CLMO 05

Chapter 5

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It was Wednesday, just before the cheerleader selection.

Sian stayed behind after school to practice her back tumbling.

She had changed into her gym clothes, and Aaron was beside her, casually offering pointers without lifting his eyes from the George Bernard Shaw play in his hands.

“Kick your feet hard into the air,” he said.

“If it were that easy, I’d already be doing it!” she huffed.

Sian tumbled sideways, not even managing a proper handstand.

Thankfully, the plush grass—meticulously maintained thanks to the school’s expensive tuition—cushioned her fall and spared her any serious pain.

“…I’d have succeeded long ago if it were that simple,” she grumbled.

The sky above, cloudless and bright, paid no mind to her frustration as she lay flat on the lawn.

She was still catching her breath when Aaron turned a page and said calmly, “It was an impossible goal to begin with. Just give up.”

Not exactly the most supportive comment.

Sian scowled at his dry tone. “Did Bernard Shaw never say anything about valuing friendship? Come on, help me out a little.”

“I don’t think he ever wrote that,” Aaron replied smugly, pretending to skim the pages for proof.

“You’re the worst,” Sian muttered with a pout. Still, she couldn’t deny that his attitude toward her had softened compared to when they first met.

At least now he didn’t blatantly ignore her.

“Can’t you at least hold my legs?”

She clung to him with a pitiful voice, but Aaron didn’t even blink.

“Nope. I won’t be there to hold your legs when you perform at the tryouts.”

Tch. She couldn’t exactly argue with that.

Sighing, she pushed herself up again. Aaron added,

“You’re still scared of flipping backwards. You need to get over that fear.”

That one comment made Sian light up.

So he had been watching her practice, even with his nose buried in a book.

That thought made her happy, though she covered it with a grumble.

“Easy for you to say. What if I mess up and break my wrist or something?”

“People’s bones don’t break that easil—” Aaron cut himself off.

Unlike most people, Sian’s wrists looked like they would break easily—so slender, so fragile.

‘Maybe breaking her wrist wouldn’t be the worst thing,’ he thought fleetingly. ‘At least then she’d stop putting herself through all this for a cheerleader spot.’

But he quickly shook off the thought. He couldn’t wish harm on someone. Especially not her.

After all… she was his first real friend.

With a long sigh, Aaron finally closed his book.

“Should I just go steal a strand of Ian’s hair instead?”

Why did she always choose the hardest possible path?

Sian smiled, as if she hadn’t heard the frustration in his voice.

It’s not that she wasn’t desperate—she was. She’d accept being called foolish if it meant chasing this goal.

It wasn’t rational to want her brother to recognize her without DNA results.

But when were human emotions ever rational?

Sian hadn’t given up on Ian yet.

Their first meeting had been too sudden—it was no surprise it had gone poorly.

So she planned to take her time with the second.

‘Though… it’d be nice if he recognized me before then.’

Sian turned to look at the field nearby.

The football team was in the middle of practice.

“He must be out there too, right?”

Standing on tiptoe, she scanned the players on the field.

They weren’t wearing helmets yet—still warming up—so she could more or less make out their faces.

“There he is!”

Her sharp eyes didn’t miss the jet-black hair.

Ian, tall and lean like a perfect wide receiver, moved across the field in his uniform like he’d stepped out of a movie.

“Whoever’s brother he is, he’s really handsome.”

She could hardly believe how much he’d grown.

As a child, he’d been as skinny and small as she was—fragile from illness.

“…Are you going to practice or not?”

Aaron was growing mildly annoyed. He’d given up reading to help her, but here she was, openly gawking at Ian Morgan.

Even with his disapproving stare, Sian dragged her feet.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get back to it.”

Though they went to the same school, seeing Ian still felt oddly rare.

‘Is there really no way I can be in the same class as him?’

Maybe there was. She’d ask Aaron about switching classes later.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, someone with dazzling blonde hair walked up to Ian and casually threw an arm around his shoulders.

“Huh?”

Sian blinked in recognition.

There was no mistaking that kind of blonde—it could probably be spotted from 100 miles away.

And the last time she saw him, he’d done the exact same thing to Victoria. Was this some sort of habit?

“What is it?” Aaron asked without looking up, flipping open his book again.

“It’s that guy. My brother’s friend.”

“Blay Williams? He’s the quarterback. Of course he’s there.”

But it wasn’t Blay’s presence that shocked Sian—it was his actions.

He tapped Ian on the arm, then pointed directly at her.

Across the fence, her eyes locked with Ian’s.

Sian instinctively beamed and waved both hands—like a happy puppy wagging its tail at its favorite person.

But Ian didn’t return the gesture.

Instead, Blay raised his hand and waved back as if she’d been waving at him all along.

“What… what just happened?”

Stunned, Sian took a step back.

---

At that same moment—

Standing across from her, Blay said with total certainty,

“She’s totally into me. No doubt about it.”

“Yeah?” Ian glanced between his overconfident friend and the girl behind the fence.

She’d turned around and was now walking toward the boy sitting under the tree.

‘Aaron.’

Ian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Ever since they barged into the clubroom together, they’d been inseparable—and he didn’t like it.

“Hah. This is all because I’m too handsome. It’s exhausting, living like a prince,” Blay sighed dramatically.

Exhausting to be your friend, Ian thought, staring at him with an expression that screamed enough already.

“You’re mistaken,” Ian said flatly.

“About what?”

Ian nodded toward the girl.

“She’s not into you.”

“No way.”

Blay blinked, surprised.

Ian rarely ever disagreed with him—more accurately, he rarely cared enough to argue.

Which made this oddly irritating.

Blay lowered his voice.

“You said yesterday you didn’t even know her.”

“I never said that,” Ian replied.

Blay frowned, replaying their past conversation in his head.

Ian wasn’t lying.

Trying to end the conversation, Ian delivered one final blow.

“Whatever. She came for me, not you. So don’t interfere.”

He didn’t know why she was pretending to be his dead sister.

But whatever her reasons, letting her catch Blay’s attention would only bring disaster.

Blay Williams was the most popular guy at Wharton. Getting caught in his orbit would mean turning every other girl in the school into an enemy.

Ian had made it very clear. But Blay still hadn’t given a response.

Instead, his eyes gleamed like a cat spotting a new toy.

Ian’s warning had only stoked his competitive spirit.

“I think you’re the one who’s mistaken.”

“What?”

“She came to Victoria saying she wanted to be a cheerleader.”

“…”

“But before that, she came to me. Said she wanted to get close to me.”

Ian’s ears rang.

Could it be… her target all along wasn’t him, but Blay?

“She looked like she was completely smitten. I guess she was heartbroken that I didn’t fall for her. Poor thing. Took a while to calm her down.”

The way he said it—so vivid, so detailed—made it sound disturbingly believable.

Even Ian began to doubt himself.

And with how many people had fallen for Blay at first sight before… maybe he was right.

He hadn’t even known she wanted to join the cheerleading squad until now.

“…”

But for some reason, Ian didn’t want to believe it.

That feeling was new—and unsettling.

While Ian stewed, Blay watched the girl with a grin.

She was clearly practicing for the cheerleader selection, but even being generous, it was hard to say she was doing well.

“She’s adorable,” he said.

Despite falling over again and again, she kept getting back up—like a stubborn little tumbler toy. It was ridiculously cute.

Even after Ian walked off, Blay remained, watching with the fond smile of a father watching his daughter take her first steps.

“If she just practices a little more, she’ll get it.”

Her biggest problem seemed to be fear—fear of flipping backward.

Blay, ever the perceptive one, spotted it instantly.

He smiled.

“I’ll teach her next time.”

If she failed to make the squad over one little backflip, she’d be devastated.

‘Though if she falls even more for me in the process… that could be a bit of a problem.’

But from the look on Blay’s face, he wasn’t the least bit troubled.

 

In fact, he looked absolutely delighted.