Disclaimer: Not my characters as always.

Motivations behind a cheerleader

Kevin Lucas was not a good liar. This was a known fact.

And so, he was more than happy when Joe and Nick hadn't actually asked him why it was that he had joined cheerleading, but simply concluded that it was for the girls. Unfortunately, their assumption couldn't last forever when after two months of cheerleading Kevin had never hung out with a single one of those cheerleaders outside of practice or games.

"I just have a lot of school spirit," Kevin told Nick in a frighteningly high voice when his little brother did ask.

"Trampolines," he had squeaked when Joe had eventually cornered him.

"Mnedoqu plur bri," he had mumbled in a high octave when Stella dared question his motivation.

And so, Kevin started a sheet of possible excuses for having joined cheerleading. He did like sports. He did like uniforms. He did like yelling in public. He didn't have much else. And from the way his brothers would look at him with confused stares whenever he was getting ready for practice or a game, he would need a lot of excuses.

*J*B*J*B*J*B*

"Dude, what is up?"

Kevin tried to subtly open his binder and sneak a peek at his excuse sheet.

"Save it," Nick said as he sat next to his eldest brother, slamming the binder shut with his hand at the same time. "I already found your cheerleading excuse sheet, and none of those are going to work."

"That's not a cheerleading excuse sheet. They're lyrics. About cheerleading. I'm working on a song about cheerleading."

"You're squeaking," Nick told Kevin in a strict voice. He reached out for Kevin's binder and tore out the sheet in question. "Plus you've written 'Cheerleading excuses for Joe and Nick' as the title."

"That's the title of the song."

"You're going to break glass if your voice gets any higher. What is going on, Kevin?"

"I like it..." Kevin answered slowly, happy when his voice came out nice and even.

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Why?"

"Stop repeating what I'm saying, Kevin!" Nick shouted, barely noticing the heads that turned in his direction. "Why do you like cheerleading?"

"I... Look there's Joe and Stella. We should talk to them."

Nick narrowed his eyes at the interruption while the duo made their way over to the lunch table, each of them letting their lunch bags spill out onto the tabletop.

"What's up, guys?" Joe asked as he frowned at his sandwich.

"I'm trying to get Kevin to explain to me why he likes cheerleading."

"Nick leave Kevin..." Stella paused as she thought about his answer. "Wait, I want to know this too. Kevin why are you so into cheerleading these days?"

"I have a lot of school spirit and the enthusiasm and trampoline girls and otters." Kevin took a deep breath, hoping he'd said something that would make sense to one of the three people staring at him, though the words had meant nothing to him.

"What?" Nick asked.

"I—"

"Hey, guys." All eyes widened as a hockey stick swung in the air, barely inches above their heads. "Oh, sorry. Sorry." Macy said as she dropped the stick, wincing when it banged against Joe's leg on its way to the floor. "Sorry. Um... so what are we talking about?"

"I was just asking Kevin why— Ow." Nick scowled as he felt something slam against his leg. He directed an evil glare in Macy's direction, but she seemed innocently unaware of his pain. He scrunched his brow.

"I'm trying to figure out why— Uh." He jerked to the left when Kevin's elbow jammed into his side.

"I was trying to find out what—" He stopped talking when Kevin's arm reached out, and sent Nick's lunch skidding across the table, and onto the floor. Nick's eyes narrowed. Then they widened. Then they sparkled. He smiled and turned back to Macy. "Just solving a mystery."

"Oh," Macy smiled. "About Kevin?"

"About, my dear brother Kevin," Nick agreed with a smile.

"Good job?" Macy answered carefully as she watched Kevin blush.

"Thanks." Nick's smile widened as he turned toward Kevin. Kevin looked away, slouching in his seat and looking like he couldn't wait for lunch to be over.

Kevin tore up his cheerleading excuse list right after lunch, knowing that it was far too late for that now.

*J*B*J*B*J*B*

"You're stalking Macy," Nick told Kevin when they made their way to their room that night.

"What?" Kevin asked in a high voice.

"Don't do that."

"What?"

"Lie. You joined cheerleading so you could stalk Macy."

"Wow," Joe offered from his side of the room as he watched the action between his brothers. "That's actually really smart."

Nick frowned at Joe before returning his attention to Kevin. "You're stalking Macy because you like her."

"No."

Nick and Joe frowned, giving Kevin a stern look he was used to getting from his mother.

"Well, not at first. At first I just went to a game, and then Macy waved at me, and she didn't hurt me, or anyone else. She was just amazing and she played and she won and there were no accidents, and I thought that was really cool, because that's so different from the Macy we're used to seeing."

"And then?" Nick asked.

"And then I went to another game and she looked even more confident and less prone to hurt me. So, I wanted an excuse to go to more."

"That's sweet. Or is it weird?" Joe asked as he turned toward Nick. "Is it still stalking, or is it just self-preservation?"

"It's weird. Dude, just tell her you like her."

"Um, no, I'm used to Macy not hurting me. I'm not going to give her an opportunity to damage me by turning me down."

"You do know that Macy would probably faint with joy if one of us asked her out, right?" Joe asked.

"And that's the problem."

Nick frown. Joe shrugged. Kevin pretended he was doing homework. The conversation ended there.

*J*B*J*B*J*B*

His brothers left him alone for an entire week and Kevin assumed that they had given up on him. He figured he was safe from any more meddling on their part.

He was wrong.

*J*B*J*B*J*B*

"Oh please God no," Kevin mumbled to himself as he watched his brothers approach. This could not be a good thing.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"We've joined cheerleading," Joe told him loudly, arms spread out with his announcement.

"Why?"

"I have a lot of school spirit."

Kevin narrowed his eyes.

"The ladies are hot. I like to be where there are hot ladies."

That, at least, was plausible. Kevin turned his gaze to Nick.

"What he said."

There was a moment of silence.

"I'm mostly here to make sure Joe doesn't kill himself. Can I just warm the bench, or something?"

"Nope. We work as a trio. Besides, I can't do that backflip thing without you."

"You can't do a backflip. I do the backflip with your help," Nick protested.

"Exactly," Joe said. "And I look really cool when I help you do it. Now come on. We have some ladies to impress."

"Nick?" Kevin asked as Joe walked away.

"This better not be a fling," his younger brother told him. "You and Macy better get married or something if this is what I have to go through to help you guys get together. Seriously."

*J*B*J*B*J*B*

It took only two games for Kevin's prediction of his brothers' presence being a bad thing to come true. He wasn't entirely sure what Joe was trying to do or who his brother was trying to impress, but he was well aware that suddenly Joe's body had crashed against Macy's, and the girl had fallen in the least graceful manner possible. He was also well aware that the scream coming from her mouth was not one of joy at being so close to one of her favourite musicians.

Luckily, their mother had signed all three boys up for baby-sitting and first aid courses when she was pregnant with Frankie, and though being level-headed and saving the day was usually Nick's thing, it was Kevin who first reached Macy and tried to comfort her. It was he who talked to her and tried to keep her awake as the team doctor checked her out. It was Kevin who held her hand in the ambulance, barely noticing that there was still some game to play, and that technically, he was still needed to cheer.

All he knew was that Macy was hurt, he was with her, and he was most probably going to kill Joe... if Stella didn't get to that first.

*J*B*J*B*J*B*

He wanted to be the first thing she saw when she woke up. The drugs they had given her to numb her pain had done quite a number and Macy was out. Kevin had sat next to her and waited for her to wake, and so he was quite confused when he suddenly found himself opening his eyes. He lifted his head slowly, blinking at the bright lamplight.

"It's about time," Macy greeted him.

"What?"

"I was getting bored watching you drool."

Kevin could feel his cheeks redden as his hand flew up to see if she was telling the truth. Her giggle was enough to give away the fact that she was lying.

"Where am I?" she asked him.

"Guest bedroom. Your parents weren't home and I didn't want to go through your bag to find your key, so it was easier to bring you here."

"Thanks."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm used to cleaning up Joe's messes."

She shook her head at him, and he was glad to see the smile on her face. Any other girl might have taken that the wrong way.

"Well, thank you for staying with me. I would have been really freaked out to wake up in strange room all by myself."

"No problem. Anything else I can do for you?"

"Entertain me? I've been watching you sleep for twenty minutes now and as entertaining as that was, even I have had enough. I'd ask you to bring me home, but I feel too groggy to move. So, entertain me, Mr. Lucas."

Kevin's eyes travelled the room, pausing on Macy. She looked more tired than bored if you asked him. "Um... how?"

"I don't know. Just talk to me."

"About what?"

"About whatever. About you."

"Well, my name is Kevin. I'm in a band."

"Something I don't know."

"Is there something you don't know?"

Macy smiled, her eyes half closed as she tried to fight off the nausea she felt from the pain killers.

"Tell me about this cheerleading."

"What about it?"

"What got you guys into it?"

"Well, Joe joined for the girls, and probably to make Stella jealous since that's why he does most of the things he does. And Nick joined to make sure Joe didn't accidentally kill himself. Unfortunately, he didn't think of keeping an eye on you too."

"I'm not dead," Macy told him with a shrug. "And what about you?"

"Not dead either."

"No, not that. Why did you join cheerleading?"

"What?"

"Why did you become a cheerleader, Kevin?"

"I... Well... the thing... You know..."

"Kevin?"

"Yeah."

"Don't lie. I can still tell when you're doing it."

Kevin blushed. "It's embarrassing."

"That's okay." Macy yawned. "I'm groggy enough that I'll probably forget this whole conversation tomorrow."

"Promise?"

She shrugged.

"I joined cheerleading so I could be close to you."

"That's sweet," Macy mumbled.

"That's..." But already he could see that she was sleeping again. He smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Yeah. That's sweet."

*J*B*J*B*J*B*

He figured their conversation had been lost to her when she had woken a few hours later and said nothing about it. She had continued to be the same Macy around him she had always been, and Kevin wasn't sure whether he should celebrate the fact that his confession hadn't ruined their friendship, or if he should mourn a lost opportunity.

*J*B*J*B*J*B*

"Oh my God, that's so funny, Joe."

Kevin tried not to laugh as he watched Nick gag on his lunch and Stella shoot darts from her eyes at the cheerleader fawning over Joe. Reason number two why his brothers joining the cheerleading squad was a bad idea: cheerleaders popping up to flirt with them over lunch time.

"I'm just so happy that you guys are on the squad this year. What made you decide to join?"

"You," Joe told her with a wink.

Nick pulled Joe's shoulder until there were a few extra inches between him and the girl. "Making sure Joe doesn't do anything stupid. I could think of an example right now."

The cheerleader gave Nick a confused look, then turned to Kevin.

"What about you Kevin? Why did you join cheerleading?"

Kevin shrugged.

"Oh, come on. Don't be shy."

He shrugged again.

Macy chuckled and shook her head. "Kevin joined because—"

And then she stopped.

It was the first time in his life Kevin could physically see someone remember something.

"Yeah?" the cheerleader asked.

"Because he's sweet." Macy blushed and lowered her eyes to her lunch. "Kevin joined because he's sweet."

*J*B*J*B*J*B*

He wasn't sure what Macy was thinking, but he knew that he hadn't seen her since lunch. And now, he'd lost his brothers as well, which meant there was a good chance Joe had stolen the car keys from him once again and he'd have no way to get home. Kevin sighed as he left the gym.

"Hi."

"Hi," he answered, jumping back at Macy's presence.

"You know of all the time we've both had to stay late for practices, we've never once gotten a ride together."

"Sorry?"

Macy shrugged. "It's my fault as much as yours. So you want a ride today?"

"That would be great. I seemed to have lost my brothers and my keys."

Macy nodded and waited for Kevin to catch up with her. They walked quietly down the hall together.

"We should do this more often," she told Kevin.

"Okay."

"And maybe we could ride together to away games sometimes if the bus looks too crowded."

"Okay."

"And, I mean, maybe we could do something like going to homecoming together too. I mean, if you wanted."

Kevin blinked. He watched Macy's fingers fiddle nervously as she walked next to him.

"Okay."

"And maybe—"

He stopped her, one hand on her arm and another against her cheek as he swooped in so their lips could meet.

"Okay to whatever you're about to ask, Macy. Okay."

She bit her lip and nodded.

"Okay."

Neither noticed when Kevin's hand slid down her arm until their digits could intertwine.

"Oh, one more thing," Macy said as they neared her car.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe we can also get Joe off the cheerleading squad, because he almost hit me with a pompon today, and Stella's about to kill him."

"Okay," Kevin answered again as he sat in the passenger seat.

Though really, he might have to think of a way to thank his brothers before he could help Macy get them off the cheerleading squad.