Chapter forty-three – After Second Practice

The sun was beginning to dip behind the hills, casting long shadows over the school parking lot. The air still clung to the heat of the afternoon, but a soft breeze made it more bearable. The second practice had just wrapped up—sweat, laughter, and sore muscles all around.

Ryan tossed his water bottle into his bag, his shirt clinging to his back. Ben stretched next to him, wincing as his shoulder popped.

"You think Coach Daniels is secretly trying to break us?" Ben joked.

Ryan smirked. "Nah. If he wanted to break us, he'd make us run those suicide drills twice."

Just then, Savannah and Anna came jogging over from the opposite side of the court, ponytails bouncing, both still in their cheer uniforms. Anna's cheeks were flushed from practice, and Savannah wore a playful grin.

"Look at you two, all sweaty and dramatic," Savannah teased, bumping Ryan's shoulder lightly.

Ben grinned. "You say that like you didn't almost fall on the pyramid."

Savannah shot him a glare. "Excuse you, that was gracefully adjusting my position."

Anna rolled her eyes, laughing. "You screamed 'oh no' mid-air."

Ryan chuckled quietly, his eyes briefly meeting Anna's. She looked away quickly but didn't stop smiling.

"Wanna walk for a bit before heading home?" Anna asked, gesturing toward the small path behind the gym that led toward the field.

No one disagreed.

The four of them wandered down the dirt trail, surrounded by trees and the golden glow of early evening. The conversation flowed easily—light teasing, stories from their old schools, and complaints about sore muscles.

Ben pointed at the sky as the clouds turned pink. "You know, I didn't think coming back here would be… fun."

Ryan nodded. "Same. I thought it'd suck. New place, new people… but this feels good."

Savannah glanced between them. "We make a good group."

Anna smiled gently. "Yeah. We do."

There was a comfortable silence after that, just the sound of footsteps and birds in the trees. For a moment, none of them felt like outsiders anymore. They were just four teens figuring life out together.

Eventually, they made it back to the front of the school. The lot was mostly empty now, bathed in the last light of the day.

"Same time tomorrow?" Ben asked.

"Definitely," Savannah said. "And next time, I'm sticking my landing like a pro."

Anna laughed. "We'll believe it when we see it."

They said their goodbyes and split off, each heading home with the quiet, steady feeling that something real was starting to build—not just a team, but a friendship that mattered.