Brynn

"What kind of sicko professor would even give his students a test on the second week of class?" Hailey, one of my cheer teammates, asks. Me and five other of my cheer friends sit in the library catching up on homework. None of us share the same majors so what we're currently working on varies. Hailey is a business major so that is what she is complaining about. "Most profs at Oak Hill are sickos," Sabrina says, shaking her head. "You've only been here a week?" Hailey tells her, her statements coming out more like a question. Sabrina is a freshman. Alyssa looks up from her paper and smiles at Hailey. "I've filled her in throughout the week," she says.

"Professors are definitely sickos," Jude mumbles, flipping through her textbook. I break out in a smile. So far, I haven't had any problems with my five professors but if they're all saying this then I'll wait for the day when I see it. Lauren has her knees tucked to her chest on the chair as she's focused on her phone. "How was your first official week, Brynn?" she asks me. I shrug my shoulders even though she's not looking. "It was fine. I'm adjusting," I admit. I've lived in Oak Hill for over a month now because of cheer camp but actually starting school is different.

It's not terrible, but it's not amazing. Like I said, I'm adjusting.

"Don't worry, the fun will start next week once football starts," Alyssa says, wagging her blonde brows. I smile at the thought. Football season brings me joy but also nostalgia. Nevertheless, I know I'll enjoy it and take it all in as it is my final year cheering. "Oh, fuck yeah. We better have a season as good as last year. I don't want to be cheering on losers," Jude says. Some of the other girls snort, nodding their heads. I obviously wasn't here last year but I did know about them doing well last year as they mentioned it a couple of times already.

The girls start a conversation about some new brand of cheer shoes Coach Jade was talking about and I almost look back down at my homework until I notice a familiar face in my peripheral vision. I look up quickly as I see Valdez and Cgc walking close by, both distracted by their conversation. I haven't talked to Cgc since earlier this week when I went out with him and his friends. It was a little. . . rough. His friend Maddy gave me a hard time for I have no idea what reason. Though she also wasn't the nicest when I met her earlier, before the bar.

She hosted the hall meeting in her dorm me and 15 other girls squeezed in there. She laid out basic ground rules and each of us introduced each other. I was nice, just like I always am, but I could feel her hard glare on me half of the time. I figured she just had a bitch face but I was wrong. My roommate Janae mentioned that she's that big of a bitch and she knows since she has been living in Freeman hall since she was a sophomore. She also said she's slept with her boyfriend, Xander, before. Before they dated of course.

I didn't even remember that Cgc mentioned he knew a Maddy until I came to the bar and saw her sitting right there. I was still respectfully nice just in case it was an in-the-moment thing despite Janae's words. I was wrong though as she gave me a hard time the whole night. Cgc apologized for her at the end but I was so done with her by the end of it that I just kind of ignored it. The rest of his friends were nice though, I certainly did not mind them.

"Hey, Cgc!" I say as he inches closer by our table. The girls stop mid-conversation and all their eyes flit to me and the person I just called out for. Cgc and Valdez both stop in their steps focusing on me. "Oh, hey," Cgc says with a small smile. Valdez smiles as well, "Hey, Brynn." Out of everyone there, Valdez was probably the nicest to me that night. He and Cgc, of course. "Catch you later? This guys' gotta help me study for my test," Cgc says, wrapping his arm around Valdez's shoulder and patting his chest once. "Oh, yeah. Go ahead," I say. The two of them smile and Valdez shoots me a wave before they disappear deep into the library.

When I focus back on the girls, half of their mouths gape. I furrow my brows in confusion. "What?" I ask curiously. "You know Cgc Scott and Christian Valdez? How?" Alyssa says first before anyone else. All the girls nod like they wanted to ask the same thing. Okay, I'm very confused now. "Are they like celebrities or something?" I ask genuinely. "Uhm, not yet. Valdez will be once he's in the NFL. That's beside the point, are you blind? Have you seen them? They're sexy," Hailey says quickly, whisper shouting that last sentence. Ohhhh. Now, I get it.

I knew Cgc was lying when he said he wasn't a ladies' man. I figured it out when two girls asked him- and only him - to come take shots with them at the bar on Tuesday, but this just confirms my thoughts even more. "How do you know them?" Jude adds before I can answer. "Uhm, I met him earlier this week on Monday, and then he invited me to hang out with his friends on Tuesday," I say. Lauren says something I can't quite catch under her breath, the rest of the girls hold the same facial expression.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Alyssa asks. "I didn't know it was important?" I say nervously for some reason. "She's new of course she doesn't think that's important. She doesn't know who they are," Hailey says. "I don't know who they are either!" Sabrina chimes, raising her pencil. The girls sit back down on their chairs and their eyes follow the two men who now sit a good amount away from us, halfway across the library. They both read the same book and write stuff down in separate notebooks. "Cgc Scott is Oak Hill's hottest guy. Look at him," Hailey says into a sigh, swooning. "Not only is he QB 1, but he's also captain this year. Any girl who sleeps with him is on my shit list simply because I'm jealous of them," she adds.

All the girls look over to Cgc and Valdez right now, but they're completely clueless about that fact. "He is very hot," Sabrina says "who's the other guy though? I think I like him more." All their eyes shift to the other brunette next to him. "Christian Valdez. He was captain of the football team last year. I'd rank him under Cgc but he's still so gorgeous. He's also very taken by some chick which fucking sucks for us," Hailey frowns slightly. Sabrina groans and turns back around at that. "Cgc is single though and so is his best friend, Rhys," Jude says. "Rhys is so cute," Alyssa nods. Okay, it's kind of weird since I met all these people already.

They all turn back around after Hailey's explanation and so does she. She focuses back on me, "Now that you're friends with Cgc, you have to invite him to literally every party any of us host," she says. My eyes widen slightly, but I recover quickly. "And Rhys," Alyssa says, blushing. "Uhmmm, I'll see what I can do," I say with a weak smile. I think I'd be too shy to invite anyone to every single party my friends throw. Especially since I feel this heavy pressure to invite these boys they fawn over.

"Be real with us for a second thought," Jude says "did you sleep with Cgc?" she asks me. The girls laser their focus on me still as they wait for an answer. "No!" my voice slightly raises a pitch which happens when I lie, but they don't know this. Also, I did not sleep with him so I have no idea why that happened. I guess talking about sex makes me. . . nervous. "I did not sleep with him. I also don't plan on it," I admit "have all the interest you want in that guy, but he is not for me." I shake my head quickly and hold my hands up slightly in defense. Hailey gives me a confused look. "Are you lesbian?" she asks.

My eyes widen even more. "No! I just don't find him. . . he's not for me, okay? He's all yours," I say to no one specifically. All of them could sleep with him for all I care. I'll cheer them on from afar I guess. They all smile like I've just given them the world and eventually, we all get back to our own thing again.

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The girls leave a little earlier than I do. I stay back for a while to finish up some extra assignments. I have a better time focusing when I'm at the library than at my own dorm. Also, the quietness is good. Janae's back at the dorm since she only has one morning class on Friday. Not that she is loud but I don't want to be distracted by anything as I try to finish up these final assignments. They're not due for another week but I like to stay on top of my work especially since next week is the first official football game and I want to be able to enjoy that weekend.

"Yo," a deep voice says, plopping down on the chair in front of mine. I look up from my bio homework at the male in front of me. A smile curves onto my lips. "Hey," I say. I didn't realize that he was still here. "How's homework going?" Valdez asks. I sigh and lean back against the somewhat cushioned chair. I rest my arms on the arms of the wooden parts of the chair. "Stressful, but I want to finish it by tonight so I don't have to worry about it on the weekend," I tell him. I look around momentarily, but Cgc who he was with previously, is nowhere in sight.

"Coach called him in for a short meeting," Valdez says, noticing me looking for Cgc probably. I nod my head when my phone buzzes on the table next to me.

Maddy Hayes: girls what did i say about keeping boys past twelve? stupid hall director is giving me shit. don't let it happen again. janae.

I roll my eyes at the message. I'm sure her boyfriend stays past the 'curfew' as well. He actually has since I saw him leave at two a.m. yesterday when I woke up to pee. "Is Maddy always so unlikeable?" I say but immediately regret it. God, I'm such a big mouth and he is friends with her. To my surprise, he laughs. A real laugh, not a fake one. I think. "Yes and no. She kind of picks and chooses who she gets along with so don't let her bother you too much," he says. "Yeah, I just don't want to be on her bad side if I'm friends with Cgc and. . . you, maybe," I say kind of unsure.

I feel kind of dumb for even suggesting that we're friends since we have only hung out once. "Don't worry about that. It's not like we don't befriend people just because Maddy doesn't like them. Like I said, she's fucking difficult," he says, rolling his eyes at that last sentence. "Don't get me wrong, I like her. We've grown. . . closer. She's dating my best friend after all but she can get aggravating. I'm probably more biased since she's dating Xan and is my girlfriend's best friend, but Cgc won't give a fuck," he assures me, shaking his head. I nod slowly, taking that in.

I've never been the type of person who has to have everyone like her but it's annoying when someone doesn't like you. Especially when you haven't done anything wrong to be on their bad side. "I let things get to me too much. I just wanted a fresh start and didn't think anyone would already hate me one week in. I had one too many girls hating me at my last school," I breathe out. Valdez's eyebrow arches slightly. "You were a little problematic then?" he asks. I can't help but smile, shaking my head. "Not at all. It was just this one girl who didn't like me over a guy who she ended up with with in the end," I admit. I didn't mean to say that much either, fuck.

"Oh wow. Why be petty with you when she got what she wanted in the end?" he leans his elbows on the table. "I said she got him, not kept him," my voice comes out softer and I cringe slightly. I don't want to talk about Beth James right now. "So, you got him back?" he questions. I shake my head, "No. It's a long, complicated story. I don't think I did anything wrong but she still hated me." I shrug my shoulders. "Sounds complicated," he tilts his head and I nod. "Forget that though, you can still get a new start here even with Maddy being Maddy. Your world and the world doesn't revolve around her," he adds.

I smile a bit and nod. That's true. I definitely will not let her ruin my chance at getting a fresh start here at Oak Hill, nope. Ignore, ignore, ignore. I've always been good at that.