The Truth About Faking

for her.”
    “I am your best friend, Harley.” Her voice is suddenly serious. “I will not let you be intimidated by Stephanie Miller’s boobs.”
    “Oh my god, I’m not intimidated by her boobs.”
    Still, it really isn’t fair that Stephanie’s never had an awkward phase as long as I’ve known her. She sailed straight from being the cutest little elementary school kid to being the first girl in middle school to—okay, get her boobs—all without even breaking a sweat. And she’s not very nice about it either. My nose wrinkles.
    “Besides, you’re a cheerleader now,” Shelly continues.
    “Only because Trish got mono and had to drop out.”
    I’m literally the worst cheerleader. But I’ve got decent legs and blonde hair, and I can yell really loud— Go Panthers!
    “We’ve got to teach you another jump besides The Banana. You look like a dork just jumping up and arching your back like that.”
    “Thanks,” I frown, remembering how humiliated I’d been at tryouts last summer. Of course, it all led to my life-saving encounter with Trent—that day at the gym when our love became real. For me at least.
    “Gotta run,” Shelly’s saying. “But I’ll strategize more tonight.”
    Great. “See you in the morning.” I toss my phone on my bed next to all the rest of my stuff. Then I exhale and flop in the middle of it all, remembering…
     
    It all started last summer at cheerleading tryouts. I don’t count sophomore year when I was completely invisible—at least I hope I was. No, it was a week before school started, and I’d just gotten my braces off. Shelly’d insisted I tryout with her, so we were all at the gym. The boys—Trent included—had been playing basketball on the half-court until Coach Taylor sent them outside. They’d pretended to be pissed, but we knew they were really there checking out the new recruits.
    My turn went okay. I did some easy cheers, and then came the jumps portion. I did The Banana, and Stephanie nearly squirted cherry Icee through her nose. Meg leaned over and giggled, “What was that ?” under her breath, and Stephanie’d shouted “Next!” like it’d been some sort of Broadway show from which I’d just been cut.
    I kept my head down as I walked off the court, hoping my ponytail would hide my burning cheeks. I bit my lip, doing my best not to cry. Usually I’m not so weak, but that’d been about as humiliating as my stupid non-jump. I sat on the metal bleachers staring at my shoes until finally I grabbed my bag and decided to leave. I’d just opened the metal door when Wham!
    Next thing I knew, I was laying on the ground with my head in somebody’s lap. A voice was saying something, and my eyes flickered open. The sun was shining right in my face, and the first thing I was able to make out was… lavender. Trent’s head was inches from mine. My stomach flipped, and I bumped our noses as I tried to sit up.
    “Hey,” he laughed, leaning back. “Harley, right? Can you stand up?”
    “What?” I tried to stand, but my head felt like I’d run into a brick wall. I caught his shoulder. It felt really nice and firm.
    “You ran into a brick wall,” he said. “Sort of. David had just thrown the ball, and I missed it. It kind of knocked you out.”
    I reached up to touch my forehead, and as he helped me up, my face went into his chest where I caught a deep breath of the woodsy boy-smell coming off him. For a head injury, this could be worse.
    “I was knocked out?” I timidly looked up at him, and he smiled.
    The sun was shining all golden behind his head, and it made him look like a knight. Or one of those hot angels. Just then Shelly came outside.
    “There you are. Sorry, just got my—what happened?”
    “Basketball hit her in the head,” Trent said.
    I wanted to die. What a dork!
    “I think she hit her head on the wall,” he continued. “She might need to go to Urgent Care.”
    “Oh my god!” Shelly cried. “Bring her inside. I’ll get Coach Taylor.”
    “I’m okay,” I said. My knees were wobbly, but I couldn’t tell if it was my head or Trent’s arm tight around my waist. He was holding my hand even.
    Shelly held the metal door open, and next thing I knew, David had joined us.
    “Hey, Harley, I’m really sorry.” He caught my other arm, and I felt Trent’s grip loosen. His dark head was in the shadow of the gym, and he was definitely not an angel. Go away, David.
    “It’s okay,” I said, trying to smile and scoot back