The smell of sweat permeated the gymnasium. Evie ran around the room, focusing on keeping her breathing steady. She focused on her black adidas runners, dark green short shorts and white polo top.

In. And out. In. And out. In. And out.

"GO GO GO!" Their incessant coach yelled over and over again, whistle in hand. "Ten more laps ladies!" A unanimous groan. Around her girls dropped like flies, just to be forced back up by Coach Gringo.

Heavy breathing next to her. Evie looked over at May, struggling to keep up.

"Girl.. how do... you... make it look... so... effortless?" May huffed through each word, thick braid bobbing against her back.

Can't ever afford to look weak. Evie thought but instead said, "practise. You know I go for a run every morning."

A sharp whistle sounded through the air and everyone stopped. May braced her hands on her legs, sweat rolling down her temples.

"Yeah not worth it. Anyway, I am so hungover from last night!" Coach gave them the order to hit the showers. "You totally should have staid Evie, it was lit. There was this jock" – she clutched at her chest dramatically and moaned – "ughhh. Best sex I've had in weeks-"

They headed into the locker room and started to get undressed.

"- seriously girl, when he-"

"Okay! I get it. No need for the verbal porno." Evie interrupted quickly, sport shorts and top dropping to the floor.

May rolled her eyes and placed one hand on a panty-clad hip. Evie kept her eyes dead ahead. "Prude. Your parents would be so proud." She flipped Evie with her towel, stripped down to the nude, and headed over to a shower. No, they wouldn't be. She thought to herself.

Opting against a shower, she pulled her stuffy school uniform on and headed over to a mirror. By the time May was out of the shower and fully clothed, Evie had already restyled her hair and fixed her makeup. Just foundation, mascara, eyebrow pencil, concealer and lipgloss, courtesy of a very strict no-make-up policy.

"Also, you would not believe what I found out from Liam's team-mate Connor last night." May began, Mount Georgia Grammar School's very own Queen of Gossip, referring to her latest boy-toy, captain of the basketball team.

Evie raised an eyebrow and leaned against the sink whilst May started on her own make up routine. By now the locker room was fairly empty.

"So you know how Jessica Guild has been sleeping with Matt Olson and her friend Emily..." Evie tuned out and started rifling through her bag for her phone, muttering 'I'm listening' sounds every time May paused. Not interested in local gossip of whose fucking who, or whose not talking to who, because by the time you've fully grasped what's happening, the stories changed to something or someone new.

"Oh also, there were gate crashers last night-" Evie's ears perked up and her hands stilled. She tilted her head at May who absentmindedly brushed her hair, "a couple of students from Kleppers Senior. One of 'em knew the twins of trouble, an apparent hell-raiser and wicked party girl." May shrugged and started to pack up her things.

"Oh." Was all Evie could muster, thinking of the girl with the faux mohawk, her swagger and confidence and ass- snap out of it Evie!

"You coming?" May was already halfway through the door. Evie pulled her bag over her shoulder and quickly followed. They were late for third period, but it was only Pre Calc so not important.

Stop day dreaming and get your head in the game. Focus.

————————————

Evie headed to the cafeteria, walking right past the line and up to the front. The pimply freshman at the front of the line saw Evie and stepped back. Evie stepped forward, about to ask for her usual, when a large calloused hand slapped her ass. She jumped and whirled around, ready to socially annihilate the perpetrator, just to see a familiar form, hands raised in surrender.

"Woah baby girl, it's just your man." Dylan cooed, his smile all teeth. He then slung a muscled arm over her shoulder and turned them around to face a not-amused cafeteria server. The freshman next to them sighed in awe, clutching her hands to her heart. You can have him, Evie thought viciously. Woah, where did that come from?

"I'll have-" she started to say but Dylan cut her off.

"A Caesar salad, no bacon, no cheese, easy on the dressing, extra tomato. With a peach mineral water." He grinned, and for a moment it looked like he was posing for Best Boyfriend of the Year award. The stony-faced lunch lady's scowl deepened, and Evie had the sudden urge to give her a high five.

"And I'll take two serves of Monday's Lasagna special, with a pudding cup and strawberry milk. And a baked potato." He added as an after thought, pulling out his wallet.

The lunch lady handed over the trays, Evie's looking pitiful and wilted next to Dylan's. She glanced at his mouthwatering tray. They made their way through the crowded room, past tables and tables of nobodies, to their table in the back corner by the large windows. Best seats in the house.

Upon approaching, the group scotched over to make room for Evie and Dylan in the middle. May and Liam, Isabell with the pick of the day – a hot hockey player - Stella with Finn who are obviously on-again and a handful of Dylan's jock squad.

Evie picked at her salad, wandering why healthy food was bland and tasteless, only half listening to Dylan share last nights game. She looked up and watched him talking animatedly, holding the entire table captive like a play and it's audience. Skin the colour of coffee beans, close cropped buzz cut, chiselled abs and muscular arms, perfect teeth and dancing dark eyes. Everything about him was so manicured, so perfect, like the lawn at a golf club.

So why am I not attracted to him? Wasn't I once attracted to him? Evie mused, stabbing a piece of cucumber with her fork. It isn't the sex... I mean, the sex isn't great, but that's normal. Right?

They'd only had sex a couple times since they'd started dating six months ago. And it was fine. Quick, relatively painless, somewhat boring. But Evie knew that was her own fault, Dylan had way kinkier ideas and would gladly do the dirty all the time, but Evie just wasn't into it. She wouldn't even have known that sex with him was simply okay, had she not done some... self-exploration last month. Now that's good sex.

She couldn't help thinking about that girl again. Faux-Mohawk. The thoughts sent a shiver down her spine.

Dylan asked her a question, but she couldn't remember what. She nodded and smiled, hoping that was the response he wanted.

He grinned and slapped her on the ass again. Bingo.

Unnerved by her bodies response to Faux-Mohawk, she focused in on the conversation, pushing the thoughts away.

"That's great sweet-thing, we'll see you ladies then." A final grin, a kiss on the cheek, and Dylan and his crew filtered out. Evie's friends stared at her.

"What?" She asked nervously, looking around at the group.

"You just agreed to go to Dylan's next away game." May said the words slowly, as if talking to a child. Evie pushed down her annoyance as she pushed away the half eaten salad.

"Did I?" She asked innocently. What's so bad about that? I've been to plenty of his away games.

"Yeah. It's on Valentine's Day." Isabell filled in, exchanging a confused look with Stella.

Shit.

Evie groaned and rested her chin on her hand. This is why you pay attention!

"Doesn't your folks host that annual Valentines ball?" Stella asked, using a nail file to sharpen her manicured talons. Evie groaned again. I'd actually forgotten about that annual little event. At least getting out of that would be a pro.

"But we weren't celebrating Valentines this year. Remember? We made a pack last year to-" May started but was cut of by a unison of voices.

"-have a boys free Valentines!" They all giggled. Something about the juvenile pack had seemed so appealing, so mature, to their 16 year old selves. A girls day, away from the boys and the drama and the expectations.

"Sorry, I guess I blew that one." Evie muttered, taking a sneaky swig of Isabell's chocolate milk before she was swatted away. "But we can have a boys-free night at the game?"

Before anyone could respond, the bell rang, evicting students from the dining hall. Evie and Stella said goodbye to May and Isabell, heading off to AP Biology. Evie glanced at her phone on the way, and ignored another weird message from Dylan. Maybe it's my reception, and I'm only getting half his texts.

Well, doesn't matter anyway. Seeing him in person is enough. She thought, then feeling guilty, mentally retracted the thought. I can't think of my boyfriend like this. It's wrong.

Thankfully Evie's bio class, led by a hurricane European woman, took all her concentration. There was no time to think about Dylan or Faux-Mohawk.

The painful hour finally came to a close, followed by a relaxed English double, before the blessed bell finally rang. Evie packed away her books into her locker, keeping only her AP Biology textbook in her bag to revise for the test tomorrow.

She walked out of the school with her girls, parting ways in the car park and heading for her BMW. Once in her car, she paused. Not quite ready to go home, but enough study to do that she couldn't go blow time at the mall. Instead she watched the oval, directly behind the car park.

The schools soccer team were in training, running laps and doing drills. Hot, muscled bodies ripped shirts off, skin gleaming in the basking sun. Evie appreciated the view but found her eyes drifting to the other side of the field, where the girls cheerleading team were practising.

At Mount Georgia, it wasn't "cool" to be a cheerleader, unlike in almost every teen film ever made. Being a cheerleader was too preppy, trying too-hard to be seen. Popularity was earned not by a uniform but by your mask. Yet every now and then Evie wondered what it would be like, to be thrown into the air, so graceful and strong. Maybe in another life.

They were lithe and agile, athletes of pure muscle and discipline. The leader, a senior girl whose name started with A, Avery, or Ami or Abbi or something, was being lifted into the air. She shot up and kicked her legs out into an impressive splits, thighs taut and belly button ring showing.

Evie started her car quickly and reversed out, without looking back to see if they'd caught the cheerleader when gravity brought her back down to earth.