Not One Of The Girls - Part 15

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Once we reached the foyer there was another quick round of hugs before we stepped out into an almost bitterly cold night, at that point I was regretting my decision to wear the skirt that I had chosen that day, in hindsight I should have worn tights or at least a pair of pantyhose. With cheerful goodbyes, the girls scattered off to their various modes of transport.

Some like Cass had use of her mom's car when the Fleeting matriarch wasn't using it, others like Emily and Chloe had a par-ent collecting them. Much like my choice of attire, I was regretting my decision to refuse Mom's offer to come to pick me up at the end of the evening, I had shooed her with the insistence that I would get a lift with one of the girls, whilst having every intention of walking.

It's not that I specifically didn't want my mom to pick me up; I just spent so much time recently being driven places or walking with my friends, I was genuinely looking forward to the walk home alone. Upon seeing Elaine sitting behind the wheel of her seven-seater, I waved vigorously, I could just see in the darkness of the truck that she smiled and waved back, certainly a lot more gracefully than I had. I turned to confirm with Kiera that I would meet her at the usual spot in the morning before tugging my jacket closer in an attempt to keep warm, I lamented my heavy and overly large hoodies and sincerely regretted getting rid of all of them.

After a quick final hug from Kiera, I began to head down the garden path onto the street. I was just plugging in my music when a car pulled up beside me, I jumped slightly as I turned to see a man in his late thirties grimacing as he rolled his window down. "You shouldn't be walking home alone at this time of the day" he insisted as he nodded to indicate that I get into the car. "Right...um?" I murmured hesitantly.

I had no idea who the guy was, and I was reticent to even step closer to the car, let alone get in. "Just get in the car, asshole" I heard Chloe's bright voice as she leaned across the man to peer out at me with a beaming grin on her face, I sighed in relief as I realized that the man was Mr. Granger, Chloe's Dad, I had never met the man and there wasn't enough of him in Chloe; looks-wise, for me to connect the dots. With a shy smile, I swung my backpack from my shoulder and stepped towards the car.

So much for my walk home huh? I slid into the back seat and once I had clipped the seatbelt, we pulled away. Chloe and I chatted practically non-stop as we drove towards my house; it did occur to me that I had never actually relayed instructions as to where I lived, yet Mr Granger drove concisely; even taking a couple of shortcuts that I wasn't aware of. I did ask him about it, but it was Chloe that explained that he knew the addresses of all of her friends, I made an off-hand comment about that fact being a bit creepy which just made the man laugh heartily before explaining that he worked in the local police force directly under Kee's Dad, that was how he had access to such information.

I also discovered that although Chloe didn't look much like her dad, they had a similar sense of humor, and although 'Mrs Granger' was apparently something of an overbearing Mom; liking to have a little too much involvement in Chloe's life and was, as such, very judgemental of everything that Chloe did, her dad was completely laid back and professed that; if his daughter was in good company and was looking after herself and staying safe, then she should be free to live her life.

I soon came to understand and respect the dichotomy of Chloe's life better, her parent's attitudes conflicted, and it reflected in the girl's personality. As we pulled onto my street and pulled up outside of my house, I thanked Mr. Granger for the lift home, to which he turned and smiled curtly as he responded, "Of course love, I wouldn't see one of my daughter's friends walking home alone at this time of the day, especially at the moment, there are some unsavory sorts about right now".

His statement reminded me of the conversation over dinner where Mr. Fellows was telling his wife about the kidnapping case that was perplexing his team. I shivered slightly at the realization that I had been intending to walk home alone, I thanked my lucky stars that my friend and her dad pulled me over when they did.

I turned to Chloe who insisted on giving me a somewhat awkward hug. Although she had temporarily removed her belt to turn in her seat, we still had to contend with the fact that she was in the front passenger seat with myself in the back, so we only had the narrow gap between the seats to hug through.

As I said, it was awkward, to the point that we giggled madly when the embrace ended. I grabbed my backpack and popped the door, as I clambered out Chloe hollered after me, "Hey Allie, don't forget a pair of black jeans tomorrow". I smiled in acknowledgment as I swung the door shut and headed up the path to my front door, I heard the car pulling away as I pushed my key in and swung the door open. I stepped into the entrance hall and quietly slipped my shoes into the shoe rack, before padding barefoot into the living room. I jumped slightly upon seeing Mom curled up on the sofa reading a book, I would have thought she would have gone to bed by now, given that it was just after ten o'clock.

She smiled keenly as she unfurled herself and placed her book on the unit beside the sofa, whilst removing her reading glasses and folding them carefully on top of the book. "How was your evening lion?" she asked as I shuffled over and dropped onto the couch beside her. "Dinner was amazing-" I couldn't help but smile as I thought back to the chicken "Their chef; Ari, knows his stuff' I asserted to an almost stunned look from my mom. "The Fellows have a chef too? Between that and the castle they live in, I'm beginning to think your father chose the wrong career" she joked.

I grinned before grumbling, "I nearly had a bit of a falling out with a couple of the girls though" Mom looked a little concerned as she leaned back, allowing me to lay against her "I mean it wasn't like a full-blown 'I hate your guts' moment or anything, but we definitely had different opinions on the guy that Chloe is seeing and it kinda drove home how different we all are as people" I murmured.

I heard my mom chuckle slightly as she said, "I wouldn't worry too much about it, you wouldn't believe the number of arguments El and I had with friends over the years, there are some that we still don't speak to, over trivial things no less-" she paused for a moment before insisting "take it as a testament to your bond with them, that you can disagree over something and still remain the best of friends.

After all, you wouldn't want to be friends with a group of girls that have everything in common with you, life would be pretty boring, you know?". I nodded slowly; she had a point. "How'd you and Mrs. Fellows get to be so wise?" I asked nonchalantly as Morn shifted herself slightly so that she was more comfortable, "Life, dear. Sara and I were young girls once too you know. We've been through the ups and downs, so we're a veritable pool of knowledge...as long as our daughters are willing to listen".

She kissed the top of my head before leaning over to retrieve her book once more, I just laid there for a while with her heartbeat thudding softly in my ear. I soon found my own heart rate slipping into rhythm with hers, between that and the steady rise and fall of her breathing and the occasional flicking of her turning pages in her book, I found myself dozing off.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed when I felt a gentle nudge and opened my eyes groggily, I rubbed my eyes tiredly before sighing at my mistake, I was about to head to bed and wash off my make-up anyway, but now it was smudged all over the inside of my thumbs as well as my face. I smiled weakly at Mom as she chuckled at my disheveled state, "You looked so adorable just curled up sleeping, but it's nearly midnight, we should head up" she insisted. I nodded my agreement as I clambered to my feet and with a brief hug from Mom, I fumbled my way upstairs to wash and get changed for bed.

Friday was pretty much the same as the rest of the week, the only real exception being that the girls were dressed in their cheer uniforms and there seemed to be a general buzz of anticipation for the game that afternoon. It wasn't like I'd never noticed the buzz about football games before, I guess I just kind of blanked it out, it didn't have anything to do with me, so I tended to ignore it. This time, however, I got swept away with the atmosphere, my friends were so hyped for the game that I couldn't help but be excited by the prospect.

I was genuinely interested in seeing some of the cheer routines that Kiera and the girls worked tirelessly on and with the reputation that some of the guys on the team had, I was eager to see them all in action. The oddest part of my day; I think, was the fact that at least three guys from various athletics teams pulled me aside between classes to ask me on a date, I blushed furiously as I turned each of them down, citing that I was very much into my studies at that time and wasn't looking for a boyfriend.

As each of the guys left; looking crestfallen and in one case, haughtily confused, I would rejoin my friends where they would give me knowing looks, which just added to my embarrassment. "I hate you all so much" I grumbled after one such incident, in which after re-joining the girls, Emily started quoting some poem about a black widow; hunting victims in the night, though she replaced the aforementioned 'black widow' with me instead, this caused the other girls to crack up laughing. "So...so much" I sighed.

The other odd thing that happened was that I didn't see Damien. I was surprised and a little disappointed, I remembered seeing his bike when I arrived at school, but he didn't arrive in any of our classes. I messaged him on his cell, but I didn't receive any response, I didn't realize how down I was about not seeing him until Chloe called me out during lunch. "You got your panties in a bunch because your boy-toy isn't here today or what?".

I looked up from my lunch quickly to see a mix of sympathetic and amused faces. I shook my head slowly, "No...no, I just-" I began but it was Cass that cut me off. "You can't pull the wool over our eyes; you've been moping since the first period. The only thing that fits the bill is Mr. Lynch, not being here-" she purred as Chloe and Kiera nodded. "It's not so much that-" I defended "it's just that I messaged him, and he hasn't got back to me" A couple of the girls shared a look before Emily asked, "You never thought that he might be in an appointment and can't message you back right now?

I mean he was in a car crash, not that long ago, he probably has follow-up appointments". I felt myself flush as I calculated what was being said. I was about to argue the point about his bike being there and that he would've told me if he had an appointment, when Kat purred, "Look, Damien Lynch is a big boy. He's fine and he'll message you when he's available. Now, stop worrying so much and just enjoy the game this afternoon". I turned to say something sardonic to her, but there was something in the cool look the blonde gave that made me hesitate.

I smiled coolly, before muttering, "You know what...you're probably right, he'll message me when he's ready. I'm just being paranoid". With that, the day continued, we got to chatting about the game as several of the guys were eager to reinforce that I would indeed be going. I heard Emily muttering to Kiera about me developing a Tan club'. I turned to scowl at her which just caused the two older girls to laugh manically.

By the time of the game, for some reason I was nervous. It wasn't like I was involved in the sport or even the theatrics of the cheer squad, but I really hoped they did well. I think it was a school pride thing. Emily had managed to snag me one of the silly Ryden Rhino horn headbands that they sold on the concession stands, which I slid onto my head, feeling for all my worth like a bit of an idiot, I kept fidgeting with it until Kat admonished me, telling me that a lot of girls would be wearing one of the bands including the cheer squad and that I should think myself lucky I didn't have to pay the nearly ten dollars to purchase one.

"How much?" I grumbled as I consciously stopped fiddling with the ornament. I followed the girls around the bleachers to the seats just behind where the second stringers would hang out. "You can grab a seat anywhere around here; it'll be the best view of all of the action" Kiera explained as the squad removed their jackets and began warming up. The stand was still quite empty, but of course, the girls needed to be limber, ready for the pre-game show.

I honestly still thought the whole thing was a little mad, the amount of time, money, and effort that went into football, even at the pro level, let alone mere 'high school football. I really did get into the spirit though as the crowd started filing in and the opposing team's cheer squad appeared. Both cheer squads looked amazing, both sets of girls were dolled up to the nines and casting skits back and forth with a mock rivalry, then of course when the teams have introduced the skits became about putting the other team off, with slightly promiscuous dance moves and chants designed to 'rattle' the other team, it was rather enjoyable and the game hadn't even started yet.

I laughed along with everybody else as our Rhino mascot had a silly play fight with the Carlton High Cheetah, which ended with one of those daft slapping fights before the cheer squads stepped in to 'break them up'. As the game itself got underway, I saw a whole new side of some of the guys on the team. Like Dozer, he was such a gentle giant off of the field, so to see him so ferocious, honestly scared the daylights out of me, the way he blasted through the opposing team to provide an opening for Aaron to push forwards, or in a sickening way he brought down the opposing team when they tried to make a run.

The other Rhinos were just as good in their capacity. Carter was so precise in his throws it looked almost effortless, this coupled with Dozer and Cabbott's ability to create a solid de-fence, allowed Carter the time to be so accurate. Even Travis, who was likely the most irritating person I had ever met, had a natural flow within the team and was always in the right place exactly when the 0-line needed him to be. I found myself enthralled and only really snapped back to the real world during the short interval about halfway through the game, I looked up to see Kiera and Emily watching me.

"You having fun over here?" the redhead asked teasingly. I nodded stiffly. "It's quite barbaric though, isn't it?" I acknowledged. Emily chuckled, "You should see the season games, there could; and probably will be, blood" she quipped as she dropped into the seat beside me. "Wait!? What do you mean 'season games'?". This caused her to look around at me quizzically. "You really don't know much about football, do you?" I shook my head slowly. "Well these mid-season friendlies are like warm-ups-" Em ex-plained "See there's only so much training you can do against your own defensive end.

So they set these matches to push the players, it also gives the coaches a cheap shot at figuring the opposing teams plays so that when the season games come around, they can alter their plays to counter more efficiently". I nodded my head as I reflected on the information, Emily smiled briefly before hugging me quickly and jumping back to her feet as the call was put out for the start of the third quarter. I watched as my friends threw themselves into another one of their routines and found myself thinking that if they had a sixth squad member then they could tweak some of their routines to great effect. I shook my head quickly as the action got underway again.

By the end of the game, I was completely buzzing, I was a little bit chilly as an early evening breeze had drawn in, and although I was wearing a fairly thick jacket, the adrenaline of the game was wearing off and it made me feel that much colder. I exited the bleachers and stepped down onto the field where I joined the girls as they were gathering the props they had used during their skits.

Kiera was off chatting to the head of the opposing team's cheer squad, I asked Em about that and she casually explained that it was something they did after every match. Apparently, the Rhinos and the Cheetahs had a very friendly relationship and always offered constructive advice on each other's new routines, it turned out the friendly relationship between the two schools was also the reason why the footballers didn't push as hard as they could, not just for fear of injuring themselves, but it would be uncouth of them to put any of the opposing team out for the season during a friendly game.

I helped the girls gather up the various props and we were shortly joined by Kiera as we headed for the locker rooms, I hesitated slightly when we reached the door, but Cass had hooked her arm in mine and just dragged me in without a second thought. After stashing the props away in the store-room, the girls took no time in shedding their cheer uniforms, I was sat on one of the benches and although I was chatting to the girls, I was more than a little shy as nearly all of them stood before me in their underwear, they were chatting casually about various things, like how Cass was hoping to get her own car soon and Emily was looking forward to sleeping in over the weekend as she had the time off work. I blushed furiously as Chloe looked directly at me and asked, "You ok Allie? You look really pale".

I fumbled for words as Kat looked over at me and then at the girls in their various stages of undress, she began to chuckle. It took a second for the other girls to realize, but when they did, they began laughing too. "You jealous?" the blonde joked as she bobbed slightly on her heels, making her breasts jiggle lightly in her bra. I frowned before smiling weakly, "Actually, I was just wondering if they had your bra; in my size".

This caused the girls to laugh more as they continued to get dressed into their normal clothes. Cass was just flicking her hair out from the jacket she had pulled on when there was a brief knock on the door. Kiera called out that they were all decent and Mrs Carmadie stepped in, along with the cheer coach, Ms Branning. "Girls you looked amazing out there tonight" the coach gushed as the principal looked at me curiously, I shrugged shyly as the coach continued to appraise the girl's performance, "If we continue in this vein we could be a shoo-in for regionals this year I have some ideas for improvements but as always I would like your input" the woman, who I figured could only have been about Hattie's age, at the oldest, didn't even pause for breath as she grabbed Kiera and dragged her into her office leaving the rest of the squad and myself with the principal.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Miss Evans" the head stated as she looked at me directly, she then looked round at the assembled girls pointedly as I blushed furiously.

Emily was the one that came to my defense however as she boldly said, "Uh...that was our fault, Mrs. Carmadie, Allie is just one of the girls, so none of us thought anything of it when we dragged her in with us". The headmistress looked between Emily and myself, it obviously clicked in her brain that the whole squad was aware of my past and she sighed with a small amount of relief. "You really should be more careful girls, although I have no intention of 'outing' you-" she looked at me specifically "You need to tread lightly, not everybody is so accepting, you understand?". I swallowed and nodded my acknowledgment, with that the headmistress gave the other girls a stern look before leaving. "Well...that was awkward" Chloe sighed before giggling.

As she looked down at her watch, she gasped before darting over to the office and poking her head in the door, she had a quick conversation with Kiera and the coach before re-appealing, "You ready Allie?" she asked me simply. "Ready for what? You still haven't told me what's going on" I groaned as Kiera re-joined us. There was a brief round of hugs before Kat and Chloe dragged me out of the locker room with a knowing 'good luck' from the rest of the squad.

I felt like a stuck record whilst repeatedly asking what the hell was going on as the brunette and the blonde dragged me towards the parking lot where I was all but shoved into the back of Mr Granger's car. "Running a bit late, aren't we girls?" he asked casually as Chloe climbed into the front passenger seat with Kat joining me in the back. "Yeah, we got way-played by the headmistress" Chloe grumbled by way of explanation as we pulled out of the lot and into traffic.

"Nothing too sincere, I hope?" the man inquired as we began the drive through town. "No, she was just surprised that Mlle was with us when we were getting changed after the game". I blushed furiously as Mr. Granger then asked, "Oh, is there a reason why that would be unusual?". He was half turned in his seat to glance at me, my heart rate soared as Chloe tutted, "She's not a cheerleader pops, I told you that". I sighed in relief that Chloe didn't just 'out' me to her dad. "Oh, ok dear, I'm sorry I have trouble keeping up with people coming and going, so Alexis...I'm assuming you work with Chloe and Katrina then?".

I balked as I blurted out, "I beg your pardon?" Kat just laughed loudly as Chloe giggled, "Maybe...if she does well enough tonight". I was beginning to understand what she had planned and with the realization that the whole squad was in on it, I crossed my arms sulkily as we neared our destination. "Way to stitch me up...bitch!" I hissed as we exited the car and Chloe hooked my arm and dragged me towards the side of a nice-looking restaurant. "You could've given me some sort of warning" I grumbled as Kat input a code into the keypad on the side door, it clicked and she pulled it open. Chloe then dragged me through a large team-room come sundry storage area and deposited me in an office with the promise that Mr Angelou; the owner, would be in soon to chat. I sat sweating slightly from nerves as I heard Chloe and Kat along the hall getting ready for work.