Prompt: Riley works really hard to make it on the cheer leading squad senior year but when she finds out her “look” is whats keeping her from joining, she decides its time for a little change.
Word Count: 2,355
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The surge of confidence she felt as she landed a cartwheel left the biggest smile on her face. It was Riley’s senior year and she was finally going out for the cheer leading team. In the past she was proven to be not the most graceful or coordinated but over the summer she took gymnastic classes that really helped her get in control of her long limbs and clumsy nature. She was actually really good now. She always had the rhythm she just needed to nail the tricks and surprisingly enough she did.
After her tryouts she waited patiently for the team captain to post the new members list. She had waited for this day since she was in middle school. She was never good enough to make the team and even though she was relentless they never really gave her a chance. All of that was about to change. Or so she thought.
She watches Carly Santino post the paper on the bulletin board and waits for the small crowd of students to diminish. Anxiously she walks up to the board and runs her finger down the rather short list of names…she wasn’t on it.
It wasn’t like Riley to confront someone but this was something she just couldn’t let go of despite her friends pleas. So after school she hangs back to talk to the captain. She knew she didn’t stand a chance before but now that she was actually good it just didn’t make sense to her.
“Carly, can I talk to you for a sec?” Riley asks, grabbing the girls’ attention as she’s exiting the gym.
“Sure Riley, what’s up?”
“I was just wondering why I didn’t make the team.” She tries to keep her voice calm and steady as she continues. “I mean, is there something I need to work on --.”
“You were great Riley.” She reassures her. “It’s not your skills that need work.”
“Oh?” She raises an eyebrow at the stunning redhead. “What is it then?”
Carly sighs and rests her hand on Riley’s shoulder as to soften the blow. “It’s your look.”
Riley stares down at her outfit and back up at the girl. “My look?”
“Don’t get me wrong, you’re super cute it’s just we’re not looking for cutesy adorable. We have a certain image and if I’m being honest you lack the c--.”
“Say no more.” She cuts her off, not wanting to hear anymore. “Thanks for being honest.”
Later on that day she meets up with the rest of her friends at Topanga’s. Riley tries her best to forget what Carly said but it was weighing heavy on her mind. She put on her best fake smile but the look on Lucas’ face told her he knew something was up.
That was one of the bad things about remaining friends with an ex. Because you spent so much time together they get to know you in ways others can’t. They pick up on your facial expressions, they memorize your body language and that was something Lucas prided himself on being good at. He knew Riley to her core and the second she walked in he knew she was putting on a façade.
Eventually the conversation gets brought around to Riley and whether or not she made the team. The not so subtle shift in her seat made it clear to everyone sitting there that she didn’t make it.
They gave her some pretty generic advice and lack luster pep talks. It was pretty evident to her that none of them thought she was going to make it in the first place.
“Am I sexy?” She finally asks catching them all off guard. Zay unfortunately was taking a sip of his drink when she asked and ended up snorting and spitting his hot chocolate all over the coffee table.
“Where did that come from?” Maya laughs but no one answers the question.
“I’ll take that as a no.” She sighs, staring at her feet.
“Riley…” Lucas places his hand on her knee and can feel her slightly jerk away. He wasn’t used to that part yet. “You’re beautiful.”
“That’s really nice of you to say Lucas but that’s not what I asked.” She looks up at him and he looks away. “I didn’t make the team because I don’t have the look they’re looking for.”
The six of them sit in silence, unsure of what to say. Riley knew they weren’t saying anything because they agreed with the cheerleaders. She didn’t have “the look.” She was cutesy and quirky and while that was fine and dandy it wasn’t exactly cheer leading standards.
“I’m going to head home.” She announces standing to her feet. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
As she’s walking out the door she passes by the magazine stand and in big bold letters it reads “10 Easy Ways To Sex Up Your Look.”
Staring at the girl on the front cover gave her an idea. She wasn’t going to let this bring her down.
So instead of heading home she heads to the mall.
--
The next morning when Maya crawls through Riley’s window she finds her sat at her vanity table, blending out her smokey eye shadow.
“That actually looks really good.” Maya admits, standing over her best friends shoulder.
“My mom used to let me practice on her.” Riley answers nonchalantly, barely acknowledging the blondes presence. “Surprised?”
“Well yeah…you never wear makeup so I always just assumed you didn’t know how.” She glances down at what the brunette is wearing. “What’s with the sweats?” She asks, tugging on the thick cotton fabric.
Riley shrugs her shoulders and Maya just drops it. She was used to her best friend doing weird things so she didn’t think much of it.
When they get to school Riley goes straight to the girls’ locker room, undoing her loose ponytail causing her long straightened locks to cascade down her back. Maya watches in confusion as she slips off her sneakers.
“Riles what are you –.”
Riley pulls off her sweatpants revealing a high-waisted mini skirt underneath. Next she pulls off the over-sized hoodie showing off her strappy crop top. Last but not least she reaches into her bag and slips on some ankle boots to complete her outfit.
“Mr. Matthews is going to kill you if he sees you dressed like this.” Maya gapes, border lining on speechless.
“Well Mr. Matthews is at a teacher conference today so he won’t be a problem.” Riley answers, shoving her sweats into her gym locker.
“Riles, this isn’t you.” Maya shakes her head. “Those girls are crazy, you’re adorable—“
“And that’s exactly the problem Maya.” She cuts her off. “Puppies and kittens are adorable. I’m 18 I don’t want to be seen as adorable. I want to be hot.”
“That’s stupid.”
“You don’t get it!” Riley snaps back. “You already have the look so of course you think it’s stupid.”
“You’re being ridiculous.” Maya rolls her eyes.
Riley glares at the short blonde and returns her attention back to the mirror in front of her. “How would you feel if you spent the entire summer working on a piece of art… you finally get it right, it’s perfect, it’s everything you hoped it would be – in fact you’re surprised at how good it is and then you go and you try to enter it into an art show and get denied. And then when you ask them why they say ‘your art is amazing, it’s you we don’t like’…how would you feel?”
“I would feel like crap.” She answers honestly, avoiding her eyes. “But this” She motions to Riley’s new clothes “this isn’t who you are.”
“Then who am I?”
--
Lucas is sat in the lunch room, at their usual table, waiting on his friends. Farkle and Isadora are the first to join him, Maya’s next to walk in and he finds it weird that Riley isn’t with her. They usually come to lunch together.
The four of them are chatting when one of Lucas’ baseball teammates approaches him. “Hey Friar!” The dark haired boy grins, slapping him on the back. “Quick question – you and Riley, you guys aren’t together anymore right?”
Lucas furrows his brows, mostly in confusion but there’s definitely a tinge of jealousy boiling too. “No, why?”
“Just wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything in the way.” He smiles and gets up from the table to walk back to his.
“Am I missing something?” He asks out loud. Farkle nudges him with his elbow pointing his focus to the lunchroom doors.
In walks Riley and Zay and behind them is what looks to be a small group of guys. All of which were gawking at the pretty brunette. It takes Lucas a second to realize why they were all so interested in her all of a sudden. Her long tan legs were on display, and the skirt and shirt she was wearing was figure hugging to say the least. He feels Farkle place his fingers under his jaw to close his mouth.
The two of them join the table and Zay is the first to speak. “I found this one in the hall completely surrounded by half of the football team.” He shakes his head in disapproval. “Men.”
“They were just being friendly.” Riley smiles, biting into her sandwich.
“Oh they were being friendly alright. A little too friendly.” Zay says, looking in Lucas’ direction.
Lucas feels his skin getting hot as he stares past Zay at the guys who were checking out Riley. When they were together, no one really tried anything with her because they knew she was spoken for and they knew who by. Now that she was single, there was nothing stopping those sleazy guys from coming onto her and he hated it.
Aside from the inappropriate looks she was getting, the rest of the day seemed to go by as normal. Lucas tried to catch Riley on her way home but she was nowhere in sight. Eventually he gives in and takes the subway straight to her place. Something he hadn’t done in almost 2 years.
When they broke up sophomore year they wanted more than anything to remain friends. Riley insisted that nothing change between them even though everything had already. Unfortunately, the end of their relationship was the end of their long meaningful conversations as well. Funny thing is he can’t even remember why they broke up in the first place.
He climbs up her fire escape and sees that the window is already open. He half expected Maya to already be there talking to her but instead what he sees is Riley standing in front of her full length mirror. She was wearing the schools cheer leading uniform, pompoms in hand and everything.
“Congratulations.”
She turns quickly on her feet, dropping the poms in the process. “Lucas…what’re you doing here?”
“I wanted to see you…uniform looks good on you.” He answers, unable to peel his eyes away.
“Does it?” She fiddles with the hem of her skirt, tilting her head to the side once her eyes met her reflection.
“Having second thoughts?”
“I finally got what I worked so hard to get.” Her voice falls flat. “I just don’t know if it’s worth losing who everyone thinks I am…or who I ought to be.”
He steps closer, tucking her hair behind her ear and gently caressing his thumb against her cheek. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you who you should or shouldn’t be. That’s up for you to decide.”
“So you’re a fan of the new look?” She smirks, leaning in to his touch.
“I’m a fan of whatever makes you happy.” He bites his lip. “But for what it’s worth…I always thought you were sexy.”
A faint blush covers her face and for a moment there’s this glimmer of innocence. She smiles her cheesy smile and that’s when he knew for sure. No matter what she wore or how much makeup she put on, she was still Riley and that’s all that mattered. She could change up the outside however she wanted but her smile, her personality, her soul, that made her who she was.
--
It doesn’t take Riley long to get to practice. She waits until they take 5 for her to walk on the field.
“Matthews you’re late.” Carly gives her a look. “Why aren’t you in uniform?”
“Look, I worked my butt off to be good enough for this team. I don’t want to have to worry about getting kicked off because of how I dress. So either take me as I am or I’m gone.”
She waits for her to cuss her out, tell her to get lost, something of that nature but instead she just smiles. “There it is.”
“What?”
“I couldn’t care less about what you wear off the field Riley.” She laughs, linking their arms. “Yeah you were landing the stunts but you still seemed so unsure of yourself. You lacked the confidence. But that right there, that little attitude you just gave me, that’s what I wanted to see. Change up your look as much as you want as long as that confidence stays around we’re good.”
“So I’m still on the squad?” Riley beams. Carly nods her head.
“YAY!”
“Okay happy feet, calm down and go get changed.” Carly laughs, playfully pushing her towards the locker rooms. “Oh and Riley?”
“Yeah?”
“Tell your personal cheerleader this is a closed practice.” She bobs her head to the left and returns to the group.
Riley turns around and sees Lucas sitting on the bleachers, sporting his baseball uniform and a cheeky grin. As she approaches him he jumps the rail so they could be face to face.
“How’d it go?” He asks shifting his weight from each foot.
“Better than I thought.” She admits, smiling up at the green eyed boy.
They share a brief moment of silence and then Riley leans in and embraces him, kissing him on the cheek as she pulls away.
