The Captain's Dirty Little Secret

Chapter 13: Chapter 13 - Briarwick VS Riverside Gale

Game night at Briarwick always looked better from far away.

From the parking lot, the stadium lights made everything look shiny and important. The field glowed green under the lamps, the bleachers were packed in black and silver, and the student section had already started screaming like they were trying to personally injure Riverside Gale through volume.

Up close, it smelled like wet grass, hairspray, cheap nachos, and boys who believed deodorant was optional after warmups.

Roxie adjusted the bow in her hair and walked with the squad toward the sideline.

Angela looked at her. ”You okay?”

”Yes.” Roxie paused. ”No.”

Karen lifted a brow.

Roxie sighed. ”I’m just a little nervous.”

Karen followed her gaze across the field.

Riverside Gale’s cheer squad stood in a clean line near the visitor sideline, navy and white bows high, skirts perfect, smiles sharp enough to compete with Kendall’s. They kept looking at Briarwick with obvious side-eyes, whispering behind pretty smiles.

Karen’s mouth twisted. ”They’re worse than that one.”

She didn’t have to point.

Roxie already knew she meant Kendall.

Angela sat beside Roxie and smiled sweetly across the field. ”Heather looks like she needs to shit.”

Roxie blinked.

Then she laughed before she could stop herself.

Karen stared at Angela like she had just discovered a new religion. ”I’m sorry. What?”

Angela kept smiling at Riverside. ”She does.”

Roxie pressed her lips together, trying to pull herself back into captain mode, but it was already too late.

She was laughing.

Roxie clapped once. ”Warmups.”

They moved toward their side of the field and spread out near the track.

Across from them, Riverside’s squad was doing the same thing, stretching in neat little lines with their navy and white bows sitting high and perfect. Their cheer captain glanced over once, then said something to the girl beside her.

The girl laughed.

Subtle.

The bleachers filled fast after that.

Parents climbed the rows with trays of nachos and paper cups. Freshmen squeezed into spaces that were absolutely not spaces. The senior section packed itself near the middle, black and silver everywhere, faces painted, phones already up. On the visitor side, Riverside fans answered with navy signs and loud claps that rolled across the field like a challenge.

”Let’s go, Wolves!”

”Ravens! Ravens!”

A drum started somewhere behind the band. Someone on the Briarwick side shook a plastic bottle full of coins, which was creative, annoying, and probably against at least one school rule.

Roxie rolled her shoulders and lifted one arm across her chest.

The girls moved into stretches.

Still, half the line kept glancing across the field.

Riverside’s girls were watching too.

Roxie snapped her fingers.

”Eyes here.”

Everyone looked at her.

”Riverside will be laughing if anyone of you get distracted. We need to focus.”

”Yes, captain.”

A whistle blew near the field house, and the whole stadium reacted.

The band started playing. The student section stood up. People stomped on the bleachers until the metal shook. Riverside fans booed from the visitor side before the Ravens even came out.

Roxie lifted her poms and kept her smile ready.

Then the doors by the field house opened.

The football team ran out.

The Ravens came onto the field in black jerseys and silver helmets, slamming through the student council banner with RAVENS EAT WOLVES painted across it in huge silver letters. The paper tore down the middle, and the home side started screaming.

It was dramatic.

Very Briarwick.

The game had not even started yet, and everyone was already acting like volume could win it for them.

Then Zac came out, number seven, helmet tucked under one arm, shoulder pads making him look bigger than usual.

The crowd got louder.

Roxie kept smiling toward the stands.

Zac jogged toward midfield with the other captains for the coin toss. His hair was pushed back under the edge of his helmet, and his face was serious. He looked different during games.

He turned toward one of the coaches and listened.

Angela leaned closer while clapping. ”You’re staring.”

Roxie did not stop smiling. ”I’m looking at the field.”

”The field has number 7 on it?”

Karen coughed into her fist.

Roxie lifted her poms higher. ”Both of you are replaceable.”

”No, we’re not,” Karen said. ”You need bases.”

Roxie faced the student section again.

Unfortunately, she did.

The first quarter started badly.

Riverside got the ball first and moved fast. Their running back kept finding gaps in Briarwick’s defense, and their fans screamed every time he gained yards. Riverside’s cheerleaders answered with clean, loud chants from the visitor sideline.

Roxie led the defense cheer until her throat started to scratch.

”Defense, Ravens, hold that line!”

The squad echoed behind her.

Riverside pushed downfield, but Briarwick stopped them before the end zone.

The home bleachers went loud again.

Zac took the snap, stepped back, avoided one defender, and threw downfield.

Caught.

The home side screamed.

Roxie clapped automatically.

Karen leaned closer. ”Oh damn. You’re invested.”

Roxie rolled her eyes. ”We are literally their cheerleaders.”

”Sure. Sure.”

Roxie looked back at the field because answering that would only encourage them.

The game stayed close.

Riverside was better than Roxie wanted them to be. Their defense was fast, their quarterback stayed calm, and their cheer squad kept answering every Briarwick chant like they had rehearsed just to be irritating.

By the second quarter, the score was tied.

Zac took the snap and dropped back. A Riverside defender broke through the line and hit him right after he threw.

The hit was hard enough that the crowd gasped.

Roxie stepped forward before she could stop herself.

Angela caught her wrist.

”Roxie.”

Roxie froze.

The ball landed in the receiver’s hands near the end zone.

Touchdown.

The home side went wild.

Zac rolled onto one side, then pushed himself up to his knees. His teammates rushed him, shouting and slapping his helmet, but for half a second, he looked toward the sideline.

Toward her.

Roxie was still one step out of formation with Angela’s hand around her wrist.

Their eyes met.

Then he looked away.

The crowd kept screaming.

Roxie stepped back.

Kendall’s smile was already waiting.

Roxie hated everything.

Halftime came with Briarwick up by three.

The football team jogged toward the locker room, coaches yelling behind them. The cheer squad moved to the center of the field while Riverside’s squad waited on the opposite side.

Roxie turned to her girls.

”Listen,” Roxie said.

The squad quieted.

Even Kendall.

”Count yourselves. Trust the music. If someone beside you rushes, you do not follow. If something feels wrong, you hold. We are not giving Riverside a clip tonight.”

The flyer nodded.

Angela set her shoulders.

Karen flexed her fingers. ”Ready.”

Kendall smiled. ”We know, Captain.”

Roxie looked at her. ”Then prove it.”

The track started.

Roxie moved first.

The squad followed.

The first formation hit clean. Arms snapped into place. The chant carried over the field, and the Briarwick student section answered louder than Roxie expected.

Then came the first lift.

The bases dipped.

Up.

The flyer rose clean.

The crowd screamed.

Down.

Roxie felt the whole squad relax.

She kept her own face steady.

They moved into the dance break.

Riverside’s squad watched from across the field. Heather stood with her arms crossed, following every formation with her eyes.

The next stunt came.

Kendall was on the front count.

Roxie heard her voice.

She heard the beat.

For a second, the squad seemed to wait.

Then the girls counted themselves.

The lift went up on the music.

The flyer locked in, arms high, smile bright.

Roxie let herself breathe.

The squad had listened.

The crowd cheered.

Angela and Karen moved into place.

Roxie stepped between them.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Angela and Karen dipped.

Roxie rose.

She twisted, caught the spin, and dropped clean into the cradle.

Angela caught her back.

Karen held steady.

The back spot guided her down.

Roxie landed and hit the final pose with the rest of the squad.

The Briarwick side screamed.

The student section stomped. The band started again. Someone near the front rail yelled, ”That’s our captain!”

Roxie held the pose for one more beat.

Then she smiled across the field.

Heather clapped twice, slow and annoyed.

Roxie smiled brighter.

After the routine, the squad rushed back to the sideline.

Coach Miller was waiting.

His face barely changed, but he gave one nod.

One nod from Coach Miller was basically a parade.

Roxie barely had time to breathe before Riverside took the field.

Their music started fast, sharp enough that half of Briarwick’s squad turned to look before Roxie could stop them.

Heather stepped to the front with her perfect ponytail and that smile Roxie already hated.

The Riverside girls spread behind her in two clean lines.

Their music started.

And from the first count, Roxie knew they had come for a fight.