Hey all, Tri here.

I'll be honest, I've completely forgotten about this thing. Life's been busy - last time I'd updated anything on this site, I was just starting my first term in college. Life got busy after that, in case you couldn't guess. However, recent actions by a new reader (HarleyQ44, looking at you) have reminded me that this thing exists. It's been a while, but... I feel like I was going somewhere good with this. I was most of the way done with Chapter 10 already, so a quick edit and read-through was all it took to prep for you guys. I've been in a creative stall lately with my other work, so hopefully I can use this story as a way of getting back into the swing of things.

"Bruce!"

Looking around for who'd called my name, I found myself face-to-face with a young redhead. I'd seen her once or twice before around campus, what was her name...

"Ivy," I say, smiling, "Nice seeing you."

She wasn't in her normal get up today. Usually it was something preppy, but today she was wearing her cheerleading uniform - a short skirt complementing a tight white top emblazoned with the yellow words 'Arkham Eagles', with the blue shape of the bird in question displayed prominently in the background. One hand was tightly grasping a pile of fliers, while her other one was excitedly pushing towards me, "There's a pep rally tonight in the auditorium to get ready for tomorrow's football game! Come on, take the page," she shoved it into my hands. I almost dropped it, but somehow was able to catch it between my fingers before it got too far, "Bring the guys! It'll be tons of fun!" Her positivity and enthusiasm were almost obnoxious.

"Uh... sure," I glance down at the sheet of paper, "Thanks Ivy."

"I'll see you there!" she laughed, dancing away. On her way out, she shot a glance at someone else down the hall, passing out the same fliers and wearing the same uniform, but taking that uniform to another level.

Where Pam simply looked hot, Selina looked downright sexy. Her top was a little smaller, showing off the outline of her breasts better, and her skirt was riding a little higher, but it was really the smile that she gave me when I glanced that direction that sealed the description. It was... alluring. She only sent me the look for a second, but it caused me to return my gaze to the flyer. On it was the same logo as on the girls' shirts, and some text, reading, "Come support the Eagles before their inaugural game! 7pm, Auditorium. Free soda!"

I glanced back up at Selina, who was already passing out fliers to other people, though her eyes flicked back to me every once in a while.

Well, it couldn't hurt.

A little before the allotted time, my motley group approached the building. Me, Harvey, Victor, and Matt. Apparently Jonathan hated everything to do with sports (big surprise), and Jay... well, I could hear him and Harley from the hallway. His night was booked.

The four of us took a couple of open seats around halfway back in the room, slightly off to stage left. It was a wonder we got seats at all, there being so many people - fans, faculty, other students - milling about, getting pumped. In the center of the landmass of people, I noted a table covered in what looked like hundreds of cans of soda, being grabbed and passed around. It wasn't a hard decision to pass up on the "free soda" the flyer offered.

Before long, the cheerleaders bounded out onstage, pom poms in their hands, laughing and yelling. They danced around a little as people cheered. One of them - probably the team captain - stepped forward, grabbing the microphone, "Good evening Arkham!"

The crowd cheered in response, blasting my eardrums. Harvey and Matt were up with the rest of the crowd, cheering. Vic was sitting on the other side of Harvey, trying not to laugh at everyone else. I didn't move much - I wasn't really there for the sports. I could honestly care less about football. But there were other reasons to be here.

"Before we get this party started, I want to introduce a few special guests. Everyone put your hands together for the ARKHAM EAGLES!"

A bunch of big, burly guys ran out from behind the curtains. Definitely not the whole team, but some of the better-known players. The team captain, the starting quarterback, even Croc was up there, whooping and hollering. The sound... I enjoyed the spirit, but damn that hurt my ears.

The cheerleader grinned, "And here's the team captain, you know him, you love him, may I present, Hadrian Armstrong!"

The group of players parted for a brown-haired, square-jawed senior, "Thank you, Sofia."

He proceeded to go on and talk about how awesome the school apparently was, how our football team was unbeaten (technically true, though it was only because this was our school's first year), and talked a bunch of stuff about what he wanted the first play to look like. Every time he finished the sentence, the crowd cheered wildly. It was crazy. Note to self: if I ever come to another one of these, bring ear plugs.

Once he was done, the cheerleaders took over again, and the next hour was spent watching the attention pass back and forth between the cheerleaders, some of the coaches, Principal Strange, and anyone else who was deemed important enough to speak.

At the end of the proceedings, everyone started leaving, the cheerleaders thanked us for coming, and I dragged myself out of the building, the guys following suit. When I got outside, my ears were ringing - going from the deafening noise of the pep ralley to the eerie silence of the night was a trippy experience.

"Are all pep rallies like that?"

Harvey grinned, "Yep. They're great, aren't they?"

I rubbed my ears, "Sure, let's go with that theory."

"Don't you see what you miss when you're homeschooled Bruce?" Vic asked sarcastically, "You miss truly amazing experiences like tonight."

I laugh a little, "Oh yeah. Would be a shame if I never experienced this."
And the best part is? That was kind of true.