I changed out of the faded t-shirt I’d worn to school that day and put on a loose-knit white sweater that hung off of one shoulder. It wasn’t the kind of thing I would ever wear to school, but it would be perfect for the game.

I pulled on my black skinny pants, the ones that had helped me get second place in the science fair. The ones I’d also had on the night of Homecoming, at the gala, before I had transformed into Cinderella.

Something told me they were lucky, or maybe a little magical.

I ran a brush through my hair then borrowed Courtney’s curling iron, mimicking Harper’s hand movements when she’d done my hair for the dance. I didn’t have much time, so I only added some waves to the ends of my hair.

Then I put a little makeup on. This time, though, I kept my glasses. I just felt more like me in them.

My bike’s tires were still slashed, and I doubted Sophia would replace them without asking me to do a million chores, so I grabbed Courtney’s. They never used their bikes anyway, even though theirs were a lot newer.

I pedaled to school, the air starting to turn chilly and the sun melting into a blood red orb.

As the sky began to turn indigo, I parked my bike and walked inside the school. Ms. Moreau came into view. She was working the table at the entrance to the gym. A handwritten sign hanging from the wooden rectangle table read $5 admission. I grabbed some cash from my pants pocket and handed it to her.

“Ella, it’s good to see you,” she said, taking my ten-dollar bill. “I was asking the other girls if you’d be coming today.”

“I changed my mind,” I said, taking my change.

“I’m glad.”

I smiled and waved goodbye as I walked into the gym.

Unlike the empty hallway, it was loud and crowded inside.

The game was well underway, and the clock said there were three minutes left before halftime. I had to find Lena, Harper, and Rey.

I passed the cheerleaders, who were cheering in one corner of the gym. Tori was front and center. She caught my eye and smiled before starting another cheer. Lindsay and Courtney followed her gaze, and their perfect smiles disappeared. They knew I never came to these games, and the way they rolled their eyes at each other told me they hated that I was here. I ignored them and headed toward the bleachers.

I scanned the crowd until my eyes landed on the back of Harper’s head. Her blonde hair stood out. I took note of the scoreboard as I got closer. We were down several points.

“What’s up with Jesse today?” I heard someone say as I went down the bleachers. “He’s off.”

Making my way toward Harper and the other girls, I searched for him on the court below. Right away, I noticed his confidence and easygoing smile were missing.

I joined my friends, and they exclaimed in surprise.

“You came!” Harper said, giving me a hug. Lena and Rey hugged me, too, and I put my arms around all of them.

I shrugged. “I need to talk to Jesse.”

Rey put her arm around me again.

Lena offered a warm smile. “I’m glad.”

We sat down.

I wanted to tell them about what I’d found. My dad’s will. His letter. But it would have to wait. It was too loud, and their eyes were already back on the game.

A few minutes later, the buzzer sounded, and both teams walked off the court, clearly exhausted.

“This is a tough game,” Lena said. “I hope we win, but we’ve got to catch up first.”

I looked at the score again. We were still ten points behind the other team.

“You think we’ve got a chance?” I asked. I had no idea.

“If Jesse can get his head in the game, then yeah,” Lena replied.

She met my eyes, and I turned away quickly. This was my fault.

Both teams disappeared into the locker rooms. Harper and Rey left to get some snacks. Lena talked about what she was doing this weekend, but I could hardly pay attention to a word she said.

Jesse was…different tonight. At Tuesday’s game, he’d held his head up, often had a smile on his face. But today, even from the few minutes I saw him play, his head was down. His shoulders slumped as he walked off the court, even when his teammates slapped him on the back. His dad hadn’t looked happy.

The cheerleaders ran onto the gym floor, waving their pom-poms in the air and screaming. Lena stopped chatting along with everybody else to watch.

They got into formation—straight lines, heads down, pom-poms at their sides.

Then music came on, and they moved. They yelled, their voices echoing throughout the gym.

Then Tori was in the air, along with two other cheerleaders.

Lena and I looked at each other, impressed.

A minute later, they did it again. This time, Tori flipped through the air before landing in the arms of three cheerleaders below. They made it look so easy.

The music stopped, and their dance routine ended. The crowd clapped and cheered as the squad ran back to the sidelines. I clapped, too, but checked the time left on the clock.

There were a few minutes before the game would start again. Both teams were already walking back onto the floor to warm up.

I saw Jesse, hanging back in the hallway leading to the locker rooms. A small white towel covered his face, and he was leaning against the wall.

One of his teammates passed by, saying something to him, and Jesse nodded but didn’t move.

“I’ll be right back,” I said.

“But the game’s about to start,” Lena said, but I was already making my way down the bleachers.

I didn’t understand why. I just knew I had to say something now.

There were just over six minutes on the clock, but hopefully, this wouldn’t take long.

The crowd was still distracted, only a slow murmur filling the gym. They weren’t looking down here yet.

I stepped off the bleachers and onto the court, not stopping. I reached the hallway, out of sight, just past Jesse. The towel was no longer on his face.

He recognized me and froze, then turned to the clock across the gym for a second. “I can’t really talk right now,” he said, not meeting my eyes.

“I know,” I said, noticing the way sweat dripped down his temple, down his arms. “Let me talk. I’ll make it quick.”

He waited for me to start, his eyes focused on the floor.

“Jesse, I…” I said, all of a sudden realizing what I was doing. I took a deep breath and willed myself to keep going, let the words come out. “I just want you to know that I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth when I could have. But you’re this extremely popular guy, the kind that doesn’t look twice at girls like me. I thought—”

“You’ve known me for a year, Ella,” he said. I almost gasped when he said my name for the first time. “Why would you think I’d treat you like that?”

I shook my head. “Because that girl you met at Homecoming, that’s not me. This is. I’m not perfect. I’m a nobody at this school. Meanwhile, everyone worships you.”

“You know I’m not like them,” he said quietly.

I stared up at him.

“You didn’t trust me. I trusted you.”

Silence stretched between us as I took in his words.

“You’re right,” I said. “I should have trusted you, but I was scared. I thought we would lose what we had. I don’t want to lose you, as a friend or…”

I couldn’t finish that sentence. My face felt hot just thinking it in front of him.

Was it me or did I see something soften in his eyes?

He took a couple steps toward me, and I tried to steady my breathing. The only other time I’d been this close to Jesse was at Homecoming, when we were dancing.

“I wasn’t scared we’d lose what we had,” he said. “I wanted it to be more.”

His hand came up to my cheek, and our eyes locked. His fingers brushed my skin.

He bent down close, only a couple inches away. Jesse’s gaze went to my lips, and I closed my eyes in response.

The way his mouth moved against mine created sparks inside me. His hands traveled to the small of my back. Mine went to his shoulders.

Just as I settled into our kiss, he stepped back.

He took my hands, keeping his eyes on me. “I’ve felt this way about you for…months. Ever since I changed my username. I don’t care about popularity or any of that. The popularity came with playing basketball, but I hate it. I care about you. And I don’t care what anyone has to say about us.”

He paused, and for the first time, he looked a little nervous.

“What is it?” I asked, wondering what was on his mind.

He exhaled. “I want to make it official,” he said. “Ella, will you be my girlfriend?”

I smiled up at him. “Yes. I’d love to.”

He kissed me again, and I swore I felt kind of light-headed as he pulled away.

Then he squeezed my hand. “This whole not talking thing has been killing me,” he said. “I missed you.”

“Me too.”

Then his arms were around me, and mine were around his waist, and I didn’t care that he was still a little sweaty.

“Sorry,” he said, laughing. I laughed too. “I bet I stink.” He pulled away but kept my hands in his.

“You don’t stink,” I said.

One of his teammates jogged up to us. “Uh, Coach says get out here now.”

I glanced at the clock. Less than a minute left. Jesse looked back at me.

“Meet me after the game?” he asked, my hands still in his.

“Of course,” I said, smiling back at him.

He ran off.

The buzzer filled my ears, and I made my way back to the bleachers. The game started just as I reached Lena, Rey, and Harper.

Thirty seconds into the quarter, Jesse made a three-point shot. The crowd literally couldn’t go any crazier. I could hardly hear anymore from all the screams around us.

Lena got close to my ear. “What did you say to him? Whatever it was, it worked!”

I stared across the nearly empty gym. Tori had told us most of the school was going out to eat, but Lena, Harper, Rey and I remained on the bleachers, not ready to leave yet.

“That was an awesome game,” Lena said for the second time. “What a comeback.”

Harper nodded. “Right? We basically creamed them.”

I grinned. The adrenaline from cheering him on every time he made a basket continued to course through my veins, making me giddy.

Or maybe it was from when he’d pulled me into his arms.

Either way, I could hardly think straight.

Lena asked, “You need a ride home?”

I thought about it. Courtney’s bike was still outside. “Maybe.”

She smirked, standing up. “My sister’s going to be here in ten minutes. I think we’ll wait in the lobby.”

“What she said,” Rey said with a wink.

Harper nodded toward the locker rooms. “So I guess you have a certain someone you need to see right about now, huh?”

I looked, and sure enough, Jesse was coming out.

His wet hair glistened under the gym lights. He no longer donned his basketball uniform. Instead, navy blue skinny jeans covered his long legs, and a light blue button-up framed his shoulders and torso.

His eyes met mine, and I smiled, making my way down the bleachers.

There were a few people down on the court, hanging out with the cheerleaders or waiting on the players. Tori conversed with the cheer coach, and Courtney laughed with her friends.

Jesse came up to me. “Hey.”

“Hi,” I said, not sure what else to say.

I looked down. Talking to him before, during halftime, had been easy, effortless. Now it felt kind of awkward, especially since each of our truths was out there.

“I’m glad you came,” he said, gently lifting my chin. “And I’m glad we finally figured out that we go to the same school.”

He laughed, and so did I.

“Me too. All thanks to Ms. Moreau.”

Then I heard Lindsay’s voice. “Jesse!”

He turned around, and she was walking toward him. She hadn’t seen me yet.

“Jesse! Do you want to come have dinner with us? We’re going to get Mexican,” she said. Her eyes fell on me, and her happy grin fell into a frown.

“Uh, no thanks,” Jesse said next to me. “I’m, uh—I have plans.”

I searched his face. What did that mean?

Lindsay glanced at me before blurting out, “What? With her?”

Maybe it was the expression of disbelief she didn’t bother hiding on her face, but Jesse took my hand right then.

“Actually, yeah,” he said.

Disgust swept over her face. “You cannot be serious.”

Once again, heads turned in our direction.

She met my gaze, and I thought she might really explode this time. “You’re gonna regret this, I swear,” Lindsay said.

Jesse took a step forward, but I stopped him. The gym fell silent.

I could see Ms. Moreau and a couple other teachers not too far off in my peripheral vision, but I didn’t care if they heard me or thought I was trying to start something. “I’m sick of the way you and Courtney treat me. We’re supposed to be family, but you’ve never even tried to be nice to me, not even after my dad died.”

Lindsay crossed her arms. Courtney came up behind her, looking like she wanted to give me a piece of her mind.

“If you’re going to keep treating me like you don’t know me, like I’m nothing, then I’m done with you. Both of you.” I eyed Courtney.

“Are you done?” Courtney asked. “It’s not enough to take Jesse away from Lindsay? You knew she liked him. You have to humiliate us too?”

I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t. I could already feel the tears welling up in my eyes, and they didn’t deserve that from me.

Tori spoke up. “You two are going to talk about humiliation? How does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine?”

“Sorry, Lindsay, but I’m with her,” Jesse said. “Besides, maybe you should think twice about how you treat people. Ella may not be a popular cheerleader like you, but she’s perfect in all the ways that matter.”

And with that, he took my hand and led me out of the gym.

Maybe I imagined it, but I was pretty sure I heard clapping behind us.