Betty’s POV
The past few days have been very emotional. Winning nationals had been the pinnacle of my cheerleading life, but everything since had left me feeling strangely empty. I’d barely seen Brent and I missed him, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d somehow lost him even before our last conversation.
Tonight, I found myself wandering toward the basketball courts hoping to catch a glimpse of him during practice. I knew he’d been putting in long hours with the team and something about seeing him play always brought back the best memories of our friendship.
He moved with ease every step and shot as natural as breathing and a wave of nostalgia washed over me. I remembered late nights back in the suburbs watching him practice the two of us laughing over silly things and sharing dreams we thought we’d always have together.
I moved forward and Brent caught sight of me lowering the ball with a surprised smile. “Betty!” he called, walking over to me. “What brings you here?”
I shrugged, smiling a bit too brightly. “Just missed the old days, I guess. Thought I’d stop by and see the legendary Brent in action.”
He laughed, running a hand through his hair and something in his gaze softened. “It’s good to see you, Betty. Things have been… weird lately, huh?”
“Yeah. I feel like we’ve been drifting and I hate it.”
Brent exhaled, his gaze fixed on the ground. “I know. But things… things are changing for both of us. And maybe we haven’t been totally honest about what we want.”
I hesitated my heart pounding. “What do you want, Brent?”
He looked up at me, his eyes searching mine and for a brief moment it felt like we were back in high school just two friends figuring things out. But there was something else there now—a complexity I wasn’t sure how to name.
“I thought I knew.But it’s hard to move forward when I don’t know where we stand.”
The words hung between us heavy and unresolved. I wanted to tell him how much he meant to me how part of me would always care about him deeply. But another part of me was tied to Marcus in a way I couldn’t ignore and I knew that whatever Brent and I had it was tangled in the past.
Before I could answer my phone buzzed in my pocket breaking the moment. I checked the screen and saw a message from Marcus asking if I was still grounded. I felt a pang of guilt. I hadn’t told him where I was tonight.
“Guess I should head out.Good luck with practice.”
He nodded, watching me with an unreadable expression as I turned and walked away.