I could hear the buzz of the crowd before I even pulled up to the stadium. That and the fact that I was stuck in game traffic for about a mile before I was even able to park my car made me feel like I was back in my element. My body was humming and I couldn’t have wiped the smile off my face if I’d tried. Not that I’d want to—a smile was a cheerleader’s best accessory.
The row of parking spaces usually reserved for student athletes—which allowed for the cheerleaders to leave as soon as the game was over—had already been taken by the rest of the squad, since they’d gotten to the field about two hours prior to kickoff. So I had to settle for parking with the fans, which meant I was much farther away from the entrance. This was actually okay, since I wouldn’t be going in the front entrance with everyone else. I needed to go in the back way if I was going to avoid being seen.
Locking up my car, I then headed in the opposite direction from the crowd, weaving in and out of cars until I reached the fence that closed in the stadium. Taking a hard left, I moved around the perimeter until I approached the area directly behind the bleachers. People weren’t supposed to hang out back there, so I figured it would be the safest place for me to be. Looking around to be sure that no one could see me, I did a quick spell to separate the chains in the fence long enough for me to slip through and out of sight.
I snuck forward until one of the spaces between the bleachers was eye level. The roar of the fans was muffled from my current position, but I had a perfect view of the field. And best of all, the cheerleaders.
They were finishing up a chant and I watched with admiration as they held their final poses: three Scorpions in the back. Sofia had finally become flexible enough to pull her leg up behind her until her shoe was hovering in the air right above her head. She’d been trying to pull off a Scorp all year, but hadn’t really mastered it until now. The fact that she’d managed to do it while I was gone was just a dip in the moment.
I began to clap for her accomplishment before realizing that no one could hear me, and let my hands fall back to my sides.
You’re not here to cheer, Hadley. You’re here to check on your friends. And say good-bye.
A quick sweep of the girls on the sidelines showed me they were all there. Bethany and Sofia were now splitting middle in the front row and Trish called the cheers from the far right back. My usual spot. It was hard not to feel jealous that Trish was currently living the life I wished I could get back. In fact, now that I saw they were all safe, the reality of what I was missing truly hit me.
My life would never be the same again.
I would never just be a cheerleader with normal teenage problems. A girl who spent her nights at games and her days running her school. My parents were most likely both dead, so they wouldn’t be around to see me graduate from high school and help me with my college applications or give me advice on what career I should have. If I wasn’t able to beat the Parrishables, I could forget about ever having a boyfriend or getting married one day. My life as I once knew it was over.
“Sixty seconds!” Coach yelled out over the noise of the crowd.
I watched as the others lined up for the beginning of the second quarter, chatting to each other excitedly and waving to their friends in the crowd. When the players took their places on the field, Trish called out a touchdown chant and the others got ready to perform.
Just one last time.
I took a step back and got into position right along with my teammates. Then, from under the bleachers, I clapped my hands together and cheered my heart out. I matched every motion, dance, and jump they did and jumped up and down when the team made a touchdown. Focusing on the task right in front of me allowed me to leave my worries and stress behind. It was the first time in forever that I really felt like myself.
And I wished it didn’t have to end.
But it did. And I decided I’d rather leave on a good note and not press my luck by hanging around. So I began to back up, silently saying my good-byes to my old life as I went. Except, all of a sudden, I saw a set of familiar eyes looking in my direction through the slats in the bleachers. No, not in my direction, directly at me.
Asher.
I quickly crouched low to the ground, terrified that he’d actually seen me. Was it even possible? Asher would’ve had to look through a space the size of a bread box into a section of the stadium that no one should’ve been in and that was hidden under darkness. Maybe he hadn’t spotted me at all and it was like those portraits where the eyes followed you no matter where you went in the room.
It was just an illusion.
I slowly stood back up, expecting to see his eyes still on me, but when I took a peek, the only people I saw were fans and students walking by as they chatted excitedly. There wasn’t a dark-haired faux-hawk in sight.
Asher was gone.
Or maybe he’d never been there in the first place.
Either way, I was surprised by the sadness I felt when I discovered that he wasn’t there. Logically I knew we were both better off. I’d come back home because I thought that the people I cared about would be safer without me around. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Asher yet—we’d only ever talked once—but I certainly didn’t want to get him killed.
Still, it would’ve been nice to have the chance to see what was there.
With a sigh, I turned around and walked away from the noise of the fans. Climbing through the magical hole I’d made to get in, I sealed it up behind me and then headed for the car. Trudging back like I was doing the walk of shame, I pulled my hoodie up over my long, dark hair and tried to shield my face from anyone who might recognize me.
At least I knew that my friends were okay. Maybe the Parrishables wouldn’t go after them, like I’d thought. There was even the slightest possibility that I could convince the Parrishables to give up this witch hunt and I could go back to being me.
With a final look at the game going on behind me, I began to drive away.
A girl can dream, can’t she?
It was harder coming home this time. There were no expectations of anyone being there to greet me. And instead of feeling better after seeing Bethany, Trish, and Sofia, I just felt worse. I couldn’t explain it. Maybe I was having an identity crisis, because I no longer fit into a world I used to own. And I resented it.
I tossed my keys onto the kitchen counter and said the spell that would set the alarm behind me. The silence in the house was deafening and I looked for something to fill the void. Turning on the television in the living room, I sat down to think about what I was going to do next.
It felt like I’d slowly been losing myself since the fire in the warehouse and that it was time to get back to the heart of Hadley. Something had to bring her back to life or at least give her something to live for again.
And then there was a knock at the door.
I shot to the ground, even though I knew the spell was still on the house that made it impossible for outsiders to see or hear what was going on inside. The rapping came again, this time a little louder, and I carefully picked myself up and crept over to the locked front door. A peek through the hole revealed there was no one there.
The third knock had me clutching the wood while straining to see outside. I was cautiously curious, but there was no way I was going to yell through the door and let the faceless person—or people—on the other side know I was home.
“Hadley!” a guy’s voice called, just loudly enough for me to hear in my entryway.
“Asher?” I asked, finally feeling safe enough to talk.
“Can I come in?” he asked.
I briefly wondered if it was wise to do what he asked. Then he’d be able to come back anytime he wanted.