Author's Note

Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry it took so long to update, I got carried away with my other story since it's just getting to the good part. So anyway this chapter doesn't really affect the outcome of this story or anything, basically it's a filler, but a very entertaining one… I hope. Enjoy and review! Oh and I'll update again by Sunday to make up for the long time I didn't, this stories about to get to the good parts to!

Note: I don't think I said this before but Ashley is going to be a cheerleader so if anything in the other chapters does not fit with that than ignore it or do what ever you want to it.

Disclaimer: Based loosely on characters created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

!#$&

Chapter 8

Friday, Green Acres Prep, before classes start

I've continued working with Chief these past few days but he's been fine. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch, zero, well you get the point. I've lunged him, ridden him, switched his saddles, had the vet and chiropractor look at his back and used a bunch of the herbal remedies that Heartland is known for on him.

I don't know what to do anymore! It's like there's nothing wrong him! He's the perfect horse! It's driving me crazy! Heh… listen to me, bet you never heard someone complain about how perfect a horse is before.

This morning I had gotten up extra early to spend more time with Chief and had totally lost track of the time. I had had like five minutes, literally, to shower and get dressed so consequently I wouldn't be winning awards for 'best dressed' today in my faded jeans, converse sneakers and maroon Heartland hoodie. Oh well, whatever.

I was walking across the expansive green lawn as fast as I could without actually running to get to my friends. And for probably the millionth day in a row I was late… oops, my bad.

I had almost reached them when I felt someone grab a hold of my arm and spin me around.

I think I may have let out a little screech… "Wha…" I started to say but stopped when I was met with Ty's grinning face. "Okay that was not funny!" I exclaimed 'indignantly' as he started to laugh.

"If you could have just seen your face!" he said between laughs.

I crossed my arms over my chest and patiently waited for him to stop laughing. It wasn't that funny… was it?

"Sorry, sorry," Ty said still snickering. "So how's Chief?"

I groaned exaggeratedly, "It's always about the horse!" I said as I threw my hands into the air.

Ty grinned at me mischievously and before I could comprehend what was happening he had slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me into him, closely and was kissing me.

He only pulled back when one of Ty's many friends, I think it was one of the guys from the football team, yelled out, "Go Ty!" which was followed by some hoots from the rest of the team.

I'm taking it that Ty just chose to ignore this because all he said was, "Tell me about my horse now?" he said making a very exaggerated puppy dog face at me, "Please?"

Now it was my turn to laugh because it was so stupid, "Chief is fine, perfect really. In fact, it's his fault I'm dressed like this today."

Ty looked me up and down before he met my eyes again, his emerald green eyes sparkling. "You look cute," he said simply.

I snorted, "You don't need to lie."

"I'm not… so you haven't found out what might have been wrong with Chief?"

"No," I sighed. "It's like there's nothing wrong with him he's the perfect horse. He's trained perfectly, has perfect stable manners, he's just all around perfect."

"Yeah," Ty agreed with me, "Maybe he just doesn't like me anymore?" he said with a hint of joking in his voice.

"Yeah right, you're like his favorite person! Everyday when I go to the barn to see him he still looks around for you," I reported.

Ty grinned and said, "Well than what? I mean if he is being fine and doing nothing wrong than what do we do?"

"I don't know," I said. "Maybe it was just something he ate off the ground? Did you notice him chewing or anything?"

"No," Ty responded, "He normally only grazes in his pasture. I didn't see him eating anything but maybe when I was getting my number he ate something off the ground?"

"Maybe," I agreed. "But it's too late to tell anything like that now." As an after thought I added, "Maybe you could try riding him?"

"Really?" Ty asked, his eyes lighting up. "Can you do that?"

"Well I'm the one primarily treating Chief so it is my decision on how to treat him and I think he's perfect and… wait. Have you checked out the saddle you rode him with at the show? Maybe it was pinching him?"

"He's never had a problem with it before, it is pretty new though. I have a ton of different saddles but they're all top quality, you know. What, with it being Baldwin Ways and all."

"Yeah it's the same at Heartland. Well I guess you should bring the saddle over to Heartland and you can get on him and see how he goes."

"Great! So what day?" Ty asked me.

"Oh um…" I said thinking over my schedule for the next couple of days. "How about Monday? After school."

Ty thought about it for a moment before replying, "Okay that's great."

"Great so…" I started.

I was cut off, however, by one of the guys from the football team calling to Ty, "Hey Ty?"

Ty turned to face him, "What?" he yelled back.

"Come on!" Another one of the guys yelled. I swear it was like the whole football team was just standing there and if you don't know how big a football team is than let me tell you… well I actually don't know how many people there were really but I don know there were a lot!

"We're gonna be late!" Another yelled.

"Oh right, I forgot," Ty said turning back to face me after holding up a finger to his team to say '1 minute'. "We've got the pep rally for the game on Sunday this morning and coach wants us in our uniforms."

"Oh right," I remembered.

"So if I don't see you I'll pick you up at 6:30 tonight," he told me.

"Yeah great. You should probably go," I said with a glance over to the football team who were all waiting impatiently for Ty.

Ty looked over at them, "Yeah. See you later."

"Bye," I said. I started to walk away but again Ty grabbed my arm and pulled me back towards him.

"Remember what I told you last time?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" I said confusedly. Ty shook his head and leaned down and kissed me again. "Oh that," I said after the kiss was over. "I remember now."

Ty laughed, "I don't want to have to remind you again," he said 'warningly'.

"Oh," I said, "Well I don't really mind," I said lightly and smiled at him. I waved as I walked off towards my friends.

"And that was just me reminding you!" Ty called after me before he jogged over to the football team.

!#$&

An hour later, Green Acres Prep's gym, pep rally

(a/n: I know I'm probably overplaying the kicker but that is the best position after all)

The gigantic gym was packed full of students and teachers. I was sitting somewhere about halfway up the bleachers on one side of the gym with Soroya, Meghan, Jen, Rachel, Rebecca and Jamie. I'd convinced them all to go to the game with me on Sunday so I wouldn't be all alone.

They hadn't really had pep rallies at my old school in England. I suppose in a sense they had but they were nothing compared to this. The gym ceiling was covered in balloons in all different colored greens and whites; there were ones shaped like hawks and ones shaped like footballs. There were green and white streamers all over the place and posters saying things like 'Go Hawks!' hanging on the walls all around the gym. Supposedly this was a really special year for the Green Acres Hawks, if they continued playing the way they had been than they would win the championships again, for the fourth year in a row. This year also marked the last year that many of their star players would be playing on the team seeing as many of them were seniors.

The head coach had come to the front of the auditorium and announced that they would be introducing the players. There was music blasting from the stereos as he called out every player's name. Once their name was called the player would run through the gym doors through the pack of cheerleaders, who were doing their cartwheels and pyramids and flips all over the place, to benches set along the far wall.

Ashley was a cheerleader, captain of the squad in fact. She looked too perfect in her dark green and white outfit waving her pompoms around and shouting with everyone else. When she cart wheeled her tanned legs with come together like scissors and when she landed her silky, long blonde hair would fall perfectly back in place against her back.

Watching her kind of made me wonder why Ty had picked me over her. At times like this it seemed like a cruel joke but when I was with Ty it seemed perfect. I looked down at my jeans and sweatshirt and than back at Ashley in her spotless, tailored to perfection, probably dry cleaned cheerleading uniform; this was defiantly one of those times.

Just than the music changed to U2's song called Vertigo (a/n: one of the songs I'm obsessed with) and one of the guys on the team ran into the center of the floor holding a spotless, brown, leather football in his hands (I'm pretty sure this was the holder or whatever you want to call him. Don't ask me, my knowledge of football is limited to what Ty told me). On the wall opposite from the double doors a big sheet was lowered down. On the sheet was a printed, yellow goal post.

"And finally…" the coach began dramatically into the microphone, "TY BALDWIN!"

The crowd erupted into cheers that were easily louder than they had been for any other player. The rest of the team didn't seem to mind, however, seeing as they all jumped to their feet and were yelling along with everybody else.

Ty jogged through the open doors and stopped next to his coach. He was wearing his uniform, pads and all and had his helmet held under one arm. He grinned up at the crowd like it was the most natural thing in the world for him to be doing. But I suppose given the fact that he is a Baldwin than he would be used to this kind of thing by now. He raised a fist in the air and yelled, "GO HAWKS!" which just set the crowd of yelling some more.

The coach tapped Ty on the shoulder and pointed to the player who was still standing in the center of the gym holding the football. When Ty looked at him he held the football up and waved it around before pointing to the makeshift goal post. Ty grinned like a little kid on Christmas before shoving his helmet on over his head and sprinting over to the other player who's jersey read 'Anderson' across the back I don't think I know his first name though. I know one other person on the team, Ty's best fried, Felix, is the quarterback. Sure I've met some of the other people Ty generally hangs out with but Felix was the only one I'd actually talked to or been around.

Anderson bent down onto on knee and held the football up with his hand. Ty did his little thing where he took three steps back and two steps to the left. Once he was set he ran the distance to the ball at a slight arc and when he was the proper distance away from the ball he swung his leg and his foot connected with the ball with a sharp snap. Ty did a little hop on one foot as he brought his other leg back down, it was pretty cool how far up he could get his leg (a/n: I can kick to the top of my head and I'm 5'6"), my leg would probably snap off.

The whole gym was silent as we watched the football spin through the air towards the makeshift goal posts. The crowd started screaming and stamping their feet as the ball connected with the wall in the dead center of the posts emitting a loud 'thud'.

Ty threw his arms in the air and high fived Anderson before taking off his helmet and tossing it into the air and catching it easily as it fell back down to him.

Ty's eyes scanned over the crowd and fell on me. He grinned and winked at me and I waved back. My friends were practically beside themselves with joy and the simple gesture had attracted the attention of many others. I was used to people watching me but it was different in the show ring or at Heartland so I didn't welcome it as readily as Ty seemed to. Which is why when Ty gestured for me to come down I put my hands in front of me and shook my head.

"Go! He wants you to go!" Soroya exclaimed excitedly and pushed on my back in an attempt to get me to move.

"No! I'm not going down there!" I replied.

When Ty saw I wasn't moving he walked up to the bleachers and stopped in the front. He handed his helmet to one of the schools nerdier kids who grinned widely displaying a mouth full of brace as he accept Ty's helmet. That was probably the best thing to ever happen to him in high school, aside from being elected captain of the math counts team or whatever it is he does.

Ty looked back up at me with that grin of his and a mischievous glint in his green eyes. He jumped up onto the lowest level of the bleachers and paused there. I shook my head frantically as he continued up the rows through the hoards of students who parted for him like the Nile had parted for Moses.

Finally he stopped in front of me and I looked around nervously, everyone was staring at me.

Ty held out his hand and said, "Come," simply.

I shook my head again and said, "Nuh uh…"

Ty grinned again, boy did he look like he was having fun, and yelled loudly so that everyone could hear him, "Who wants her to come?" the crowd roared their agreement and started chanting things like, "GO! GO! GO!"

Soroya nudged me sharply in the side with her elbow. So much for my friends who were chanting along with everyone else.

Reluctantly I stood up. Ty grabbed my hand and led me back down the bleachers.

"What are you doing?" I asked Ty when we reached the bottom and were standing on the tiled gym floor.

"Having some fun," Ty answered as he spun me around to face the whole student population of Green Acres Prep. I awkwardly raised a hand and waved at the sea of faces in front of me. Promptly there was more cheering. Whoa, I didn't know that just because I was going out with Ty Baldwin everyone else would start to like me to.

"Spread your legs a little," Ty told me suddenly.

"Excuse me?" that one lost me a bit.

"Just do it," Ty ordered me and somehow I found myself obliging. Ty dropped down to his knees behind me. "Wait what are you doi…" I started but stopped and let out a screech as I found myself sitting on Ty's shoulders and he was effortlessly standing back up. I clutched the back of his jersey for dear life and my legs kind of crossed across his front and were gripping his sides. Hmm… I seem to have found myself in somewhat compromising position with my boyfriend in front of the whole school… can't say this was on my 'to do list' for today.

"Holly crap! What are you doing Ty!"

Ty tilted his head up to look at me, "I already told you, I'm having some fun."

"You better not drop me!" he's like 6'2" and that's pretty high up when you're sitting on his shoulders not to mention the fact that his shoulder pads added and extra 3 inches to that height, at least.

Ty laughed loudly and I could feel it all the way through my legs, "I'm not going to."

That was all it took and I felt myself relaxing. I uncrossed my legs and let go of his shirt and rested my hands on top of his head instead, he's got nice hair.

I looked back up the crowd and waved again, this was actually really fun. A lot of people were laughing but I knew they weren't laughing at me, they were laughing at the situation. Bet they probably didn't see something like this happen everyday.

Without realizing what I was doing I started bouncing my heels against Ty's sides and he started to walk parallel to the bleacher.

"What are you doing?" I asked and was once again clutching onto his shirt.

"Apparently you think I'm a horse." I abruptly stopped moving my feet. "I'm just doing what you said, walking."

I laughed and again it was only a matter of seconds before I could feel myself relaxing. I trusted Ty so much and I just felt safe whenever I was with him… even when I was sitting over six feet above the ground apparently.

Ty started walking a large oval around the room and I decided to have a little fun of my own so I kicked his sides again and yelled, "Yah horsey!" Ty picked up a 'trot' and it was a miracle I didn't fall off his shoulders with the amount I was laughing, add that to the fact that at first I was kind of bouncing around a bit and well… it's more than a miracle that I didn't land on the hard floor and give my self a concussion.

The crowd was yelling and stomping their feet again which only served to encourage Ty more and he started jumping around and giving little 'bucks'. Than I caught a sight of Ashley glaring daggers at my from across the room and that was enough for me to give Ty another kick in the sides and he picked up a 'canter'.

I laughed out loud again as Ty slowed back down to a walk again and he started laughing to. It was a miracle we both didn't fall over from laughing so hard but don't ask me to tell you how we stayed upright because I couldn't possible even begin to tell you.

Just than two of the football players who I hadn't even noticed had left the gymnasium in the first place returned through the double doors. One was dragging a dark blue gymnastics mat and one was holding a poll that looked like might have been attached to a pull up bar or something at some point. They stopped in the middle of the gym and straightened the mat out before getting down on their knees and they each held an end of the poll about one foot off of the ground at one side of the mat.

Than they started chanting, "JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!" and soon every person in the gym was chanting along with them, I think most of the teachers were to, except the principal who looked like she was trying to get everyone to stop but no one was paying any attention.

Ty tilted his head up to me again and before he moved so much as a foot he asked me, "What do you think?"

I contemplated the options for a moment before looking back over at the mat. "Aw what the heck," I finally said.

When my words were heard throughout the whole gym everyone started yelling again.

"On your command," Ty told me laughing.

I kicked him in the sides again and he started running towards the mat. When we were about five feet away from it I clutched on to Ty again grabbing his shirt and hooking my fingers around the inside of his pads. When we were about a foot away Ty pushed of with his powerful legs and I gave my third shriek of the day as we became airborne. It only lasted for about 2 seconds and the next thing I knew Ty's right foot was touching the blue mat again.

I thought we were going to be able to land and I wouldn't fall off or die but… well it's a good thing those two footballers thought to bring out a mat with them.

Apparently even the mighty Ty Baldwin couldn't support the extra weight I added to his shoulders enough to be able to land steadily. He fell taking me down with him… it might have been my fault we fell though since I leaned forwards.

Ty landed on his back and as I fell on top of him he let out a big, "Oof!"

I rolled off of Ty and sat up and looked at his face. "At least I landed on top of you," I joked as soon as I was sure he was okay.

"Lucky you," Ty retorted. I started laughing really, really hard then and soon Ty was to and he pulled me back down on top of him.

Soon the whole gym was howling with laughter and yelling, screaming and stamping their feet while Ty and I lay on the mat laughing our heads off.

For the first time since I had arrived at this school I actually felt like I was apart of something and not just watching from the sidelines.

A/n: I know I said this was going to be about the weekend. It was going to be about the weekend but the pep rally didn't turn out like I thought it was going to and it's 7 pages so I figured that was enough for a chapter. Besides if I had continued you wouldn't have gotten an update for like 2 more days! Next chapter will be up on Saturday and will be called 'The Weekend', I swear. Hope you liked it! Review!