"Alright, ladies, practice is over. Enjoy your evenings, and remember, the football team is playing next Thursday, so you each need to bring your A game. Now get outta here!" Coach Sharma blew her whistle, dismissing us from cheerleading practice.
My shoulders sagged in relief at the fact that practice was finally over. Making the cheer team was a challenge in itself. However, actually practicing alongside the other cheerleaders was an entirely new issue which I hadn't prepared myself for.
Since I happened to be one of the lighter girls on the team, today Coach Sharma decided to test out what things would look like if I was at the top of the pyramid. More than once, the other girls had accidentally dropped me, leaving me with a number of bruises and an agonizing pain in my knees. Needless to say, they weren't entirely accepting of me being on the team.
Slowly limping, it took me a little bit longer than usual to make it to the changeroom. The moment I entered, the other girls began to shoot me looks and whisper amongst each other. Last year, this likely would've sent me into a whirlwind of anxiety. However, now that I was a senior, I'd come to realize that I simply didn't care what any of these people thought of me. Besides, in a few months, I'd never have to see them again.
With that, I decided to ignore the attention I was receiving and head straight for my locker. Just as I entered the combination and opened my locker, a note slowly descended from it. No doubt, someone had slipped an unpleasant message into my locker. It had been a while since someone had tried this tactic on meâit was a classic, anonymous form of bullying. Ugh, could they at least be creative?
"Something fell from your locker, Crazy Daisy," Heather smirked at me. "Aren't you gonna pick it up?"
The other cheerleaders eagerly looked on in interest. I didn't say a word, refusing to give Heather the satisfaction of a reaction. Nonetheless, she sashayed towards me and plucked the note off the ground.
"Here, I'll read it out for you," Heather sweetly said, as if she was doing me a favor. "It says, your a loser who doesn't deserve to be on the team, so quit now and save yourself the embarrassment of being kicked off later."
She handed me the note to read for myself. My eyes flickered over it before crumpling it and shoving it into my pocket for future use.
"This note was obviously written by your dumb ass, which I can tell because you used the wrong your," I calmly stated.
Her face contorted in anger. "Whatever, bitch! I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, because if you mess up, we'll all suffer, and I won't hesitate to make sure you pay for it."
I was completely unimpressed by her attempt at scaring me. "I made this team fair and square."
"Except it's not fair!" she screeched. "You don't deserve to be on the team."
"Why not?"
The question caused her to incredulously laugh. "Why not?" she repeated, taking a step towards me. "Because you don't have what it takes to be one of us, Johnson. You're nothing but a loser. No one likes you, and no one ever will."
I frowned. Not in sadness, but rather, in pity. After all these years, Heather had never changed. She was still the same mean girl she'd always been, playing on other people's insecurities. The only difference this time was that her words no longer affected me.
"Listen here. If you think for one second that I'm going to let you bully me or intimidate me, you've got another thing coming. I may be new to the team, but I didn't make it because of luck. I worked hard and I earned my spot, so there's nothing you can do except cry about it, captain," I mocked.
Heather's smirk faltered, replaced with a look of surprise. Before she could respond, a few other cheerleaders who had been changing nearby burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Heather snarled, rounding on them.
One of them spoke up, poorly hiding her amusement. "Sorry, but it's about time someone told you off."
I felt a surge of gratitude towards the girl who had stood up for me, but I also felt a pang of sadness. These cheerleaders had stood by and watched as Heather had tormented me and others for years, and now they were only laughing because they were glad it wasn't them.
"You know what's not funny?" I said. "The fact that you've all stood by and let Heather get away with this kind of behavior for years. Almost everyone at this school thinks that the cheerleaders are a bunch of mindless airheads, and instead of proving them wrong, you guys just watch as Heather bullies innocent people. In fact, some of you even laugh. You're nothing but a bunch of bystanders, and that disgusts me even more."
Silence ensued as each cheerleader gazed at me, utterly stunned. A small weight lifted off my shoulders after voicing my thoughts. I could only hope the other girls took my words into account. With that, I swung my bag over my shoulder and strolled out of the change room, head held high as all eyes were on me.
I walked across the field and sighed as I prepared myself for the long walk. Unfortunately, the Kia that I usually drove had been having many mechanical issuesâmore so than usual. In fact, I wasn't even able to start the engine this morning.
Slowly trekking down the street, I squinted up at the sky. A droplet of water had landed on my forehead. Before I knew it, it began to downpour.
"Just my luck," I huffed to myself, walking faster and attempting to shield my hair.
Just as I was about to cross the street, a sleek car with darkly tinted windows came to a screeching halt next to me. I froze as the culprit rolled the window down and revealed himself.
"Elias," I softly gasped.
"Daisy?" his familiar, deep voice caused my heart to skip a beat. "What are you doing?"
It took a moment for me to register that he was actually in front of me. This was my first time being in his presence since... that day.
Allow me to backtrack. After Elias and I had vulnerably confessed our feelings for each other, I'd done my very best to avoid being alone with him. Whenever we were together, we were surrounded by other people, whether by our friends at lunch, or by our classmates in PE. Regardless, we hadn't had the chance to discuss things one on one, which was exactly how I wanted it to be. I shouldn't have kissed Elias. I was too rash. Too selfish. It wasn't fair to him. I was still keeping secrets, and so no matter how much I wanted to give in to my burning desire for him, I stayed away. It was simply for the better.
"Walking, obviously," I curtly replied.
"I can see that," he said through gritted teeth.
"Then why'd you ask?"
"Because I wanted toây'know what, never mind," he cut himself off with a glare at me. "What I really meant to ask was, what are you doing walking in the rain when you've got a car?"
"The Kia's been having some issues. I'm waiting till I have a bit of extra cash on me before I take it to the mechanic. Besides, I have to worry about paying off Andre first."
"Andre?" Elias appeared confused. "What have you got to pay him for?"
"Well, a few months ago, my landlord called to let me know someone anonymously paid off my bills for me."
Elias tensed. "I see. And you think this someone was Andre?"
"Of course," I nodded, "he even admitted to it."
Elias looked away, appearing deep in thought. "That's... nice of him."
"Yeah."
For a moment Elias and I simply stared at each other, me in the rain, him in his car. A loud clap of thunder caused me to suddenly jump.
"I should get going," I hastily said.
Without waiting for a response, I continued my journey down the sidewalk. Nonetheless, Elias shifted gears and slowly drove next to me.
"Where are you going?" he persisted.
"The library."
"Why?"
"Why do you think?"
"Must you always answer my question with another question?" he growled.
My lips quirked into a smile. "I'm going to study for the biology test."
"Great, I'll come with."
"No!" I exclaimed quickly.
"Why not?" Elias demanded.
I was saved from answering when a car in the lane behind him suddenly honked. He cast them a rude gesture before calmly facing me as though nothing had happened.
"Because I actually need to focus. You're just gonna distract me," I said, although I could already feel my resolve crumbling at the look on his face.
"I won't. In fact, I'll do nothing but sit there in silence," he said. "You won't even notice I'm there."
I gazed at him with skepticism written all over my face, causing him to roll his dark eyes.
"You can't avoid me forever."
"I'm not avoiding you," I quickly said, although we both knew that wasn't true. To be honest, I think that by avoiding Elias, my feelings for him had even intensified. I often found myself thinking about him a lot more than I'd like to admit.
"Then get in," he said. "Sorry, D, but I'm not letting you walk in the rain. I already made that mistake before."
A small smile tugged at my lips. "Fine," I softly sighed, before climbing into the passenger seat of his car.
He smirked almost victoriously, before picking up the pace and immediately driving off.
*****
Elias wasn't lying when he said that he would do nothing but sit in silence. We'd spent the last three hours sitting at a small table tucked away in the corner of the library. The comforting smell of old books and the soft rustling of pages filled the air. While I'd spent the entirety of my time studying for my upcoming biology test, Elias merely sat there watching me. Although, I suppose his patience was wearing thin, as he began to boredly bounce his leg up and down without realizing it.
"Stop distracting me," I quietly murmured while my head was buried in a textbook.
"I'm not."
"You keep on bouncing your leg. It's shaking the entire table."
"Sorry, I didn't realize it was bothering you," he shrugged, although instead of stopping, he began to bounce his leg even harder, the sound echoing throughout the entire library.
"You're doing that on purpose," I said with annoyance, although a betraying smile had made its way onto my face.
"Prove it," he immaturely challenged. When I remained silent, he continued, "that's right, you can't."
Rolling my eyes, I let out a sigh. "I hate you sometimes, Ellie."
"Only sometimes?" he sarcastically placed a hand on his chest. "Oh, the romance."
Despite his teasing, I couldn't help but feel my heart flutter at the sight of his playful grin. Slamming my biology textbook shut, I rubbed my eyes and let out a yawn.
"Finally done?" Elias questioned.
"Yup, I'm just gonna quickly check my email before I go," I murmured, pulling my laptop out of my bag.
He raised an eyebrow. "Who still checks their emails these days?"
I shot him a withering look. "Some of us actually have responsibilities."
He chuckled, clearly enjoying the way I was getting riled up. "Touchy, touchy," he said, eyes dancing with mischief.
"You're such a jerk," I muttered under my breath, quickly packing up my things and getting up.
Nonetheless, Elias could not resist the urge to tease me further and followed me down the aisle. "Come on, lighten up. I'm just teasing you."
I stopped abruptly, turning to face him. "Well, stop it. It's not funny."
He took a step closer to me, dark eyes burning into mine. "You wanna know what I think?"
"Not really, no."
He continued anyway, his voice low and dangerous. "I think you secretly like it when I tease you."
"As if. You're insufferable," I scoffed, trying to push past him.
But he caught me by the arm, holding me in place. "Admit it. You like the way I get under your skin," he said, his eyes blazing.
I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my chest. "I do not," I whispered.
Elias leaned in closer, his breath cool against my skin. "Then why do you keep coming back for more?" he lowly questioned, lips brushing against mine.
I closed my eyes, my resolve melting away. "Because I can't help myself," I whispered back.
We exchanged a heated look, and then without another word, our lips immediately clashed. The feeling of his lips against mine was simply euphoric. It was though we'd all lost all sense of our surroundings. Elias pushed me against the bookshelf, so roughly that it scratched my back and a few books went tumbling to the ground.
"Sorry, did that hurt?" he hoarsely questioned against my lips.
"No no, keep going," I giggled, closing my eyes as the kiss intensified.
"Ahem." A firm cough caused me to gasp and shove Elias away from me.
A male librarian was gazing at us with a look of pure distaste.
"S-Sorry, we'll go," I squeaked, scrambling to pick up the books and put them back on the bookshelf.
Once I did so, I stood up straight and faced the librarian with a sheepish smile before hastily scurrying out of the library, Elias in tow.
"Did you see the look on his face?" Elias howled in laughter as we ran outside, practically doubled over on the street.
"It's not funny," I laughed, hitting his shoulder. "We have got to stop doing that."
"What, kissing?" Elias asked unabashedly.
My cheeks heated. Unable to form words, I silently nodded.
"But, why?" he appeared unusually dispirited. "I like you. You like me. It's simple."
"Except it's not," I sadly looked down. "There's things you don't know about me, Elias. And I'm afraid... I'm afraid that..."
It was difficult to articulate the thoughts and feelings I'd never shared with anyone. Elias seriously faced me.
"There is nothing you or anyone could say that would change the way I feel about you," Elias said with such sincerity that I almost believed him. "Besides, what could you have done that's so bad? You can't even hurt a fly, D."
"Right," I smiled, although it didn't quite reach my eyes. My phone suddenly dinged from a notification, and I quickly opened it.
I emitted a loud gasp as I read the email.
"What is it?" Elias questioned in alarm.
"Dear Daisy Johnson," I shakily began, "we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the Business program at Columbia University."
"What? That's incredible!" Elias yelled in pure joy on my behalf. "See? I told you! I knew you'd get inâ"
"Additionally, we are pleased to inform you that you have been awarded a scholarship that covers half the cost of tuition," I whispered.
"That's great, isn't it?" Elias asked uncertainly.
"The scholarship only covers half. Who will pay the other half?" I weakly asked. "They're one of the top universities in the state. I can't possibly afford this."
Elias' face dropped. "So, what are you saying?"
"I'll have to decline," I sadly turned off my phone, before placing an unconvincing smile on my face. "It's alright. Anyways, thanks, Ellie. I wouldn't have applied if you hadn't convinced me to. At least I know I tried."
"That's bullshit," he cursed angrily, much to my surprise. "You're going to that university, D. I'll pay."
I was utterly taken aback. "You will do no such thing!"
"Please, Daisy, it would hardly be a dent in my fortune. I know how much you wanted to get into this program, and if anyone deserves it, it's you."
"No, Elias, I can't believe you would even suggest that!" I exclaimed. "I don't need your pity, and I most certainly don't need your money."
"But you can accept Andre's?" he questioned bitterly.
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, you said he paid for your bills, didn't you?"
"That was different. He did it anonymously without me knowing. Besides, I'm paying him back."
Elias appeared as though he was debating something, before at last he blurted, "it was me."
I scrunched my nose in confusion. "Huh?"
"I'm the anonymous person who paid your landlord," Elias sighed reluctantly.
I felt my expression drop, as I slowly began to form words. "What? I-I don't understand... Andre saidâ"
"Andre lied," Elias coldly interrupted. "It was me all along. I could tell you were struggling, but I knew you were too stubborn to accept any help, so I went behind your back and did it anyways. Andre only lied because he wanted to impress you. And for the record, I don't pity you. I admire you, Daisy."
My mouth dropped open as Elias swiveled around and began to walk towards the car.
"But, I still don't understand," I desperately said while following after Elias. "Why would Andre lie to impress me?"
"That's something you have to ask him yourself," Elias blankly said, revealing nothing more.
With that, Elias opened the passenger door for me. Muttering a feeble thanks to him, I climbed into the car while a million thoughts ran through my mind at once. Although, the most prominent thought of all was that I needed to speak with Andreâimmediately.
*****
QOTD: do you like to bake?
AOTD: yes
We just hit 200k reads! Wow I'm actually stunned. Thank you guys so so so much for reading this book, and an even bigger thank you to the people that vote and comment. I love you guys so much!!!!
Updates are gonna be happening on more of a weekly basis from now on, as I'm extremely busy. Also would just like to clarify that the love interest is Elias and ONLY Elias. Take that as you will.
Hope you guys liked this chapter! Let me know what you'd like to see next.
Love, Emmanuela
04/20/2023