Chapter Two: Astrid: Dazzle Me

"Scale of one to ten," I coyly whispered to him, carefully out of anyone's earshot, "how bad are you crushing on Pajux?"
His eyes widened visibly at my question. "What? I-I'm not..." My baby pink lips turned up into a smirk, as I saw his chest rise and fall with a sigh. "Eleven."
"You got it bad."
"What gave me away?"
"Women's intuition." I laughed softly. "And the fact you blush and smile every time I say his name."
A light pink flush appeared under the Argonian's eyes. "Shut up..."
"Why don't you just ask him out?" I suggested. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"He could tell everyone that I'm gay, and I'd really rather not."
"Nobody's that heartless, Vee. Ask him to come to the Plaza with us after school, you two can hang together while Gabby and I shop."
"That is... Actually not a bad idea."
"Not just a pretty face, sweetie."
And that's just what my little Vee did. As Gabby and I sat in La Fontaine's drinking iced mochas, my phone vibrated.

Veezara: I'm in his car, we're on our way. It's happening!

A thin but devious smile stretched across my face as I showed the text to Gabby. "It's on, girl."
For the next twenty minutes, she and I planned out every moment of the next few hours; where we would go, what we would say, to make sure Pajux falls head-over-heels in love with our little Vee. Not that it would be hard, it's impossible not to. He was so sweet, kind and gentle; to know him is to love him. From the moment we met, it was like we were friends forever. It was difficult to hang out together at first; guys who hang out with cheerleaders are always assumed to be gay. Sometimes assumptions are true, but Vee wasn't ready to let the whole school know that. So, he joined the football team. The two most popular cliques in school were expected to hang together.
Then, Jaree happened.
They dated in secret, which was a lot easier because Jaree attended the boarding school outside the city. Vee was so taken, so much in love with him, that I thought he was ready. Almost every day, I saw the words on his lips. But then, that fucking rat bastard couldn't keep it in his pants. Not that he wanted to: he'd been screwing around with half the boys in his school behind Vee's back. The day Vee found out... It destroyed him. His confidence, his self-belief... Gone. But I took the liberty of getting revenge on his behalf. A few words to the right people at a game, and nobody went within ten feet of him ever again. That was definitely one of my proudest moments.
Outside the window, a dark blue car pulled up with the two hopeful lovebirds. They stepped out of the car, and Pajux almost leapt over the car just to be close to Vee.
"Oh, it is more than on," I whispered in Gabby's ear before they came in. Vee and I shared a tight hug, and Pajux and I did as well, sharing polite 'it's good to see you's. The two sat down at the table alongside Gabby and me, ordering themselves coffees.
"So," Pajux began, "aren't you guys taking a big popularity risk hanging out with the new loser?"
"Oh, probably," I said, "but you have the makings of cool. We'll see if our investment in you pays off."
He chuckled into his coffee, managing not to spill a drop. "Trust me, it'll pay off. I guarantee I'll be a cheerleader by the end of the week."
"Well, there are other ways to join our little group other than becoming a cheerleader."
"Is that so?" The Argonian boy's pale green brow lifted, as his head did that cute tilt-y thing they do sometimes.
"If you date someone in the group, we'd have to let you in."
"But there's no other queer guys in your group. Is there?"
Just as my lips parted, I felt Vee's foot strike my shin. Hard. His green eyes glared so much that I could almost feel the daggers, but he kept it hidden from Pajux and Gabby.
"Astrid, come with me a sec, I wanna get a slushy."
About as subtly as a flying brick, the two of us stood and left the table, out of sight of Gabby and Pajux's prying eyes.
"Astrid, what in the name of fuck are you doing?" His voice was clearly pissed off. Shit.
"I-"
"Don't," he growled, cutting me off. "You know more than anyone that I'm just not ready. If I wanna ask out Pajux, I'll do it myself, okay?"
"Fine... I'm sorry. Happy?"
"Let's just sit down."
The two of us returned to the booth, where Gabby and Pajux waited for us, clearly worried something was wrong. Vee put on a smile to keep questions to a minimum, as the four of us sat and talked as if nothing happened.
"No slushy?" Pajux asked Vee, smiling (and clearly trying to flirt).
"Nah, they don't have any flavors I like."
"So picky."
"I like what I like."
"I feel that."
Gabby and I shared a sly look to one another, smirking. Ten cyros say they're together within a week.

The rest of the day was spent in a blur of shopping, browsing, carrying and eventually eating. We stopped to have dinner in a little 50s theme diner (y'know, burgers, milkshakes, red vinyl booths, the usual), and of course Vee and Pajux spent the whole time flirting. Strange, there were even times where Vee started it, which never happened, even when he was with Jaree. This new boy was certainly bringing out a side to Vee I'd never seen before. Good.
The time came for us to part ways, with Pajux offering to drop Vee off at home. Gabby rode with me back to her place, where we both giggled and gossipped about the two loverboys.
But then, it came time to drop her off as well. I watched from my car as her cyan-blue hand shook in a goodbye wave, before putting it in gear and driving towards my grandma's estate. Driving through the gates, up towards the house itself, I wondered to myself who Grandma would think I was today. A carer? One of her interns at Femme Monthly? Talos only knew.
I steeled myself before getting out of my red convertible. The huge eggshell white house loomed over me, less of a welcoming home and more somewhere I just went to sleep in these days. In the sitting room, decorated with white floral-print furniture, sat my grandmother, looking like royalty in her faux fox-fur coat, smoking one of her Atronach Regals.
I quietly stepped into the room, but not quiet enough; her charcoal-grey eyes turned to me.
"You there," she spoke down to me, "bring me my coffee. Two sugars and a splash of cream."
I pursed my lips, wishing I could click my fingers and just make her remember everything. "Gran... It's me, Astrid..."
"I don't recall asking your name, girl. I asked for my coffee. If it isn't in my hand in the next three minutes, I'll make sure you never sell a story to a magazine again."
"No, I'm... I'm your granddaughter. Remember?"
"Granddaughter? Pah. I'm 38 years young, and my only child is ten."

I couldn't do this. When she was like this, there wasn't much that could bring her back to herself again. And every time she disappeared, we never knew if she'd come back.

As I stepped away, my hand on the door and ready to leave, I heard a soft croak from her.

"Astrid dear," my grandmother whispered softly, "could you bring your old granny a coffee? I feel a bit... Out of sorts."

"Sure, gran." I faked a smile for her. She didn't know, and telling her wouldn't help.

Gran sipped her white coffee daintily, in her heart still the fashionista model-turned-magazine-editor she was as a much younger woman. And some days, in her head too. Alzheimer's had pretty much erased everything she'd done in the fifteen years since she retired; to her, it was still the year 480, and she still ran Femme Monthly, one of the most successful fashion magazines to ever be published.

I hauled the bags full of new clothes up to my bedroom, before collapsing face first on the bed and groaning. Mostly these days it was me and Gran in this big empty house; Mom was still on her book tour of Western Tamriel, and Dad, being one of the biggest commercial realtors in Cyrodiil, was hardly ever home. If it wasn't for Arn and my friends, I'd probably go crazy.

My phone flashed and vibrated in its bedazzled pink case (yes I'm perpetually stuck in the nineties).

Arn: You home babe?

Astrid: Yeah, I'm probably gonna head to bed soon though

Arn: I was gonna ask if I could come over, spend some time with you

Astrid: Loredas, for sure x

My phone clicked as I locked the screen, plugging it in to charge. That was one of my favourite things about being with Arn; he's pretty quiet, taciturn, but the little things he did, like leaving me little texts to say he loves me, asking if he could come over. A lot of guys would take that to mean sex, but never Arn. In the three years we'd been together, sex was the least important thing for us. If the mood took us, sure, but we didn't have it all the time, whenever we could. I'd rather spend our nights just in his arms, lying on his chest as he plays with my hair. That was just blissful.

As morning rolled around, I clawed my way out of bed and into the bathroom to shower. My morning routine took a while, with showering and makeup, not to mention taming the beast that was my bright blonde hair. With it under control in a loose, messy-but-still-chic ponytail, I headed downstairs for breakfast. From down the hall, I heard Gran's morning carers giving her her medication and helping her out of bed. Nobody wants to see their grandmother being lifted into a wheelchair.

With some food in my stomach, I fixed my navy denim jacket and got in my car, making my way to my deserved queendom. Today was a big day after all; the day I would decide who is elevated to the pinnacle of popularity, and who would be left a nobody. Afternoon classes were suspended for tryouts not just for cheerleading, but for all the sports and clubs. So, when lunch hour rolled around eventually, I swaggered to the locker room to put on my uniform. The soft polyester still clung to my curves, and the tiny skirt ended at my thighs (which is kinda creepy actually, I've been wearing them since I was in the junior varsity squad). The list of names of those trying out hung by the entrance to the gym, with thirty names on the dot. Twenty-nine girls, and of course, one guy: in a flowing, pretty handwriting, the name Pajux-Tai Androscal.

The whole hall of the gym was completely cleared; bleachers folded away, basketball hoops pushed against the wall, leaving nothing but space for the hopefuls to demonstrate their talents, and a table for us queens to judge them. Kinda like Tamriel's Next Top Model.

A couple of girls had gotten there a little early, coming from a free period probably, and gleefully offered me a hand to pull the chairs to the table, thinking it would help their chances of getting picked. One of them, I recognised from gym class in junior year. She was definitely gonna be a nope. No flexibility, no grace, but she was strong and fast. Probably better suited to hockey or something like that.

A few minutes later, and my squad joined me in the gym. Gabby, Kiki, Saffron and the rest, making up a total of six. The varsity squad needed a minimum of ten with four alternates, which means we need eight new cheerleaders. All of us who were already on the squad took our seats at the table, while the hopefuls crowded around the bleachers. My eyes scanned the crowd of faces, catching Pajux's eyes, a confident smirk on his face.

"Alright people," I called out, picking up the clipboard with the sign-up sheet. "Let's just get started. If you're not auditioning, move off the floor. First up is... Gina Suran."

That overly perky Bosmer from my Restoration Practical skipped onto the floor, handing her CD to Rhea, another of my girls. The boombox began to blast some of Katy Perry's song Hot 'N' Cold, which she moved her body swiftly and gracefully to, the pom poms in her hands shaking with the beat. I think she tried out for the junior team back in sophomore year, but she didn't move like this. When she finished, her body leaned forward in a short bow, as I drew a small circle next to her name to signify maybe.

"Next up, J'Shada..." I squinted at the list, trying to make out her handwriting. "...something-car?"

A dainty little slip of a Khajiit girl slinked out of the crowd, walking over with her head hanging a little. Before she started, I decided to beckon her over to me, leaning to whisper in her tall, orangish ears.

"Be confident. Nobody is here but you and me, okay?"

I felt the fur of her face move a bit as she smiled, getting back into her position. My heart bled a little for her; the poor thing had always been shy and mousy (ironic for a Khajiit), and while I'm the queen of this school, all these girls are my princesses.

After her routine to Beyoncé's Run The World, Shada stood panting a little, watching for the slightest glimmer of a reaction from us. We all gave her polite applause, as she got a circle next to her name as well.

Ten more girls came and went, most of them getting red crosses next to their names apart from one or two. But nobody massively stood out at this point. That was, until I called...

"Pajux-Tai."

The excitement made my cooch tingle a little, as he sauntered into the centre of the room with all the confidence I expected from him. Every eye in the room was on him, in his red and white scaletight t-shirt, matching pants that were tucked into his sneakers. Normally, that would be an offense to fashion, but it's practical when you're cheerleading. Rhea was given his CD as normal, as he took a few breaths to steel himself.

Click!

Distorted synth chords began to echo from the boombox. Pajux's lithe, thin body moved with the beat expertly, as if he were on a stage, being fawned over by twenty thousand fans.

"That's M-O-N-E-Y, so sexy, I..."

I know that voice... I mused to myself, while I watched Pajux. That's Lady Gaga.

As the bouncy, bubblegum pop bounced and Lady Gaga sang about money and the glam life, Pajux moved around the room... The only way to describe it was fabulously. He was like a fucking pop icon the way his pom poms twinkled. His arms moved like snakes being charmed, and his legs seemed to slide around the floor as if on wheels. Damn, he was not exaggerating.

The bridge of the song came around, as Pajux moved into a fast paced dance portion, his tail swinging around him as he twirled. The final chorus returned to a normal pace, and with the last lyric, the Argonian boy leapt at least four feet in the air, landing in a perfect splits, his pom poms above his head. How that did not split his cock in half was beyond me, but every single one of us leapt to our feet applauding and cheering for him.

"He is so definitely in!" Rhea squaled excitedly.

"I never doubted him for a second," Gabby gloated.

"Well hot damn, Pajux, I thought that was all big talk before." I smirked at him devilishly. "You are so, one hundred percent on this squad."