Right, so we're finally getting somewhere slowly but surely!
Obviously, I don't own any characters... it's sad, I know! ENJOY!
Chapter 3
The final bell rings and trudge myself over to the gym. I've never been a fan of gym, and I really don't think this is going to change it. But at this point, I'm willing to try anything.
I head to the locker room and change into my gym kit, shorts and a grey t-shirt. There are a few other girls here, they're all taller and bigger built than me; I shrink into myself as I envision how I may be making a complete mistake.
After tying up my shoelaces, I head into the gym. It's a large, empty hall with a few basketball nets attached to the wall.
The girl from before, Hannah, is already there, talking to a few other girls that are huddled around her. I don't recognise anyone here, but I think it's because they're all slightly older than me.
Hannah waves at me as I walk in, meekly, I wave back. She does a quick head count and then blows her whistle.
"Alright, girls, let's start! It's great to see you all here", she says to the group. There are around 14 girls from all walks of life, to be honest, I'm surprised that many of us are interested.
"This is so exciting, and an even number, too!", she says happily. "Right, let's start by everyone grabbing a partner", she claps her hands together in excitement.
We all look to each other awkwardly for a beat.
"Don't be frightened, girls!", Hannah encourages.
Across the way, there's a shy girl around my height and build, we smile at each other in mutual understanding. I make my way over to her.
"Hi, want to be partners?", I offer.
"Sure", she tucks a strand of black curls behind her ear, "I'm Simone, by the way".
"Bella", I smile.
"Oh, I know".
I look to her quizzically.
"You dated Edward Cullen, right? It's a small place, that was pretty exciting", she laughs. The expression on my face must have given me away because she asks if I'm okay.
"Fine, let's just get to it", I say in a small voice.
It'd been so long since anyone had said his name around me, truthfully, everyone had known better than to bring him up unnecessarily. My reaction was always the same, a gaping expression that scrunched up into pain, a small quiet voice that couldn't hide anything. I was like a small animal dying at the thought of her owner leaving – but he did.
In my moment of agony, I'd missed the first direction given to us by Hannah.
"Bella? Are you ready?", Simone asks.
I stumble and utter out a you go first.
All of a sudden, Simone flips me onto my back, my head hits the mat with a loud smack.
"Bella", a sweet-laced voice whispers a light warning.
I sit up with a start, my head swirls as the blood rushes back to it.
"Bella! Are you okay? Did I hurt you?", Simone crouches down to me.
"No, you're fine. Let's go again", I say, standing to my feet.
"Bella, what are you doing?", the voice of honey asks me.
It almost takes my breath away, and I feel my head rock uncontrollably.
"Ready? You're going to need to block me", I hear Simone say somewhere in the background, I'm not sure where, I can't quite reach it. All I know is I need to hear that voice again.
Simone tackles me to the ground again, flipping me onto my stomach, she grabs my arms and pulls them back behind me. My bones crack under the pressure, my legs flail behind me, but then I hear it.
"Bella, please, be careful", the voice cares, it is angry, cautious, but it cares.
And I need more.
I kick behind myself to try and shift Simone off of me, in response to my defence, she grabs my legs. As my arms are released, my upper body hits the mat with a thud. The pain shoots through my nose and I look up to see Hannah rushing over.
"Bella? Stop this, before you hurt yourself anymore", the voice demands.
Simone releases me with a start, "oh, Bella! I'm so sorry", she exclaims.
Rolling over onto my back, I touch my nose, blood covers my fingers and immediately, the room begins to spin.
"Bella! Are you okay?", Hannah says, her voice full of concern.
"I just think I need to go to the nurse", I say as I begin to sit up, not without struggle.
"Okay, Simone why don't you go with her?", Hannah suggests.
"No, no, no, it's fine, I can go. The nurse and I are practically used to this by now", I laugh wryly. Black and white dots cover my vision and I stumble to my feet, wobbling slightly as I try to stand steadily.
Batting Simone and Hannah out of the way, I stumble out of the gym. A familiar metallic taste fills my mouth, and I rush to the bathroom.
There's no way I could have gone to the nurse with such a minor injury, the sheer embarrassment would have sent me to the ER.
Bursting through the girls' bathroom, I pull some paper towels from the dispenser, douse them with water, and begin to wipe away as much as the blood as I can.
My nose looks slightly swollen, and I can tell there will be bruising tomorrow. With most of the blood gone, my vision begins to clear and stomach begins to settle.
For good measure, I splash cold water across my face. The chilling temperature focuses my vision, and throwing the papers in the bin, I make my way back to the gym.
As I near the gym doors, I notice that the double-doors leading to the field are wide open.
Curiously, I walk through them. Sports never really was my thing, but if I'm going to make a commitment to faking it, then I may as well try something new – and something reckless – along the way.
On the field, the football team are practicing for the big match next weekend, right by them, the cheerleading squad are talking amongst themselves in little groups. Perhaps still delirious from my knock on the head, I step completely out of my comfort zone, and I stumble slightly over to them.
I've always been clumsy, and never particular coordinated, however, every teen movie I've ever endured watching has presented the cheerleading squad as the perfect opportunity for reinvention.
"Can we help you?", the captain of the squad, Tara, calls out to me. She's all long blonde hair, and sun-kissed skin. The perfect anomaly in a place like Forks, she belonged in somewhere like L.A, or on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
"I wondered", the piercing eyes of the cheerleaders all turn their gaze to me, I take a breath and continue, "if you needed another member?", I smile awkwardly.
Tara, and her second-in-command, Anneka, smile at each other and eye me up and down.
"Isabella Swan, right? The chief's daughter?", Aneeka asks.
"Bella is fine, but yeah".
"Isabella is prettier", Tara muses. "It just so happens we have an opening on the squad, Isabella – if you want in".
"I don't have any experience", I mumble, no one calls me Isabella except my Mother when I'm in trouble.
"That's the point of cheer practice", the girls around snigger. I smile. "Worst come to worst, you can stand in the back", Tara softly smiles. The squad isn't that big, only around ten girls. So, it's really no surprise they let me in; there just aren't that many options for new recruits.
"Make sure that you pay the uniform and enrolment fees tomorrow, okay? We should have a spare kit around your size. We practice four times per week, and have no time for people who don't commit, got that?", Tara quips.
"Loud and clear", I reply, playing with my hands awkwardly.
"Great! Then we'll see you tomorrow", Aneeka smiles. "Go home, get some rest, you'll need it", she winks at me.
"Can't wait", my voice is deadpan, but the girls all still smile at me so I don't think they noticed.
As I walk out of school, nose dried with blood and now an official Spartan cheerleader, I wonder if this will be enough to let me stay. How much will I continue to sacrifice to hold onto to someone that didn't want me back? For someone who didn't love me enough to stay.
Sitting my car, the thought nearly breaks me in two. But maybe it needs to, this is my life now, maybe it's time I start living it how I want to – and ignore any little promises that may have once, under a different set of circumstances, been made…
What did you all think?! Still a little tame, but I hope you can start to see where I'm going with this. If not, you'll just have to strap in for the ride! I would love it if you left a review or just a thumbs up! I hope you're enjoying it!