Protector - Montgomery De La Cruz

Chapter 3

Alex let out a long sigh before digging through her cheer bag and pulling out everything that she would need for the pep rally. She took off her shirt and then slid on her cheer shirt before running her hands over it to smooth it out.

Jess was silently putting her shoes on next to Alex, usually talking up a storm, but today was not the case. "Hey Jess, you okay?" Alex asked softly, concern in her voice.

She already knew what the answer was. Jess was worried about the fact that her boyfriend, Justin Foley, had not come to school that day, or the day before that and had been blatantly ignoring her.

Alex was worried for Justin, but if she were being completely honest, she was also pissed off about the way that he had been acting recently. She understood where the boy was coming from, but he didn't need to take it out on the people around him, and he especially didn't need to take it out on her or Jess.

Alex and Justin had been best friends for as long as they could remember, the two of them were attached to the hip and some would even say the heart. They told each other everything, they trusted each other with anything and everything.

She had always been there for him when he needed her and he had always been there for her when she had needed him. The two of them had run away together on multiple occasions when they had to escape their houses.

When the two of them had gone to Bryce's or Jeff's houses they would stay up, constantly making sure that the other person was alright, as if they were guarding them. Justin cared for her more than anyone in the world, and it was the same the other way.

But lately, things had felt different. Alex couldn't help but feel like Justin had been hiding something from her and if there was one thing that she knew... it was that she didn't like it.

Jess looked up and smiled softly at Alex and nodded her head, her smile not reaching her eyes. "Yeah Alex, Im fine. Don't worry about it I'm just a little tired," she said and Alex knew that she was lying, but after knowing Jess for this long, she also knew that it wasn't a good idea for her to press it.

Sherri's loud voice then echoed through the locker room, a giant and bright smile on her face as she waved her pom poms in the air, "alright ladies, listen up. Today is a big day and I want you to give it your all. Now lets get out there and show them all how it is fucking done!" Sherri called

Jess let out a snort and turned to Alex, "I think someone forgot that youre the captain" Jess said and Alex just shrugged her shoulders, a small smile on her face

"shes just trying to help" Alex says and smiles softly down at Jess as she quickly begins tying her shoes up. Alex looked up from her shoelaces and noticed that the girls were all looking to her, clearly all of them thinking the same thing as Jess, and not caring for what Sherri had said.

Alex felt her eyes widen slightly before she quickly shook it off and stood up, grinning at all of them. "Alright team. As Sherri said, it is a big day today and there are going to be a lot of people out there. So I want you all to go out there and try your best and show them that cheerleaders aren't just pretty girls in sexist uniforms... cheerleaders run the show and deserve just as much praise as those basketballers out there!"

"YEAH!" The girls all cheered out loudly as they looked at their captain with wide grins

"LETS GO OUT THERE AND SHOW THE SCHOOL WHAT WE HAVE GOT. WE ARE THE LIBERTY HIGH TIGERS SO LETS GO AND SHOW 'EM OUR STRIPES!"

"YEAH!" the girls all cheered and then they all lined up quickly and then burst out into the hall in a single file line, doing their rehersed cheers and dances while wearing the tight, short uniforms that hugged the girls curves.