Page 24 of Home Field Advantage

“Okay, this just got very interesting.” My mom puts down the fruit and dusts off her hands before plucking my phone away. “First of all, very cute.Verycute.”

Sometimes it’s really nice to have a bi mom. “Isn’t she?”

“I meant the two of you together,” she says, giving me a smirk. “I’ve never seen you look so couple-y. How is she as a quarterback? I imagine she’s gotta be pretty great for Atherton to have given her a shot.”

“Incredible. You should’ve seen that first game. Robbieneverran in plays or threw for over one-twenty in a single game. She’sreallygood, but everyone treats her like dirt because she’s not him.”

“Even your friends?”

“Especially my friends,” I mutter, grabbing my phone back and dropping my chin into my hands. “Carahatesher. Like, is actively plotting against her. And I don’t know how to handlethat, especially since I haven’t come out to anyone and Miguel and I are still supposedly dating and everything is… you know. Complicated.”

“Honey, if your friends have a problem with you because you’re—”

“It’s not a queer thing. Not really,” I amend, thinking of Cara. The others might not be marching in any Pride parades soon, but Cara was the only one to look at me any differently after news of me and Veronica spread around camp faster than the wave for any reason other than concern I was “cheating” on Miguel. “I mean, I don’t know how they would take it, and I don’t want any of that ‘Oh my God, is she checking me out in the locker room??’ crap, and I probably wouldn’t have a shot in hell at captain if everyone knew. But it’s a more immediate problem that people just… hate her. No matter how good she is and how much she wins for us, people can’t get past the idea that the memory of Robbie has been desecrated by a girl getting his spot.”

“Robbie being the treasure who found out Miguel’s gay and blackmailed him for months?”

“The very one.” God, it feels nice to be able to speak ill of the dead, and with someone who knows these darkest secrets. “But obviously no one knows that. And the coach won’t budge on this, so the only way everyone can deal with it is by taking their feelings out on her.”

“And where do you stand on this? Publicly, I mean.”

“I’ve tried to get them to back off,” I offer, but it sounds asweak as my efforts have been, and I can tell by her frown that she sees right through it. “You know how badly I need to be captain next year. I can’t risk having the whole team hating me or wondering why I keep going to bat for her. What’s it even gonna do?”

“You tell me,” she counters. “How would you feel if the situation were reversed and your girlfriend didn’t stick up for you?”

“She’s not my girlfriend” slips out before I can think better of it, and I know as soon as I hear the words come out of my mouth that I’m being a coward. We talked and made out for hours the other night, right up until her parents sent her a text that they were on their way back from dinner and I bolted out of her apartment like I was being chased by a coyote. I can’t even imagine Jack rolling over like I have. When I told her about my dad, she looked like she wanted to go to Fayettville herself to rip him to pieces. She’d fight for me if she had to—I know it—and here I am, backing down at the first sight of the wolves.

But Jack’s the first female football player in the entire county. She’s got her thing that makes her a safe bet for college. She’s got her thing that makes her special, even if people don’t wanna acknowledge it. And she can handle herself; if push came to shove, she could snap the entire squad in half, and a good portion of the football team, too.

What do I have?

“Amber—”

“I know. God, I know it’s bad, okay? But cheerleading is my entire life. All my friends are on the squad or the football team. You’ve watched me work my ass off at this basically since I could walk and now you’re telling me to give all that up for a girl I’ve known for, like, five minutes because she’s a good kisser.”

My mother narrows her eyes. “Well, if that’s all she is.” And because my mother is the queen at making you feel like dirt when she wants to, she turns away and walks out of the kitchen.

-JACK-

Even after taking a long, hot shower at home, I’m still feeling completely wiped from practice, but nothing is going to keep me from chatting with Sage and Morgan tonight. I haven’t seen their faces since the game, and I’m excited to finally have hopeful, fun, and, most importantly, true things to share.

The second the screen opens up and I see the windows with their faces, I feel a knot loosen in my chest. It doesn’t even matter that they don’t look the same as I left them—Morgan’s purple-streaked hair is now spiky and green all over, and Sage has already scrubbed off her trademark shiny red lips andwashed out her huge curls for the night. I’m just so glad to see friendly, excited faces.

“Oh man, Jack, you look so happy,” Sage says immediately, breaking into that familiar huge smile that could bring even a jackass like Dan Sanchez to his knees.

“I told you we had nothing to be nervous about,” Morgan adds, sticking their tongue out.

“You were worried about me?” The knot loosens a little bit further, just knowing they didn’t really expect it to be sunshine and roses from day one. “You both seemed so optimistic.”

“Yeah, because we believeyoucan do anything,” says Sage. “But we all know how cis boys can be when they feel threatened by a girl. We’ve been so glad you’re not dealing with that shit over there, but we were a little afraid that maybe you were downplaying stuff, being brave and all that. But you look really happy.”

“Well…” I debate whether to tell them the truth, that I’m dealing with it from not just the boys but the girls, but they look so relieved at whatever my face seems to have confirmed for them that I let it go. That things between us haven’t been quite as dishonest as I thought is enough for now, and I’m determined to focus on the positive tonight. “The win certainly helped. But also, remember when you told me to go get some? I may have done that, too.”

The squealing noises that erupt from my monitor force me to cover my ears, but I can’t help laughing. “God, Sage, take it down.”

“Okay, but tell useverything.” There’s a crinkling sound and I realize Sage is literally digging into a bag of popcorn, probably sprinkled with the spiced powdered cheese she calls her “proprietary blend.” I can practically smell the garlic and crushed bacon bits from here. “Who is she?”

“Is this the cheerleader?” Morgan demands. “What happened to the boyfriend?”

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