Thursday flew by. Friday's school day flew by and the football team loaded up on the bus, hype, and ready to face the Roosevelt High Vikings.

"Y'all ready? Reese asked David and Jason.

"Yep, we got this" David said, dapping up his two friends.

The band, majorettes, and flagettes took two separate buses to hold all the instruments and flags they had with them.

The cheerleaders rode in their own bus.

Everyone was ready to demonstrate all the hard work they had put in over the past 2 weeks for this game.

Kendra felt adrenaline run through her body as she took in the football field and the crowd there to support both schools. She, of course, felt nervous about performing, but she also felt like a kid in the candy store, her head turning every which way in amazement of what she was now a part of. Why hadn't she done this sooner in her earlier years of high school? Better late than never, she thought. They all got off the bus and walked to their respective locations as directed by the band leaders.

"Ready ladies?" Larissa smiled.

"Yep, we got this" Elisha said confidently.

The Mount Rainier Spartan band marched their way down the sidelines of the field. The Spartan Diamond Dancers swung their hips in sync with the band's music. Mount Rainier students, staff, and families cheered them on. They made their way into the stands and took their seat. The Roosevelt Vikings made their way onto the field, marching proudly as their fans cheered loudly for them.

Each band took their places on the stand.

The game was starting.

The Vikings quarterback threw the ball to the wide receiver who took off running with the ball as the Spartans ran after him. He made it halfway down the field before a Spartan linebacker tackled him. They lined up again and this time, the Spartans had the ball. The quarterback threw the ball to Jason, who caught it. He began running, dodging the defense as his fellow teammates defended him. He ran the ball to the end zone and scored a touchdown.

The crowd cheered, but this was short-lived when they saw their quarterback, Landon, down holding onto his ankle. Apparently, just after he made the pass to Jason, he was tackled, causing his ankle to twist the wrong way as he went down. The medical team came onto the field to help him and assisted him off the field. The Spartans' faces were somber as they worried for their quarterback and had to come up with another plan.

The coach called for a timeout to talk to the team and determine what they would do now that Landon was out of the game. During the time out, the Spartan band played in the stands, lifting the spirits of their fans. The Spartan Diamond Dancers performed to "Rain" by SWV in the stands.

Coach Reynolds discussed the next play with the team and put Shawn in Landon's place. They returned to the field.

Soon, the ball was back in the hands of the Spartans. Shawn threw the ball to Reese, who caught it and began running it down the field before getting tackled by a Viking. The game went on, and each team gave the game all they had.

Half time came, and it was time for the Spartan band to perform. As Kendra danced, she felt the nervousness leave her body as she gave way to the adrenaline and excitement of being on the field. This was their time to shine. This was her time to shine. She felt closer to her school than ever. For the first time she truly felt extremely proud to be a Mount Rainier Spartan. She felt part of something bigger than herself. Elisha glanced at her and smiled as they danced. For the first time in a long time Kendra felt confident.

After the Vikings band performed, the third quarter started, and both teams continued to put on their best performance. Fourth quarter came and it was 2 minutes left on the clock. The score was Spartans 40 and the Vikings 42. If the Spartans made a touchdown they would win the game. Shawn threw the ball to Reese. Reese caught the ball and ran it down the field, evading the defensive players and threw the ball to David. David ran the ball down the field with a Viking defensive end trailing behind him. David knew the team was counting on him and if he made it to end zone and made the touchdown the Spartans would win and the Vikings would no longer boast of being undefeated. With 30 seconds left on the clock David pushed himself and increased his speed feeling the Viking reaching for him. He ran into the end zone with the ball and scored the touch down. The crowd went wild and his teammates ran up to him embracing him.

The Spartan band played their signature song and the crowd cheered.

The Vikings stood there in defeat as their Coach looked pissed.

"We did it!! We did it!!" Coach Reynolds shouted, lifting his hands in the air in triumph.

Soon the field was cleared and the crowd cleared out. The football teams went their separate ways.

Larissa was still with the Spartan Dancers, but began scanning the crowd looking for David. She wanted to go congratulate him. She spotted him from afar as his teammates patted him on the back, smiling proudly at him. She saw Reese and Jason close by. She then noticed a guy walk up to Reese and give him a pat on the back. The guy was brown skinned. At that moment, she could only see the back of him. He then turned around, allowing her to see his face, and she realized it was the same guy her sister Danielle introduced her to on Wednesday. He knows Reese? Larissa wondered.

"Hey Lisha, who is that guy over there talking to Reese? Larissa asked.

"Who?" Elisha asked looking around.

"Him over there," Larissa pointed.

"Oh..that's his brother Brian.Why?"

"Are you serious?! He's talking to my sister. Thats the same guy that was outside my house talking to Danielle!" Larissa said shocked.

"Ohh shit.." Elisha said scratching her head.

"What??" Larissa asked concerned.

"Umm.. he aint loyal. Thats all I got to say".

"Wait, what?! Tell me more, this is my sister we're talking about" Larissa begged.

"Of course, girl, I got you. Just don't tell him, your sister, or Reese, I said anything because he already knows I don't like him" Elisha warned.

"Ok I won't. So what is he like?"

"He keeps girls in rotation. I always see him with a new girl every 2 months or so. He's feeling himself way too much. Reese told me he's heard girls calling his phone crying about him ghosting them. He's so immature and I'm so glad Reese is not like him. But Reese always takes up for him and tries to downplay what he does and it pisses me off. Talkin' about he will grow out of it." Elisha rolled her eyes.

" He knows I can't stand his brother"

"Oh my gosh. Shit. Now I have to tell Danielle all of this."

Larissa looked at the ground, disappointed that she would have to give her sister the bad news. Her sister is a hopeless romantic and wanted to settle down and marry by age 25 and have a household full of kids.

"I hope she listens to you. I don't want to see her get hurt like the countless other girls he's hurt. She deserves so much better than him." Elisha said.

"Yea" Larissa sighed. "Thanks for telling me."

"Of course boo". Elisha frowned.

Meanwhile, Kendra had ventured off from the dancers and went to the concession stands before they closed to get a snack. All that dancing had her hungry. She felt her stomach growling. After getting her food, she began walking back toward her group. From a distance she saw a Spartan football player. She couldn't make out his face at first but he was white and tall. As she got closer she realized it was Jason. Their eyes met.

"Hey" He smiled walking toward her.

"Hey Jason, congratulations on the win!" She smiled.

"Thank you. I can't believe we won. David's on cloud nine right now" He chuckled looking over his shoulder to where the football team was standing.

"I bet he is. He did awesome and so did you. You scored that touchdown earlier." She grinned.

"Thanks." He smiled looking down briefly. "I just feel bad for Landon, him twisting his ankle and all".

"Yea I know, that sucks. But I know he will be happy to hear you guys won and turned a setback into a victory. "

"Yea I know he will be. And congratulations to you too. You did great tonight."

"Thank you" She smiled looking down for a moment.

"Your first performance. How does it feel?"

"It was great. It felt surreal. The nervousness went away after a while and I was just lost in the moment. I wish I would have joined the team earlier." She said.

"Better late than never right?"

"Yea" she smiled.

He smiled back. They stood there for a moment looking into each others eyes.

"Well, I'm gonna get back to the girls, they're probably wondering where I went" she laughed nervously.

"Ok. I'll see you Monday. I hope you enjoy your weekend."

"Thank you. I hope you do too. See you Monday" She smiled.

Jason smiled back at her as he began to walk in the opposite direction. He paused and turned toward her "And by the way... you look beautiful tonight". He said.

Kendra was caught by surprise at his admission and instinctively blushed.

" Thank you"

"You're welcome."

They held eachothers' gaze for a moment before they both turned to walk in different directions.

The girls and guys met up briefly to hug and chat before they went home with their families.

Kendra rode in the backseat looking out the window as Jason's words kept replaying in her head. You look beautiful tonight. She began to wonder if there was something more behind it. So was he attracted to her? She wondered.

Kendra P.O.V
But people tend to compliment others when they are dressed up and have on makeup. That doesn't really mean they find them attractive. He's never called me beautiful on a regular day when I'm not dressed up or not wearing makeup. I'm not gonna take the compliment as anything else. I don't want to fool myself...again.
End of P.O.V

Thoughts of Eric came to mind and she was still guarded after he left her stranded that night. She would not allow herself to think someone was the tiniest bit of interested in her without definitive proof. She was not going to be lead on or played with. Being single was safe...but also lonely at times. She longed to experience the kind of love Larissa and Elisha had with their boos. She knew no relationship was perfect but she wanted one. Maybe she wanted the wrong person..someone like Jason that she was sure she couldn't have. She reminded herself that just a few days ago she said she wasn't going to run anymore from him. She would stop avoiding him and she had done that by agreeing to take him up on the tutoring offer. But she was still doubtful that he could be interested in her. As far as she knew, he had not given her any signs that he wanted anything more than friendship. Her thoughts were interrupted by her Mom saying how proud of her she was for the third time.

Her mom is her light. They are very close, and she could always lean on her when she was feeling down or unsure of herself. Her stepdad expressed his pride in her too. They decided to stop at Denny's for a late dinner, being that it was 10 o'clock at night.

Jason rode in the backseat, filled with pride about his team's win. He too was on cloud nine, not just about the win, but also over the progress he was making in his pursuit of Kendra. He told her she was beautiful, leaving a hint of his attraction and interest in her. He hoped she would take the hint.

He wanted to leave her with something to think about. He hoped she would eventually give him some kind of sign that she was attracted to him too. As far as he could see, she didn't show any signs of seeing him as anything other than a friend. But he would not give up.

Jason's brother, Nicholas came into town to see his first game. He was attending college at UCF in Orlando. He surprised him when he saw him at the end of the game. He embraced him with a brotherly hug and congratulated him and his friends on their win.

"Hey, you guys wanna stop and get something to eat?" Jason's stepdad, James asked.

Everyone said yes.

"Yea! This calls for a celebration! And plus, I'm too tired to cook, but I'll make your favorite tomorrow, Jason. I promise" Jason's mom, Mary Ann said.

"I'm holding you to it" Jason joked.

"Are you working tomorrow?" James asked.

"No, Unc gave me the day off. I'm glad they made it to the game."

"Yea I'm glad they all showed up too" Mary Ann smiled.

"So where are we eating?" Josh asked.

"What's open?" His mom asked.

"Dennys, Ihop, Waffle House" Nick said.

"Dennys" Josh suggested.

"Let Jason pick, it's his night, you'll pick when you have your game" Mary Ann interjected.

"Just please don't say Waffle House, that place got me sick last time" Josh complained.

"Waffle House" Jason smirked. They all laughed. "I'm just playin'. I guess IHOP. "

They drove there. It was right next to Denny's. As Jason and his family parked and made their way inside, Kendra and her family, including her stepsister (that attended a different high school), parked and got out of the car, walking inside the restaurant.

Each family was seated at their booths. One at Dennys, the other at IHOP. Jason sat next to a window. Kendra sat next to a window. They had no idea that all it took was a look to the left, and a look to the right, for their eyes to meet again.