Free Web NovelChapter 33: Chapter 33 - Loose Mouth
The stadium was still burning from the win.
People clogged the exits, yelling over each other and replaying the last touchdown like every person there had thrown the ball themselves. The student section was still chanting near the railing. Parents took pictures on the field. Alumni slapped each other on the back like they had aged backward twenty years.
Fairmont’s side emptied faster, because losing looked ugly in green and gold.
Roxie stood near the track with the rest of the squad, throat raw, poms hanging from one hand. Her face hurt from smiling. Her legs hurt from the routine. Her pride hurt from Lacey’s stumble, even though they had saved it and everyone had screamed after the lift.
Winning helped.
It did not erase the fact that Coach Miller looked like he had been waiting twelve minutes to commit murder.
"Captains," he called.
Roxie stopped.
Kendall stopped too, which was impressive because Kendall usually needed three seconds to decide if authority applied to her.
Karen made a small sound behind Roxie. "Good luck."
Angela whispered, "Stand straight."
Roxie gave her a look before walking toward Coach Miller.
He stood near the edge of the track with his clipboard tucked under one arm. The crowd moved behind him in messy streams. People walked past with hot chocolate, blankets, little kids, and phones still recording. Coach Miller waited until Roxie and Kendall stood in front of him.
Then he looked at Roxie.
That was unfair.
Kendall had also been present during the stunt, breathing and everything.
Coach Miller’s mouth tightened. "Explain."
Kendall folded her arms. "Which part?"
Roxie answered before Coach Miller could decide Kendall’s tone needed it’s own punishment. "The lift."
His eyebrows rose. "So you know exactly which part."
"Yes, Coach."
"Wonderful. Then explain why the regional sequence appeared in a halftime routine without my approval."
The word regional made Kendall’s eyes flick toward the field.
The win noise suddenly sounded farther away.
Roxie adjusted her grip on her poms. "Lacey missed the tumbling landing." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"I saw."
"Fairmont booed."
"I heard."
"Their cheerleaders laughed."
Coach Miller stared at her. "I also saw that."
Roxie swallowed. "We needed to recover the crowd."
"You needed to stay inside the routine." freewebnσvel.cѳm
Kendall shifted beside her, quiet for once.
Coach Miller stepped closer, voice low enough that the passing parents could not hear everything. "That lift was approved for regional practice, with spotters, mats, and a full warm-up. You used it on a field at halftime because Fairmont hurt your pride."
Roxie’s face warmed.
"It was more than pride," she said.
Coach Miller’s eyes sharpened. "Then what was it?"
Roxie looked past him.
Near the field, Zac was surrounded by boys, parents, and two little kids in Ravens hoodies. One kid broke free from his father and ran straight toward him with a football tucked under one arm. Zac crouched to hear him, took the marker from the kid’s hand, and signed the ball while the boy bounced in place like his bones had too much sugar.
The kid’s father snapped a picture.
Zac handed the ball back and said something that made the kid grin so hard Roxie almost looked away.
"Jones."
Roxie snapped her eyes back to Coach Miller.
His expression did not improve. "Are you listening?"
"Yes, Coach."
"Then answer me."
Roxie pulled her shoulders back. "I could not let them laugh at our team."
Coach Miller’s face changed.
The anger stayed, but something heavier landed under it.
Disappointment.
Kendall saw it too. Her mouth twitched, then flattened.
"Our team," Coach Miller repeated, "means every girl on that field. Including Lacey. Including the flyer you sent up. Including the bases who had to adjust because you decided pride mattered more than procedure."
Roxie took that one without blinking.
Because he was right.
Coach Miller looked at Kendall next. "You are co-captain."
Kendall’s chin lifted. "I followed the call."
"You should have questioned it."
"I had two seconds."
"You had enough time to move."
Kendall’s mouth closed.
Roxie hated that she felt almost grateful.
Coach Miller looked between them. "You pulled it off. The crowd loved it. Congratulations."
The words did not sound like praise.
Karen and Angela stood a few yards away, pretending they were not listening while looking directly at them.
Coach Miller continued, "Now Fairmont has seen one of our strongest regional moves. Every phone in this stadium probably caught it. By Monday, every squad in our division can study it frame by frame."
Roxie’s fingers tightened around the pom handles. "I’m sorry, Coach."
He studied her for a moment.
Then he sighed, which somehow felt worse than yelling.
"You will both make up for it," he said. "Expect a harder routine for regionals."
Kendall’s eyes widened a little. "Harder than the one we already have?"
"Yes."
Karen whispered from behind them, "We’re dead."
Coach Miller did not turn around. "I heard that."
Karen’s face went innocent fast.
Coach Miller pointed at the squad. "Cool down. Pack up. Nobody leaves until I say so."
"Yes, Coach," Roxie said.
Kendall echoed her.
Coach Miller walked toward the younger girls, already calling for Lacey.
Roxie stood there for a moment, still holding her poms.
"You always talk about safety," Kendall said.
Roxie looked at her.
Kendall’s gaze moved down Roxie’s uniform, then back up to her face. "Counts. Lines. No freelancing. Everyone follows the routine."
Roxie’s jaw tightened. "Say what you want to say."
Kendall smiled. "Because of your ego, we showed Fairmont a move we needed for regionals."
Roxie’s eyes narrowed.
Kendall stepped closer. "You still made the right call."
That caught Roxie off guard.
Kendall’s smile sharpened because she noticed.
"It was reckless," Kendall said. "Arrogant too, so very you."
"Compliments are usually shorter."
"I’m not complimenting you."
"You just said I made the right call."
"I said you were reckless. Try to keep up."
Roxie stared at her.
Then she turned and walked away, leaving Roxie standing there irritated, confused, and somehow insulted by praise.
Karen and Angela waited near the bags.
Karen lifted both brows. "Did Kendall just give you approval?"
Roxie started toward them. "I don’t know."
Angela smiled a little. "That is her love language."
"Kendall does not have a love language. She has attack patterns." Karen said laughing then handed Roxie her bag. "Coach Miller said nobody leaves yet."
Angela’s smile faded as she looked over Roxie’s shoulder.
Roxie stopped. "What?"
Karen looked too.
Her eyes widened. "Oh."
Roxie turned.
A Fairmont player stood a few steps away, helmet hanging from one hand, green jersey dirty from the game. The name across his back was Moore, but his face was turned toward her now.
Blond hair, green eyes, clean haircut, typical football body.
He smiled like he knew her.
"Roxxane?"
Roxie’s stomach went cold. Nobody called her that here.
She stared at the Fairmont player.
Moore.
That was what the jersey said.
But the way he looked at her was familiar. Too pleased. Like he had found something he had not expected to find and planned to hold it up in front of everyone.
Roxie lifted her chin. "Who are you?"
His smile faltered.
Then he laughed, awkward and disbelieving. "Seriously?"
Roxie said nothing.
He stepped closer. "Ethan Davis. Moore now but it’s me."
The name hit quietly.
Elementary school. Old desks. Hot classrooms. A boy who used to trade snacks. A boy who knew which street she lived on. A boy who had seen her before Briarwick, before cheer, before the version of herself she had built from lip gloss, posture, and lies told confidently enough for rich girls to believe.
Roxie’s fingers tightened around her bag strap. What the hell is he doing here?
"Oh," she said, keeping her face still.
Ethan’s smile came back, relieved. "You remember."
She nodded once.
Karen looked between them. "You two know each other?"
Roxie’s mind moved too fast.
Ethan knew her.
The real her.
The stadium noise pressed in around her. Students walked past in groups. A few Briarwick boys glanced over because Fairmont jerseys were basically enemy uniforms.
Ethan looked at Roxie like none of that mattered. "It’s been so long."
Everything was messed up, and he was smiling.
Before she could answer, a hand pushed Ethan back by the shoulder.
Zac stepped between them.
"What are you doing with our captain?" Zac asked.
The words came out casual.
His face did not match.
Roxie saw three nearby students stop walking.
A girl lifted her phone near the fence.
Roxie stepped around Zac and grabbed his wrist. "Come on. He’s nobody."
Ethan’s face changed.
That had come out wrong.
Great timing to sound cruel in front of two quarterbacks, her friends, half a football team, and Kendall’s evil little eyes.
Roxie pulled Zac away before either boy could react properly.
"Move," she said through her teeth.
Zac let her drag him two steps, then pulled his wrist free and followed on his own.
Ethan called after her, "Roxxane."
She stopped because that name on his mouth felt like a threat even if he meant it like a memory.
Zac heard it too.
His eyes shifted to her face.
Roxie hated that.
She turned back to Ethan with the kind of smile she used on teachers, donors, and anyone holding power she did not want them to notice they had.
"What do you want?"
Ethan looked from her to Zac, then back again. "I wanted to say hi."
"You said it."
His smile thinned. "You always this friendly now?"
"Only after football games."
Zac stepped closer, shoulder almost brushing hers. "You heard her."
Ethan’s gaze moved over Zac.
Roxie could practically see the male nonsense forming.
Territorial. Competitive. Stupid.
She turned on to Zac first. "Stop."
His eyes came to hers.
Still angry.
Still wired from the win, from Dylan’s injury, from nearly fighting, from seeing Ethan say a name nobody at Briarwick used.
A bigger problem was Kendall watching from ten feet away, pretending to search inside her bag while her whole face screamed investigation.
Roxie needed Ethan gone.
She stepped closer to him, keeping her voice low. "You said hi. We’re done."
Ethan’s smile faded a little. "That’s it?"
"That’s it."
He looked past her at Zac, then back at her. "You changed."
Roxie smiled. "People do that."
Ethan looked like he wanted to say more.
Please don’t.
Her fingers tightened around her bag strap.
Ethan must have seen something on her face, because his expression shifted. The easy smile came back, but softer now, less sure.
"I’ll see you around, Roxxane."
She hated the name more every time he said it.
Ethan backed away, then turned toward the Fairmont side.
Roxie waited until he disappeared into the crowd before she let herself breathe.
Zac stepped into her line of sight. "Who the hell was that?"
She looked at him. "Nobody."
"Come to the party," he said suddenly.
Roxie blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
"No."
His jaw shifted. "You keep saying that."
"And somehow you keep asking."
"This time I’m telling you."
Roxie laughed once. "That’s cute."
His eyes sharpened. "I’m serious."
"So am I."
Zac stepped closer, close enough that she had to tilt her chin to keep looking at him. "I’m going to get drunk tonight."
"Congratulations."
"My mouth gets loose when I’m drunk."
Roxie went still.
Zac watched her understand.
Roxie’s voice dropped. "Are you threatening me?"
His face flickered. He looked like he regretted it. Then his anger came back and covered it. "I’m saying you should come."
"You know what that sounds like?"
"I know."
Her stomach turned.
This was ugly.
And the worst part was that he knew it was ugly.
Roxie turned back to Zac. "You’re an asshole."
His jaw worked. "Yeah."
"At least you know."
"Come to the party."
She hated him in that moment.
She hated Ethan for showing up.
She hated herself most because Zac had found the one thing that could make her say yes.
"Fine," she said.
Zac’s expression changed.
Roxie lifted her chin. "I’ll go."
His eyes stayed on hers. "Good."
"No," she said, stepping closer now. "You do not get to look satisfied. You got what you wanted by being a jerk."
Zac swallowed as she turned away.
