Chapter 6 You Are Avoiding the Problem

Stephanie's POV

So in his mind, if I express how I actually feel and say I'm unhappy, that makes me immature?

His accusations kept coming. "As for Jessica, what exactly do you want me to do? We run in the same circles—I can't just blow everything up. You want me to scream at her? Hit her? Stephanie, you're too emotional and too idealistic."

"Fine," I heard my own voice, eerily calm.

"I'll be really mature. I won't keep bringing this up, and I won't stop you from going to your parties. Go ahead. Have a great time."

"Stephanie!"

I hung up.

I looked up at the bright moon and suddenly felt completely hollow, crushed under a weight I couldn't carry anymore.

So tired. So exhausted. I just wanted to escape from everything, didn't want to face any of it anymore.

Competition day.

Backstage was pure chaos—makeup mirrors ringed with people. Team members helped each other with hair, touch-ups, uniform adjustments, everyone buzzing with nerves and excitement.

"Don't be nervous, everyone." Deborah clapped her hands, trying to maintain order, though her own voice shook.

"Remember the routine, trust your teammates, own that stage. You've drilled this a thousand times—your bodies know every single move, right?"

"Right!" everyone answered in unison.

I stood in front of the mirror, checking my look one last time.

The person staring back looked perfect. Confident.

But my hands were trembling.

"Captain, you okay?" one of the sophomores asked quietly.

"I'm fine." I smiled at her, clenched my fists, let my nails dig into my palms, used that sharp sting to steady myself.

The backstage door swung open, and Jessica walked in with Lily and their little entourage.

They were already done up, looking polished and camera-ready.

Jessica's gaze landed on me, her lips curling into a smirk.

"Well, Captain's looking sharp today."

Lily immediately jumped in. "Of course—today's a big day. If she screws up, it'll haunt her forever, right?"

A few of their followers snickered.

I didn't respond. I turned to check the props.

Jessica clearly wasn't finished. She followed me, deliberately dropping her voice.

"I heard Lorenzo was at the bar until sunrise last night, really hit it off with some redhead." She tilted her head, smile dripping with malice.

"You know, every time you two fight, he comes to me to vent. Says you're boring. Says all you care about is training. Says you..."

"Jessica."

Deborah's voice cut through like a blade.

She'd walked over without me noticing, positioning herself between us, her gaze calm but razor-sharp as she stared Jessica down.

"If you still want to perform today, shut your mouth right now and get back to your position."

Jessica's expression flickered, but she quickly plastered on a careless look. "I was just chatting with the captain."

"I don't care what you think you're doing," Deborah said. "I care about this team. Anyone who disrupts team morale today gets pulled from the floor immediately. Clear?"

Jessica bit her lip, shot me a venomous glare, then turned and stalked away.

Deborah looked at me, her expression softening. She reached up and adjusted my headband.

"Don't listen to her. You're the most incredible, hardest-working captain I've ever coached. In today's competition, you're our anchor. Believe in yourself, okay?"

Looking at the trust in her eyes, my nose suddenly stung. I fought to keep my composure and nodded hard. "Yeah."

Emily rushed over, grabbing my hand. "Stephanie, you've got this. We all believe in you."

Other team members crowded around, one after another patting my shoulder, pumping me up.

"Let's go, Captain!"

"We're taking this!"

"Let's show them what we're made of!"

Looking at their young faces, all fierce determination and fire, I suddenly felt my nerves settle.

"Girls," I said. "Let's do this."

Lorenzo's POV

The TV in the living room droned on, the sports channel replaying last week's football game, but I wasn't hearing a word of it.

I knew Stephanie had her competition today, but I didn't want to go.

I hadn't texted her either. Hadn't said good luck, hadn't said anything.

I told myself she wouldn't care anyway, just like she seemed completely indifferent to what I was doing, didn't care whether I'd be there to watch her compete.

The thought kept festering, making me more and more restless. I couldn't help grabbing a throw pillow and hurling it at the wall.

"Damn it..."

"Lorenzo."

A deep voice came from the stairs. I froze completely, slowly turning my head.

"Uncle." I immediately straightened up.

Christopher came down the stairs and settled into the armchair across from me.

"You haven't talked to Stephanie in a while."

My throat tightened. "...How do you know?"

"Your mom mentioned it," Christopher said. "She said she hasn't heard you bring her up lately. She's worried something's wrong between you two."

I looked away, staring at the TV screen.

"She's... she's been really busy, prepping for the championship. She competed today—doesn't have time for me."

"Today?" Christopher looked up, his expression suddenly serious.

"Why aren't you there?"

"I..." I licked my dry lips. "The team had something."

"What?"

"Practice," I said, my voice weak. "There's a really important scrimmage next week. Coach said..."

"Lorenzo." Christopher cut me off.

I shut my mouth.

Christopher stood and grabbed the remote, turning off the TV.

The living room went silent.

He turned around. "Look at me."

I nervously raised my head, meeting his eyes.

"What are you running from?" he asked.

"I'm not..."

"You are. Since last week, you've been avoiding her. You don't watch her practice, don't go see her, deliberately avoid even saying her name. Why?"

I opened my mouth. "She... all she thinks about is training. She doesn't care about me at all."

"So what you're saying is, her working hard, having ambition, focusing on something she's passionate about—that's wrong?"

"That's not what I meant!" I shot back.

"It is." Christopher looked at me steadily. "Lorenzo, if you want a girl to give up her dreams for you, that's selfish. Getting angry because she won't? That's worse."

I suddenly had nothing to say.

Christopher picked up his car keys and held them out to me. "You still have time. Go to her."

I stared at the keys in his palm. Part of me wanted to reach out and take them. I knew we needed to fix this, but...

My pride made me turn my head away.

"I'm not going."

Stephanie's POV

The moment the scoreboard lit up, we all held our breath.

Ravenhill University Cheerleading Squad. Total score: 98.7. First place.

Regional champions.

I stood there, stunned. The next second, Deborah threw her arms around me, and cheers erupted everywhere.

"Stephanie! We did it! We actually did it!"

When they handed me the trophy, my mind was still blank.

My arms shook, but I used every ounce of strength I had to lift that trophy high.

Cameras pointed at me, flashes going off like fireworks.

I smiled into those lenses, smiled until tears broke through.

Everyone was talking about going out to dinner, having a big celebration. Deborah agreed with a laugh.

Before loading onto the bus, we headed back to the locker room to take off our makeup and change.

I walked into a single-person bathroom, slowly wiping away the heavy stage makeup.

I didn't really know how to do my own makeup or the proper way to remove it. Using a bit too much force, I turned myself into a streaky mess.

I looked up at my reflection and couldn't help letting out a small laugh.

I stared at the mirror in a daze, grinned stupidly for a few seconds, then quickly washed my face clean and walked out.

But the locker room was completely empty.

My heart dropped, and I immediately ran outside. The spot where the bus had been parked was vacant.