed. "No outfit is capable of that much power. I don't care what you say." Gracia shrugged. "Okay, don't say I didn't warn you." JT rolled his eyes. "Did they say why they wanted us to pick them up at Bridgestone Manor and not Abington since more of them live there?" Caleb asked. "I don't know. Abington is closer to the venue too." Jaden offered. Gracia sighed and shook her head.

"You're such boys. Bridgestone Manor has in suite bathrooms, so they don't have to deal with anyone other than themselves. But more importantly, it has that grand double-sided staircase that will force you Prince Charmings to wait patiently at the bottom while your Princesses come down to meet you, duh!" She said blowing on her toenails.