Author Notes: I suck. So instead going over the reasons why I suck how about we just get on with the show. Two quick things. One, I am sorry that I don't update as frequently as some other writers. But I want to give you the best stories I can and sometimes I end up re-writing a chapter 70 times before I think it is ready to post. I guess I am just weird that way. I mean it took me like 3 months to get this chapter right. But anyway, I'll do my best to make each chapter worth your while. Second, a special and heartfelt thanks to Stessa for reading the first version of this chapter and giving me the confidence to make it better. You are one of the good ones and thanks again. On with the show…

Fly… -Chapter 6 – This was never going to last…

Marti was all alone in the bedroom she shared with Savannah. She was lying in bed when she heard a noise from in the next room. She got of the bed and went to take a look around. When she opened the door to the bedroom and to her surprise she was at the admissions office where she first met her girlfriend, Savannah Munroe. The place was completely empty. Marti tried to say hello to see if anyone was there but to her surprise, her voice was gone. That was pretty weird but it didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. She started looking around the office when she heard the door behind her open. The blonde turned around to see who was coming in.

"Hey Marti."

It was Savannah, decked out in her Hellcats gear and her hair pulled into a ponytail. Marti smiled at her and waved. She made a slash motion across her throat to let Savannah know that she couldn't talk for some strange reason.

"I know you can't talk silly. I just need you to listen to me, ok?" Savannah said with a smile on her face. She gently took Marti's hand and looked into her eyes.

"When push comes to shove, I will always choose my family. They are the most important part of my life. And no matter how much I love you, I'll never go against them. I have given up so much to be a Hellcat and I am not going to give up my chance to be a part of this family again just to experiment with you." Savannah said.

Marti tried to speak once again but she still couldn't speak. She felt like she had been kicked in the stomach. Savannah's words cut straight into her heart. She could feel the tears starting to slowly roll down her face. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and then she was that Savannah had changed her clothes and was wearing simple blue dress. Her hair was down and her hands were clasped in front of her. She was still smiling and she spoke once again.

"This is who I am, Marti and no matter how many times you make love to me and tell me how much you love me, this is who I will always be. After this is how my mother raised me to be. You are a just an act of rebellion that will fade away as soon as I am reunited with my family. You'll see."

Marti just started shaking her head back and forth. She didn't believe any of this. Savannah would never talk to her like this. The brunette moved towards the door and smiled again.

"Face it, Marti. This was never going to last…"

Marti sat up straight from her bed and was gasping for air. She quickly looked next to her and there was Savannah still curled up next to her sleeping. Marti stared at the girl for a few seconds before her tears started to fall. She covered her mouth and tried to hold them back but the horrible feeling had followed her out of the dream. Was that going to happen if she let Savannah go to that dinner tonight? Was this just some rebellious thing? Why was she still having doubts about this relationship? She gently slid herself to the side of the bed and rested her elbows on her knees so she could run her hand through her hair. Marti tried desperately to calm down but the tears were falling at full force now and she couldn't stop them.

"Oh god…" Marti sobbed. As soon as she sat up, she felt Savannah against her back and her arms slipped around her waist. She leaned back into the embrace enjoying the feeling of having her girlfriend close to her once more. But to her surprise, being this close to the brunette wasn't helping her mood. It actually intensified it.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Savannah whispered into her ear.

"Just had a bad dream. Scared me a little…I'll be ok." Marti sighed as she tried to regain her composure. It was only a dream and it wasn't like Savannah had really said any of that to her. But if it was only a dream then why did she feel like she had just been punched in the chest?

"Aww, just lay back down with me. I'll protect you from the big bad monsters." Savannah said as she fell back into her spot on the bed.

"I just need to go to bathroom. Be right back..." Marti slipped out of bed and padded her way out of the bedroom. She got to the living room and sat down on the couch. She just needed a few moments to process everything. After what Dan had said and now this dream, Marti wasn't feeling very confident in her relationship with the cheer captain. But she and Savannah already had the 'this is real' talk so there should be no issues. At least for her anyway.

"Yeah, right…" Marti fell back against the pillows on the couch and dragged her fingers through her hair again. Everything that happened between them had happened so fast that they skipped over all of the getting to know you things. Like how would her family react to her bringing a girl home instead of a boy? Or how would the team feel about their super straight arrow captain being turned out by the new girl? How would this effect her beliefs?

"Damn it…" Marti sighed and the tears fell once again. The dream Savannah was right. There were so many odds against them and she was starting doubt if they could make it work. She loved Savannah. She honestly did. But how could they make this work anywhere outside of the walls of the bedroom? Marti looked about at the door that led to the little world that she and Savannah had made. How long could the bubble that they built last?

She wanted to go back into the room and forget everything that was relentlessly swirling around her brain. She told herself to get up but she couldn't. She was going to lose her and she might as well get used to being by herself again. She curled up on the couch and closed her eyes. All she could see in her mind saw Savannah just walking away from her.

"Don't go…" Marti whispered as she slowly drifted back to sleep.

Savannah was still lying there waiting for Marti to come back in the room. She hadn't told Marti but she was having second thoughts about going to her mother's house for dinner. Actually she was having second thoughts about bringing Marti along. She knew her mom and she knew that this was just a chance for her to pick her apart for leaving Memphis Christian and hurl the usual assortment of veiled insults at her.

"Which is always fun…" And even though she knew that, she still missed them. She missed seeing her dad getting ready for church on Sundays. She missed spending time with her sister and even though she would never say it aloud, she missed her mom. They were her family. And no matter how often she would tell the squad that they were a family, there was a connection that she had with her real family that nothing could replace. And before Marti came along, she spent many of nights wishing she could have it back. Now here was her mom offering the chance to spend time with them once again and she was wondering if she should go.

And there was also the fact that her mom might one day accept that she left her family's school but she would never accept her new lifestyle choice. It went against everything she was taught to believe in. Savannah clutched her pillow and sighed. If she was being completely honest with herself, she had been feeling guilty. She was going against what she believed every time she was with Marti and her faith had a zero tolerance policy when it came to these matters.

She had been trying to convince herself that if she just jumped headfirst into the relationship that these feelings of guilt would go away. After all she did love Marti. She loved Marti so much and because she wasn't a man it would never be accepted.

Savannah rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. When she was little she used to pray that God would send her somebody special. Someone who would love her and protect her heart. And now she had that but it was still not the way that she had pictured it. Was this some kind of a joke? She fell for Marti almost the second she saw her and as far she knew, she had never liked a girl let alone love one. And she had given up her virginity to Marti like it was an afterthought. But she loved Marti and that makes everything ok, right?

And what if the team found out about them? Hell, what if Alice found out? There was no way to tell what would happen. Maybe they could just keep this behind closed doors like they had been doing. Maybe she would find a way to love Marti and not feel like she was betraying her faith. She looked over at the door and wondered what was taking so long. She pulled the blanket back over herself and left some room for Marti to get back in bed. She stared at the blank spot where the blonde should be and sighed. There was no way that this dinner was going to go well.

"You are up early again…" Marti said even though her eyes were still closed.

"I can't help it…I am a morning person." Savannah's voice was always so light and perky even at four in the morning. It was one of those little things that made Marti's heart flutter.

"You are morning person even when it isn't morning." Marti smirked.

"We have to get up it in a little bit anyway…" Savannah purred.

"So is that your excuse for waking me up so very early morning?" Marti snarked as Savannah smiled at her.

"I had a really good reason..." Savannah answered as she started playing the strap on Marti's tank top.

"Care to share with the class Miss Monroe?" Marti scooted up so she was next to Savannah. God, she was so pretty. She just sat there taking it all in.

"Maybe…" Savannah whispered.

Marti was about to give her standard smart ass comeback but then she felt those amazingly soft lips of Savannah's on hers. It was just her way of saying good morning. Marti opened her eyes once the kiss ended and she smiled. There was Savannah and she was right where she belonged.

"Okay that was a pretty good reason…" Marti whispered.

"It was only pretty good?" Savannah pouted.

"Baby, you know that is not true." Marti got up and straddled Savannah's lap. She looked into those beautiful eyes and exhaled.

"Every single time I kiss you, it takes my breath away…" She pressed her lips against Savannah's once more. She gently sucked on her captain's bottom lip. Savannah did the same to Marti's and then let her tongue gently slide into the blonde's mouth.

"Mmmm…" Marti moaned from feeling that velvet tongue sliding into her mouth. She loved it when Savannah did that. She let her lips close around it and gave it a gentle suck. She heard her moan from her doing that. Marti released her hold on the shorter girl's tongue and looked into her eyes once more. She started placing these tiny butterfly kisses on all over her collarbone.

"What if I said that I didn't want get up? What if I said that I just wanna lay in this bed with you? All day long. No class, No Hellcats. No leaving our room at all. What would you say to that?" Marti whispered into Savannah's ear.

"I w-would say that you and I have to be at my mom's for dinner…unnhh..." Before Savannah could finish her thought spoke, Marti had gently started sucking on her neck.

"Baby, I don't wanna share you today… I just wanna be under you…" Marti whispered into her ear and then continued sucking on Savannah's neck.

"That feels soooo good…" Savannah groaned as she started playing in Marti's hair.

"I can do a lot more…just stay with me…" Marti continued her assault on the brunette's neck. She tasted so good. It was like sucking on a strawberry Jolly Rancher. She always tasted like something sweet.

"We can't…" Savannah gasped.

"Why not Miss Monroe?" Marti slid her hand up the front of Savannah's top and squeezed her breast.

"Because nothing has changed from the last time we talked. My family will never take me back if I am with you. And what they think of me is all that matters." Savannah whispered into Marti's ear.

"What did you just say?" Marti moved her face out of the crook of Savannah's neck.

"The truth. You know I am right. We are just playing some game when we are in this room." Savannah's tone was so calm that it was a little scary.

"I don't believe you. This is real. I love you, Savannah. This isn't a game for me…" Marti put her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"Maybe it is for me." Savannah's expression didn't change at all.

"No. I know it isn't. You and me. We are supposed together. You are the only one who has ever made me believe in myself. And when I look into your eyes, I know that I am right where I am supposed to be. And you know it too…" Marti whispered and closed her eyes. When she opened them once more, she was in front of Cheer Town and she could see Savannah off in the distance.

"Wait!" Marti screamed and started to chase her. But she was moving so fast that she could barely keep up.

She was losing her. The only thing she had ever really wanted was slipping away from her. She had to catch her. She could fix this. Make Savannah see that she was worth it.

"Stop!" Marti screamed again. The faster she ran the further away Savannah got. But Marti wasn't going to stop until she caught her. Her heart was pounding and her legs felt like jell-o but she wasn't going to give up. She ran as hard as she could and…

Savannah looked over at Marti and she was still sleeping. When she had finally gotten up that morning, Marti was already in the gym so she couldn't talk to her about this guilt that had started to hang around her neck. After morning practice, Marti disappeared again. In fact Savannah hadn't seen her all day. She came back to Cheer Town already dressed for the evening. She was wearing a simple black dress that wasn't too tight or anything and a pair of black heels that made her even taller than she already was. And she had managed to convince Savannah to let her wear her leather jacket. She looked amazing.

Then she literally passed out as soon as they hit the road. There was something going on with her. But she could barely focus on why Marti was acting weird today. Her stomach was doing cartwheels and back flips as she was driving to her parents' house. What exactly was her plan supposed to be? Bring Marti in and say 'Mom this is my girlfriend, Marti. On top of leaving the school that you spent my whole life grooming me for, I have also turned my back on my religion because I am in love with her'.

"It could work…" Savannah sighed. There was no way that was going to work and she was feeling like she was backed into a corner. She could not see how she was supposed to get through tonight. The brunette looked over at her girlfriend. Her beautiful and amazing girlfriend. Marti had done nothing but love her and now she was sitting here thinking about how this relationship is doomed. Should she even be continuing this line of thinking before she talked to Marti? Hell, did Marti even want to talk to her? She had done a pretty good job of avoiding her all day.

"Maybe she was feeling the same thing." Savannah whispered sadly.

Marti had woken up from her nap but she didn't say anything. She kept her eyes closed and pretended like she was still sleeping. The last dream had knocked her for a loop but this new one was even worse. There was this feeling of impending doom that had settle in her stomach and there was no getting rid of it. She had spent the whole day avoiding Savannah because she couldn't handle seeing her. She knew that she was going to want to talk about why she hadn't come back to bed and she didn't want to. So, she went to gym and stayed on the treadmill until practice started. Then after practice, she spent the rest of the day hiding in the library and then hiding at her mom's house. And for a second there, Marti had managed to convince herself that she wasn't going to go with Savannah tonight but then she realized that she could do that to Savannah.

So she got dressed and went to back to Cheer Town. And there was Savannah. Savannah was wearing her traditional floral print dress with a pair of heels that made her a little taller as well. And as always there was her 'Cheer' necklace. She looked adorable. But even after seeing she still had this feeling that maybe she shouldn't be going. And this last dream convinced her. There was no way she could ever ask Savannah to choose between her and her beliefs. She could never ask her to do that and there was no way she was going to let Savannah do it.

"Marti, wake up we are almost there…" Savannah whispered as shook the blonde while keeping her hand on the wheel.

"I am up…" Marti said as she sat up in the passenger seat. She looked over at Savannah and she knew what she was going to have to do. And it was going to kill her to do it but there wasn't any other way.

"Baby, are you sure that you are okay with doing this?" Savannah slipped her hand into Marti's. She had never seen her like this. Marti didn't seem like herself at all. Savannah gave squeezed her hand trying to get Marti to look at her but the blonde was in different world.

"No." Marti said as coldly as possible.

"What do you mean?" Savannah asked as pulled up in front of her parents' house.

"What I mean is that I can't be with you anymore." Marti whispered.

"Why would you say that?" Savannah asked. Marti could hear the tremble in her voice and she knew that if she looked into those eyes, she would break for sure.

"Because sooner or later, this is going to come down to how much are you willing to sacrifice to be with me." Marti said with her eyes closed.

"I didn't know I would have to sacrifice anything…" Savannah answered.

"But you would have to. You know your family would never accept me and deep down, I am not sure if you really do either. I can't ask you to give up what you believe in." Marti could feel her voice cracking. There was no way she could make it through this without crying.

"Marti, I love you! How could you ever think that I don't accept you! You don't get to decide what I can and cannot handle." Savannah snapped back.

"You say that now but one day, being a couple behind closed doors isn't going to be enough for me anymore. And I am going to want to tell everyone about you. And you are going to want to be back with your family. A family that has a strong faith and that will not like that fact that their daughter is experimenting with her sexuality. And I don't want to be responsible for you losing your faith and your family. I just can't do it, Savannah." Marti felt a tear slip down her cheek but she still wouldn't look at Savannah.

"So, that's what you think this is to me? An experiment? That I am going to wake up one day and say 'That was great Marti thanks for showing me how to be gay, I think I am going to back to the home team'. Do you really think I would do something like that to you? You were the first person I ever made love with. You were. And it wasn't because I want to know what it felt like it was because I love you, Marti Perkins!" Savannah was crying. She could hear it in her voice and it was killing her to hear like this but she still pressed forward.

"You and I may be in love but if we keep going like this one day you are going to look back and realize what you gave up to be with and no one should ever have to give up everything that makes them who they are. I can't let you do that. So I think…I think we should break up." Marti whispered. She opened her eyes and Savannah had gotten out of the car. She watched the brunette stride around to her side of the car and yank the passenger door open. Savannah grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the car.

"No. If you are going to break up with me, you are going to look me in the eyes and do it. But before you do I am going to tell exactly what I have been feeling and when I am done then you can talk." Savannah said through clenched teeth. Marti nodded and wiped her tears. Savannah stood there looking at Marti for what seemed to be an eternity. Then she finally spoke.

"I don't want you to go. Yes I have been feeling guilty for being with you. I know that I was brought up to believe that this kind of relationship is wrong but it doesn't change the fact that I still want to be here with you. And that scares me. It scares me that I love you so much. I am facing some big choices here but I would never put anything over my feelings for you. My beliefs and what I tell my family and everyone else is something that I am willing to face but I can't do that unless I know you really want to be here with me."

"And I can't ask you to betray what you believe. I can't be a part of that…I just can't…" Marti said through her tears.

"S-so what does that mean?" Savannah asked even though she knew the answer.

"It means when you get back to Cheer Town, I am not going to be there. I'll still be on the team but I can't be there anymore…" Marti whispered. Marti gently pulled Savannah into an embrace and held her close. She closed her eyes and let herself just swim in the moment. As she stood there holding onto Savannah, she remembered the first time they hugged…

"You don't have to worry…not when you are with me ok?" Savannah said softly.

"I won't then...Good night, Savannah…" Marti pulled her roommate into a embrace and it felt amazing to have this beautiful girl pressed up against her. She felt like she could spend the next few years of her life just holding Savannah in her arms. The brunette's hand slowly roaming on her back and the smell of her hair, it was like a dream.

"Good night, Marti…" Savannah said as she held onto the taller blonde. It felt so right to her. They held each other for a little longer and they finally separated.

"Nobody said you had to go…" Savannah said quietly.

"But I have to go…I'm sorry…" Marti gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. She let it go on for a few more moments before she broke it. Marti touched Savannah on the cheek and the tears continued falling from her eyes. She gave a sad little smile and moved away from the car.

"I love you, Savannah Monroe." Marti turned and started walking away.

"Marti…" Savannah just stood there and watched the blonde until she disappeared from sight. She gently closed the car door and closed her eyes. As she stood there, she remembered the first thing she said to Marti when they slept together in the same for the first time.

"I knew you were special from the moment I met you… I still can't believe you're real. But I am so happy that you are here…with me…" Savannah whispered and as far as she was concerned, there was no way this was over.

To Be Continued…