Chapter 36: Friday Night Football
Characters:
Emma Morgan (Sam and Jason)- 17
Gabe Morgan (Sam and Jason)- 16
Maddie Morgan (Sam and Jason)- 16
Katie Morgan (Sam and Jason)- 14
Selena Morgan (Sam and Jason)- 4
Courtney Jacks (Carly and Jax)- 17
Connor Jacks (Carly and Jax)- 16
Bella Jacks (Jax and Brenda)- 15
Jacelyn Jacks (Carly and Jax)- 14
Chloe J Hunter (Maxie and Matt)- 17
Christian Hunter (Maxie and Matt)- 17
Ava Jones (Maxie)- 14
Daniel Zacchara (Olivia and Steve)- 17
Mia Webber (Olivia and Steve)- 16
Allie Webber (Olivia and Steve)- 14
Zack Corinthos (Sonny and Claudia)- 17
Hunter Corinthos (Sonny and Claudia)- 16
Brittany Corinthos (Sonny and Brenda)- 16
Brenna Corinthos (Sonny and Claudia)- 15
Nate Scorpio-Drake (Robin and Patrick)- 17
Noah Scorpio-Drake (Robin and Patrick)- 16
Paige Cassadine (Nikolas and Emily)- 17
Haley Lovett (Ethan and Lisa)- 16
Addie Lansing (Ric)- 16
Aubrey Crowell (Nadine)- 16
Matt Zacchara (Lulu and Johnny)- 17
Joey Falconeri (Dante and Brenda)- 17
Julian Quartermaine (AJ)- 15
Wes Janacek (Kiefer)- 16
The Football Game
The cheers of the fans were heard everywhere at Port Charles High School. There was a long line at the concession stand, most waiting for greasy hamburgers and nachos. Proud parents and classmates gathered around, waiting for the first game of the school year.
At the front of it all stood the cheerleaders. Each of the twenty girls had a practice football jersey with a last name and a number on it. They were screaming, shaking their pompoms, and trying to make everyone even more excited, if that was possible.
Across the field, the team was gathered in a huddle. They were pumped up, ready to go out and win. They all threw their hands in.
"Ravens on three."
"1…2…3…Ravens!" they all shouted. The boys who were going out grabbed their helmets and ran onto the field.
"Let's go Gabe!" Sam shouted from the stands, jumping up and down. Her husband laughed in amusement, holding Selena on his hip.
Gabe looked in her direction with a smile, even though no one could see it. His mom had always been his biggest fan, and this was no different. He lined up, going to his position as quarterback.
"Make me proud, Gabriel!" he heard Mia's loud mouth over the voices of the rest of the players.
"You heard her, Gabe." Zack slapped him on the back. "Let's go!"
The cheerleaders were all gathered together on the track around the football field, staring out at the boys.
"C'mon, guys." Emma commanded. The girls all spread out into their spots and Mia sat down in front of them since she couldn't cheer. "Ready…5…6…7…8!"
On the field, Gabe had just been given the ball and he was looking for an open player. He found one in Connor and threw the football. Connor caught it and started running. Around him Zack, Christian, and Hunter were tackling guys to keep him clear. A big guy on the opposing team got through and tackled him. He had managed to get some yards though, which they were all happy about.
"Good try, Connie!" Maddie shouted.
"CHRISTIAN, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN BLOCKING!" Haley screamed. Courtney and Chloe J, who were standing with her and Addie, burst into laughter. The two blondes weren't exactly happy since they should have been cheering, but Haley was helping to lighten their mood.
The first quarter of the game passed with the Port Charles Ravens taking a 14-7 lead. They all went in for a huddle.
"I still can't believe my daughter had to quit cheering because of that ridiculous little…" Johnny gave Maxie a look, making her stop. "What? This is Chloe J's senior year! She should be cheering with her best friends!"
"She is." He pointed over to where Addie, Haley, Courtney, and Chloe J had made their own little cheering team, standing away from the actual cheerleaders, but doing everything the same as them.
"Emma, can't they cheer?" Mia asked from where she was sitting. "Elizabeth's not here, it's not like it really matters."
"Mimi, I would let them, but they don't know the half time dance."
"We'll teach them!" Maddie shouted, pointing to herself, Brittany, and Brenna.
Emma sighed. "First, you have to ask them if they even want to…"
"YES!" Everyone watched as the girls wearing jerseys that said 'Scorpio-Drake', 'Alcazar', and 'Spencer' ran down the track to the four other teens. Courtney and Chloe J quickly agreed, dragging Addie and Haley with them.
"GO ZACK, GO ZACK, GO ZACK!" Emma screamed at the top of her lungs, jumping up and down as one of her best friends ran towards the end zone. Nate tackled a guy in his way, opening up a space and earning PCH a touchdown.
All of the cheerleaders broke out in one of their touchdown cheers. Claudia and Sonny were proudly screaming for their son from the stands. Sam, Jason, and Carly, who were sitting next to them, joined right in.
"Number 1 Zack Corinthos earns a touchdown for his team! That brings the score up to 21-7 with the Ravens in the lead!" the announcer said.
The opposing team, The NYCS Warriors, got the ball and the quarterback threw it. Connor jumped up, intercepting it. He ran a few yards before throwing the ball. It sailed through the air and reached Gabe. He found Nate, who was open, and threw it to him. Nate ran it to the end zone, scoring a touchdown.
"Number 3 Connor Jacks with an interception, then Number 23 Gabe Morgan with a pass to Number 17 Nate Scorpio-Drake for another touchdown! I don't believe this!"
"Mads is going to be so mad she missed this!" Mia said as she stood up. "Good job, Connie! Way to go, Nate! I've seen better Gabe!"
Gabe rolled his eyes and spread his arms out. "What do you want from me?"
"I want you to get in the end zone and score!" Mia shouted.
That's when Gabe looked at the jersey Mia was wearing for the first time. He realized it had a number 10 on it. He knew that wasn't any of his friends' numbers, so he was confused on who she had gotten a jersey from. He scanned the team, his eyes narrowing in on one of the new guys. He turned around to grab his water bottle and Gabe read the back of his shirt- Janacek.
"I'm going to kill him." Gabe started walking across the field, but Hunter blocked his path.
"What's wrong?"
"Mia is wearing a Janacek jersey."
"Yeah, so?"
"You know what the Janaceks are, Hunter! They're a threat!"
"The older ones! He's in high school, Gabe. How much damage can he really do?"
"How much damage can you do? Or me? Or Zack, or even Connor? He's gotta know exactly who she is and he's using her!"
"Morgan! Corinthos! Get your heads in the game!" the coach yelled.
"Sorry, Coach." Hunter apologized. "We'll deal with it after the game, okay? Right now, focus on winning. Mia's fine. He wouldn't try anything out in the open anyway."
Half time quickly approached and the twenty three (twenty four with Mia, who was working the music) cheerleaders had to go to the center of the football field.
"Remember, same positions as before the girls left, just using the different moves." Emma said to the other cheerleaders. They all nodded. She looked to Chloe J, who was standing to her left. "You sure you can do this?"
Chloe J grinned. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life." She plastered a huge smile on her face.
"5…6…7…8…!"
The music began and the cheerleaders broke out into their dance, immediately earning cheers from the crowd. Brenna and Emma broke off into back handsprings while Brittany was thrown into the air, flipping around.
The Warriors' cheerleaders started at them in amazement. They didn't have anything like that prepared, ever.
"It's so pretty, Mama." Selena said to Sam, who was holding her and standing by the fence so they could see better.
"It sure is. They're good, aren't they?"
"Mmhmm." Selena smiled. "When I get big like Emma and Maddie and Katie, can I be a cheerleader?"
"You sure can, baby."
The cheerleaders finished and the crowd erupted in applause. The girls all felt great, knowing they had done perfect. Everyone but Emma, that is.
"I should have done the more complicated routine. It would have been so much better." She said to Paige, Chloe J, and Courtney.
"Emma, it was perfect! Everyone loved it!" Paige told her.
"Yeah, but we could have done better."
"You're too much of a perfectionist, Em! We went out there and we did our best and that's all that matters." Courtney reminded her. "Now let's hope the boys do the same."
The football game started up again and the Warriors had the ball. The quarterback started running, but Christian tackled him. Haley cheered loudly for him.
"THAT'S THE WAY YOU DO IT, CHRIS!" Haley screamed. "YOU BETTER DO IT AGAIN!"
"Never can please her." Christian mumbled as he passed Nate's little brother Noah, who laughed.
The Warriors quickly got their downs and the ball was given back to the Ravens. Gabe went over to Zack, Hunter, Connor, and Nate, motioning for Christian and Noah to come his way.
"I need you all to block me."
"We got you, Gabe." Zack assured him. "Come on, guys. We don't want Gabe to get beaten later by Mimi." The other boys laughed.
The Ravens lined up. Noah snapped him the ball and Gabe caught it. His teammates cleared him a path, tackling everyone who came in his way. Gabe got all the way to the end zone, scoring more points for his team.
He yanked his helmet off and pointed over towards the cheerleaders, specifically at Mia. "All for you, baby!"
Mia couldn't even deny that it had been a good play. The coach called a timeout, so she stood up and ran (which was really awkward looking because of her messed up rib) towards her best friend. She jumped up and he caught her, careful of her side.
"That was amazing!"
"You've never seen better, have you?" she shook her head. "Just wanted to make you proud."
"Well, you succeeded."
"How's your rib?"
"Fine. It sucks that I can't cheer though, I'm so bored."
"Morgan! Get over here!" the coach shouted.
Gabe set Mia on her feet. "Don't do anything stupid, Mimi. If you're not ready to cheer, you're not ready."
"I know, I know." She walked back over to the other girls. They all had huge smiles on their faces. "What?"
"You're single now, Mia. And Gabe's single…" Brittany began.
"Stop. He's my best friend." She defended.
"So?"
"So, that's it. You don't see Emma and Nate dating, or Maddie and Connor."
"Yeah, but they should." Courtney said. She realized after that her brother's girlfriend was less than five feet away from her. "Sorry, Aubrey!"
"It's fine." Aubrey answered. "I'm gonna go get another Gatorade, okay?" the others nodded.
Aubrey and Julian
Aubrey walked away from the cheerleaders, searching all over for her partner in the Games. She found Julian Quartermaine, AJ's son, standing near the concession stand.
"Finally." He rolled his eyes at her. "C'mon."
"Where are we going?"
"We can't exactly smoke right here." He grabbed her arm, dragging her towards the parking lot to a car.
Aubrey wasn't too sure about this. For their 200 point dare, she and Julian had to get high. He would have no problem since he was high 99 percent of the time, but she had never done it before.
She saw Julian reach out his window, talking to someone that she couldn't see because it was so dark outside. He handed the person a wad of cash and took what he was giving him.
"Here." Julian offered it to Aubrey and she took it, knowing it was the only way they would get their points. She didn't want to lose the Games.
Julian grabbed the camera, snapping a picture of the two of them. Aubrey started to inhale.
Twenty minutes later, Aubrey was giggling and didn't even feel like the world was real anymore. Julian was pulling her through the crowd, trying to get near people again, knowing the others would worry about the blonde, especially after what happened to Mia and Ava.
He passed Joey Falconeri on the way, who looked like he was spending his freshly earned money on a cheeseburger. They nodded at each other in acknowledgment.
When he got close enough to the cheerleaders to be sure Aubrey would get there safely, he walked away. He didn't need Emma, Paige, and Maddie on his case; they were cousins, so he didn't want them to tell his father what he had been up to.
"Hey!" Aubrey stumbled over, laughing loudly. Maddie caught her before she could fall and shared a look with Brittany. Everyone else had their attention on the game.
"Aubrey? Are you okay?" Brittany asked.
"Mmhmm! Never been better!"
Brittany wrinkled her nose. "Are you high? You smell like smoke."
"Nooo!" Aubrey laughed. "I feel like I'm flying!"
"Please Lord, tell me what I did to deserve this." Maddie mumbled. "We've gotta get her out of here before anyone notices. She'll get suspended for smoking on school property."
"I'll tell Em." Brittany went over to the captain, leaning close to her ear so no one would hear. "Aubrey's high, Mads and I are getting her out of here."
Emma whipped around to face the three girls. "Aubrey? Aubrey Crowell?"
"Yes. We don't know the circumstances, but we've gotta go."
"Hurry up. I'll let Connie know."
"Kay. See you at the after party?" Emma nodded. Brittany went over to Maddie. They each grabbed one of Aubrey's arms.
"Where are you guys going?" Mia demanded. Maddie had noticed she'd been missing for a while.
"Where have you been?"
"Oh, you know, the usual. Walked by some girl and she made fun of me for getting attacked, got elbowed in the rib by another little punk girl, got in a fight with my dad…"
"Your dad? What is he doing here?"
"He said he would never miss Allie's first game." Mia rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"Mi, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Do you wanna leave with us?" Brittany offered.
"No, I think I'm just gonna go home. See you guys later." She walked away.
"That's weird." Maddie commented. "Mia never blows off a party."
"Maybe it's better that she did. Her rib probably hurts." Brittany said. "Now come on before Aubrey gets in trouble!"
Jacelyn
"Hey girls!" Carly ran over to Jacelyn, Courtney, and Bella. "Look at my girls, all of them wearing jerseys. Whose do you have on, Court?"
"Gabe's. He let me wear it." Courtney said casually. "Mom, I'm going to stay the night at Paige's tonight, okay? I'll see you tomorrow." She kissed her cheek and then ran off to meet up with her friends.
"It feels like she's never home." Jax commented, coming up behind his wife.
"Hunter just came out of the locker room. See you guys at home!" Bella went over to congratulate her boyfriend.
"Looks like it's just our baby." Carly turned her attention to Jacelyn's jersey. "Whose jersey are you wearing?"
Jacelyn sucked in some air. "My boyfriend's."
"Boyfriend?" Jax looked at her back. "Zacchara? Which one?" he scanned the group of boys exiting the locker room until he found the one that had a number matching his daughter's jersey. Carly found him at the same time.
"Daniel Zacchara? Jacelyn, he's a senior! He's too old for you!"
"Mom, he's seventeen…" Jacelyn tried.
"And you're fourteen. Boys think different ways, Jace, especially older boys!" Jax yelled.
"What's going on? We can hear you yelling from across the field." Connor joked, coming over with Gabe and Zack behind him. He swung his arm around his little sister's shoulder. "What'd you do now, Jacie?"
"Take a look at her jersey." Jax spat.
Connor pulled away from her and the three boys looked at the number together. They all knew exactly who it was.
"I'm gonna kill him." Connor turned, storming over to where Daniel was talking to Maxie and Johnny.
"Guys, do something!" Jacelyn begged Gabe and Zack.
"I'll hold him down, you punch?" Zack suggested. Gabe nodded and they went towards Connor too.
"Stop!" Jacelyn ran around, blocking their path.
"What's going on?" Paige wondered, coming over to her boyfriend and cousin. "Jacelyn, what happened?"
"I'm dating Daniel and now Connor, Zack, and Gabe are gonna kill him! Please make them stop, Paige."
Paige groaned. "Of course, Maddie's not here when we need someone to control Connor."
"What about Mia? Or Aubrey or Britt?"
"They left too."
"Where did they go?" Gabe demanded, momentarily distracted by the mention of his best friend.
"I dunno. Brittany talked to Emma. They left, so did Maddie."
"Did they go together?"
"I think Mia went separate."
Gabe sighed. "I better call her…"
"Dude, you need to chill. Let her breathe." Zack said. Jacelyn relaxed, glad the two boys' attention had been drawn away and she could see Jax talking to Connor, hopefully stopping him from attacking Daniel.
"She just got attacked by some unknown psycho." Gabe argued. "I can't just 'let her breathe'. Maybe you would understand if it was Emma…"
"Don't even say that. I know it's rough for you, and you're worried, but if you keep smothering her, you're going to push her away."
Gabe sighed. "I know. I can't help it."
"Jace!" Katie and Ava ran over. "C'mon, Matt said he'd give us a ride to the after party!"
"Matt Zacchara?" Gabe asked. His little sister nodded. "I'll take you guys."
"Gabe…"Ava began.
"No, Ava. If you are going, you're going with me. End of story."
"Fine. Let's go tell Matt. You coming, Jace?"
Jacelyn glanced over Zack's shoulder, seeing that Connor was now talking to Emma and Daniel was nowhere to be seen. Safe for now.
"Yeah." She hooked arms with the other two and they walked away.
Mia
Mia pulled her car into the parking lot. She looked into her rearview mirror, making sure her makeup and hair were perfect. She got out of the car and locked the doors before going into the bar.
It was about an hour away from Port Charles, so she was sure she wouldn't see anyone she knew, but she just needed an escape. She couldn't handle everyone watching over her obsessively and constantly worrying about what she was doing. She couldn't handle the stress.
Even though she didn't act like it, Mia was hurt. Her parents had completely abandoned her, and now they were forcing her siblings to do the same. It hurt to know that she was really that unwanted.
Then there was the fact that she flinched every single time she heard a loud noise. Mia felt the need to check over her shoulder every five seconds to make sure she was alone. She was paranoid and terrified.
She walked into the bar, straightening her shirt. Her eyes immediately landed on a man sitting alone at a table. He looked young, probably in his early twenties. He had short, brown hair and green eyes. He caught her looking at him and smiled, motioning for her to sit down.
"Hi." He greeted. He told her his name, but she didn't hear him and really didn't care what it was. "You drink tequila?"
She turned on the charm, giving him the smile that made her dimple more prominent. "Sure do."
"Can I get a tequila for the lady?" he called over to the bartender. The man studied Mia for a second, but then poured her drink and brought it over. She drank it quickly, letting the man order her another one.
After two (or was it four?) shots of tequila, plus something else the guy had ordered, Mia loosened up. She started an intense game of pool with him and was winning.
"I think your phone's going off." He said.
Mia rolled her eyes. "Doesn't matter. Your turn."
The guy smiled. "Let's make this more interesting. If I make this shot, you come back to my room with me."
"And if you miss?" Mia asked.
"Then it's your choice." The guy leaned down to shoot the ball, but he missed. "So, what'll it be?"
"To your room." She let him lead her by the hand to his bedroom.
Addie
"Bye!" Addie called for the last time, waving to Haley as she exited the house. The after party had been held at the home of one of their classmates. While it wasn't as nice as a Crew party, it was okay. She had a lot of fun.
Addie walked towards her car alone, thinking of how proud she was of the football team for their 49-14 victory. She didn't even hear the footsteps behind her.
Suddenly, she was brought down to the ground. She couldn't even scream because of the person's hand clamping over her mouth. She tried to bite it, but it didn't work.
Addie cried out in pain as she was struck over and over again.