The Ravens had won.

For one breath, Roxie just stood there with her pom-poms hanging at her sides, staring at the scoreboard like it had personally done something to her heart. The numbers burned bright over the field, clear enough for everyone to see, clear enough for every Anteater fan who had been loud in the first quarter to sit there with their mouths shut now.

The Ravens were still undefeated.

The chant started from the student section first, rough and uneven, then it spread across the bleachers until the whole home side was stomping hard enough to make the metal shake.

"Undefeated! Undefeated! Undefeated!"

Roxie’s chest lifted with it.

She had cheered at games before. She had smiled for the crowd, yelled until her throat hurt, flipped her hair, hit her marks, and pretended every win mattered the same way. This one felt different. Maybe because it was homecoming. Maybe because the whole school looked drunk on the victory.

Maybe because Zac Prescott was standing in the middle of the field with his helmet in one hand, sweat darkening his hair, shoulder pads making him look bigger than usual, and every person in the stadium screaming like he had just handed them the whole season.

Roxie hated how proud she felt.

Hated it because it was embarrassing. Hated it because she could feel it all over her face. Hated it because Angela only had to glance at her once before her mouth started curving like she already knew.

"Oh my God," Angela said beside her. "Your face."

Roxie snapped her eyes away from the field too late. "What?"

"That face. That is a very specific face."

"I’m happy we won."

Angela looked toward Zac, then back at her. "Sure. Very school spirit of you."

Karen, who had been fixing the strap of her bag, looked up sharply. "Stop it."

Angela blinked. "What?"

"Stop making her worse."

"I’m making her happy."

"You’re making her stupid." Karen’s eyes went to Zac across the field, and her mouth tightened. "Zac Prescott is too much for her."

Roxie’s smile slipped a little. "Karen."

"No, seriously." Karen faced her now, voice lower, but still sharp enough to cut through the noise around them. "Too many girls come with him. Too many problems. Bianca already proved that. You were the one who got suspended. You were the one people recorded. You were the one everyone whispered about all week."

Angela’s teasing faded. "Karen."

"What?" Karen said, still looking at Roxie. "Am I lying?"

Roxie pressed her lips together.

She wanted to argue. She wanted to say Zac had stepped in when things got ugly. She wanted to say Bianca was Bianca before Zac ever touched Roxie’s life. She wanted to say it was more complicated than that.

But Karen had been there. Karen had fought too. Karen had watched the same hallways turn against them.

So Roxie only looked back at the field.

Across the grass, Zac turned as one of his teammates grabbed him by the shoulders and shouted something in his face. He laughed, breathing hard, head tipped back for a second under the stadium lights. Then his eyes found Roxie.

Just like that.

The noise kept going. The players kept celebrating. The band was trying to play over the chants. People were rushing toward the railings, calling names, taking videos, waving signs.

But Zac looked at her.

Roxie’s stomach tightened. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He smiled first, small and private, like he knew exactly what he was doing to her from all the way across the field. She looked down right away, pretending to fix the ribbon around her ponytail, because looking back felt too much like admitting something. When she lifted her eyes again, he was still watching her, and this time he gave her a quick tilt of his head toward the far side of the bleachers.

Her heart jumped.

Angela saw it.

Of course she saw it.

Her mouth opened, but Karen caught her arm before she could say anything.

"Angela," Karen warned.

Angela made a tiny helpless sound. "I wasn’t going to say anything."

"You were about to squeal."

"I was going to whisper."

"You whisper like a broken microphone."

Roxie should have laughed. Any other night, she would have. But Zac was moving toward the sideline now, and every step he took seemed to make her more aware of herself. Her cheer skirt suddenly felt too short. Her ponytail felt messy. Her cheeks felt hot. Her hands had no idea what to do with the pom-poms anymore.

He passed his teammates, accepted another shove, let Coach Hayes clap a hand against his shoulder pad, and somehow moved through all of it like he had one destination in mind. He came close enough that she could see the sweat along his neck and the red mark near his jaw from where someone’s hand or helmet had caught him during the fourth quarter.

Her throat went dry.

He walked past her without stopping.

For one second, Roxie thought she had imagined the look.

Then his fingers brushed hers.

It was quick. So quick anyone else would have thought it was an accident. His hand caught two of her fingers, tugged once, then let go as he kept moving toward the shadowed side of the bleachers.

Roxie stood there like an idiot.

Angela sucked in a breath.

Karen’s face went flat. "Absolutely not."

Roxie turned to her. "What?"

"You know what."

Angela touched Karen’s arm, trying and failing to hide her smile. "Come on, Karen."

"No. He wins one game and now he gets to drag her into the shadows like some football prince? Please."

Roxie’s face burned. "He didn’t drag me."

Karen stared at her.

Roxie looked away first.

Angela leaned closer to Roxie, voice softer now. "You want to go, don’t you?"

Roxie hated that the answer was written all over her.

Karen saw it too, and for a second her anger shifted into worry. "Roxie."

"I’m just going to talk to him."

"That boy never just talks to you."

Angela bit her lip, losing the fight against another smile.

Roxie pointed one pom-pom at her. "Don’t."

Angela lifted both hands. "I said nothing."

Karen stepped closer, lowering her voice so only Roxie could hear. "I’m serious. I don’t like this. I don’t like him making you a target. I don’t like girls like Bianca thinking they can touch you because he looked at you. If he wants you, he better be worth everything he brings."

Roxie swallowed.

The warning should have cooled her down. Maybe part of it did. But another part of her, the stupid part, the glowing part, the part that had watched Zac win under the lights and felt proud like the victory belonged somewhere inside her too, kept looking toward the shadows under the bleachers.

"I know," Roxie said quietly.

Karen’s eyes narrowed. "Do you?"

Roxie met her gaze. "I do."

Karen looked at her for a long second, then exhaled through her nose like she wanted to physically fight the entire situation and knew she could not do it yet.

Angela gently took Roxie’s pom-poms from her hand. "We’ll cover."

Karen snapped her head toward her. "Angela."

"What? She’s already gone in her head."

Roxie’s cheeks burned hotter.

Karen muttered something under her breath, then pointed at Roxie. "Five minutes."

Roxie nodded too fast. "Five minutes."

"And if he makes you cry again, I’m biting him."

Angela’s eyes widened. "Again?"

Roxie was already backing away. "Nobody is biting anyone."

Karen called after her, "That depends on Zac."

Roxie slipped away before her face could get any hotter, moving with the crowd, pretending she was only going to get water, pretending her pulse was normal and her knees had stayed loyal to her body.

Behind her, Angela said something that sounded suspiciously like, "She is so in love."

Karen answered, clear even through the noise, "That’s the problem."

Even with the warning, Roxie still wants to go. Consequences be damned.