Family Matters

Dana Holland got home from cheer practice feeling weary. Skylar and Anastasia had been working the squad hard today in anticipation of this week’s game. She was excited for the game, too, as it was another one of Jace as the starting quarterback. She didn’t have too much personal investment in whether Charlie or Jace was the quarterback, but she did find it much easier to cheer for Jace. The whole squad had more excitement when Jace was the quarterback, really.

At practice today, they’d been joined by two junior cheerleaders, London and Alyssa. They both seemed like great girls, and they had already seemed to meld well with the team. London was a bit on the shyer side, but she absolutely nailed the routines they were working on. Alyssa was almost her opposite, a friendly, chatty girl who was a bit lackluster in terms of performance. She was fine, but she didn’t have the technical talent that London and a few of the senior girls had.

Dana had tried to befriend London as best she could, but the quiet girl didn’t seem to come out of her shell much. She’d respond if spoken to directly, but she didn’t volunteer much in conversations. Most of the talking had come from Dana, Astrid, and Ruby.

As Dana came into the kitchen, she found her mother cooking dinner with Jace’s help, while Olivia sat at the breakfast bar, sitting there in a tank top and yoga pants, with a mostly empty iced coffee in front of her. Her twin brother’s girlfriend smiled at her when she spotted Dana, and Dana returned the smile. It had been pretty weird at first that Jace and Olivia were dating, but it’d become pretty familiar now.

“Oh, Dana, perfect! I was just about to call you and see where you were at.” Danielle smiled. Dana’s mother was wearing snug pale blue jeans and a red crossover top that would probably be showing off lots of cleavage if it didn’t have an apron over it. Beside Danielle, Jace was chopping vegetables a little warily, while Olivia was giving him advice.

“Yeah, sorry. Practice ran a little late, we had two new girls join the squad.” Dana apologized.

“Oh, no worries. Who are they? Late acceptances or transfers from another school?” Danielle wondered.

“Oh, no, they’re junior squad girls. Coach Roberts is testing out a little cheersister program.” Dana shook her head.

“That sounds like a great idea.” Danielle nodded thoughtfully. “Are you either of their big cheersisters?”

“Nope, it’s Skylar and Anastasia doing it.” Dana replied.

There was a knock on the door, and Jace’s head lifted abruptly.

“That’s Amy, she called back at the mall and asked if she could come over tonight.” Jace said.

“I’ve got the door, you can finish chopping veggies.” Dana told her twin brother.

“Thanks!” Jace called as she walked back down the entrance hallway and opened the front door.

Sure enough, standing on the doorstep was a short buxom ginger, who smiled cheerfully when she saw Dana. Said ginger was in a pale pink tank top, the cups of a dark blue bra visible through the stretched pink material, and the straps of it poking out from the pink straps of the tank top. On her lower half, she was clad in a shortish white skirt, and she had a backpack slung over her left shoulder.

“Hi, Dana!” Amy beamed, and she threw her arms around Dana for a hug. Dana wrapped her own arms around Amy and squeezed her back, though the girls’ tits formed a squishy sort of barricade in the middle of the hug. Both girls were short and stacked, though Amy definitely had Dana beat.

“Hey, Amy. Come on in. Jace is making dinner right now.” Dana waved the redhead in.

“Huh, I didn’t know he knew how to cook.” Amy frowned.

“I think Mom and Olivia are teaching him.” Dana giggled. “Because he definitely can’t cook.”

When Dana and Amy walked into the kitchen, Dana saw Olivia had gotten up and joined Jace at the counter, leaning past his shoulder to try a sauce while Danielle watched expectantly, her hands on her hips.

“Mmm, yeah, that’s good.” Olivia nodded approvingly. “Good job, Mrs. Holland.”

“What was that?” Danielle raised an eyebrow.

“Oops, sorry. Good job, Danielle. Keep forgetting.” Olivia apologized.

Danielle chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, hon. You can call me whatever, I don’t mind.”

With the sauce determined satisfactory, Jace was able to turn towards his best friend and smile at her. Amy let her bag slide off her shoulder to the floor, then hurried forwards to basically throw herself into Jace’s arms. Dana was a touch surprised at how tightly Jace embraced Amy. The pair of them had always been close, but the way they clung to each other now, it would have been easy to think they were… together.

Olivia didn’t seem to mind, though, and when Amy and Jace separated, Amy and Olivia hugged quickly, too.

“It’s always nice to see you.” Danielle smiled, accepting a third hug from Amy. “You’re practically my third daughter.”

Amy laughed, smiling up at the taller blonde woman. “I am here a lot. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh, not at all.” Danielle said warmly. “You’re always welcome here.”

Danielle kissed Amy’s forehead, making the redhead blush lightly.

Danielle turned back to dinner, and with an amused quirk of her mouth, she leaned over and kissed Jace’s cheek. “You’ve done enough for today’s cooking lesson, hon. Go entertain your guests.”

“Oh, I don’t mind helping with dinner more.” Jace protested, but Danielle shook her head.

“I got it, really.” she insisted, but Jace put his arm around their mother’s waist, surprising Dana, especially when Danielle leaned into him. They murmured between them, out of Dana’s earshot, but Danielle looked distinctly pleased when they split apart.

“I’m gonna help Mom finish dinner, you guys can throw on a movie or something if you want.” Jace offered.

“I actually have a book I’m reading right now.” Amy said, returning to her fallen backpack. Dana looked on interestedly as Amy pulled out a thick book with a picture of a shirtless man carrying a sword on the front cover.

“Ooh, is that Alanna Valentine?” Olivia gasped.

“You read her books too?” Amy asked excitedly.

“Of course! Her new one just came out, didn’t it?”

“Yup, just came out on Sunday! Bands of Lust!” Amy said, holding out the book. Olivia took it, flipping it over after taking a look at the cover art.

“Whoa, who’s that?” Jace raised his eyebrows, seeing the girl on the back.

“That’s Amber, the main character.” Amy explained. Amber was a girl with bright gold hair, vivid dark blue eyes, and big tits, Dana noticed interestedly.

“Maybe that book isn’t too bad.” Jace shrugged, and Olivia rolled her eyes knowingly at her boyfriend.

“What? Obviously I prefer yours.” he gestured at Olivia’s own very impressive bosom, making her laugh.

“Hey, watch that sauce. Keep stirring it.” Danielle mentioned.

“Oop, on it.” Jace said, turning back to the stove.

“How far are you into this one?” Olivia asked Amy, the two girls moving to sit at the breakfast bar while Dana leaned on the end of it, chin resting on her palms.

“About a quarter of the way into it.” Amy said, waggling her hand back and forth. “Did you read the one before this?”

“Bands of Magic? Absolutely!” Olivia beamed. “I love the Bands series, but I do miss the Crescent Moon series. Those werewolves were so fun.”

“Oh I know! The Romeo and Juliet love story in those books were great.” Amy enthused.

“I don’t know. I liked the part where Emma almost tore off that asshole’s face.” Danielle commented wryly.

“You read Crescent Moon?!” Amy exclaimed.

“Yup. I haven’t read any of those ones though.” Danielle gestured.

“You know, I heard a rumor Alanna Valentine actually lives in Amethyst Shore.” Olivia told the group eagerly.

“Oh, people have been saying she lives everywhere.” Amy waved a hand dismissively. “I’ve heard New York City, I’ve heard Redwater, I’ve heard Chicago, I’ve heard Big Lake-”

“Yeah, we get it, Ames.” Jace chuckled. “It’s a mystery.”

“A big mystery! She’s written like seven books now, and nobody knows who she is.” Amy lamented.

“So Alanna Valentine is a pen name?” Dana frowned.

“Yup.” Amy and Olivia said together.

“I bet you… 10 bucks Mina knows who it is.” Jace said.

“Val’s friend?” Amy asked thoughtfully. “I’ll take that action!”

Amy leaned over the breakfast bar to shake Jace’s hand, and that lean flaunted a LOT of cleavage, Dana couldn’t help but notice. A big creamy valley jiggling as the owner of said valley emphatically shook hands with her best friend. With a small frown, Dana wondered how it was possible that Amy and Dana were the same tiny height, and Dana was a petite blonde while Amy was a redheaded fertility goddess.

Life just wasn’t fair sometimes.

———

Matthew Chester came home from school to find his mother and his sister sat together at the dining room table, looking over a laptop together.

“Helping with homework?” Matt guessed, making his older sister Maple Chester laugh. His mother, Amanda Chester, chuckled softly.

“No, actually. We’re job searching.” Maple admitted. “With the college closed for a few months, I’m looking for some work.”

Matt’s nineteen year old elder sister was a beautiful young woman, with long brown hair, warm gray eyes, medium to large breasts, and a perky ass. Today she was wearing an unbuttoned yellow flannel top over a ribbed gray tank top and some blue jeans.

“And do you have any marketable skill?” Matt couldn’t help but tease, making Maple scoff.

“I’m marketable. Plus, my old boss Hank from the diner said he’d put in a good word with anybody if I asked.” Maple said, a touch smugly.

“Can’t be that good of a word if he won’t hire you.” Matt pointed out.

“Matthew, stop teasing your sister.” Amanda said, not without affectionate amusement in her tone.

“Hank offered, I said I didn’t wanna work at the diner again. I always came home from shifts greasy and gross and that’s not something I’m interested in repeating.” Maple shuddered.

“So what do you want to do?” Matt asked, opening the fridge to grab the jug of milk.

“I don’t mind customer service, so maybe- are you just drinking milk?” Maple started, then was briefly diverted.

“What? It’s good for my bones.” Matt said, taking a sip. Amanda laughed, and Matt held up his hands in confusion.

“What about that donut place?” Amanda suggested, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

“Maybe. Those are some early hours though.” Maple frowned.

“They do open stupid early.” Matt acknowledged, taking a long sip of milk that had both Chester women giggling.

“What is so funny about the milk?” Matt protested.

“Why don’t you just drink water like a normal person?” Maple laughed.

“I do drink water! Sometimes I just want milk too though.” Matt exclaimed.

“You’re right, honey. You can drink whatever you want to.” Amanda nodded.

“Even beer?” Matt raised his eyebrows.

“Better than milk.” Maple muttered to herself, but plenty loud enough for Matt to hear.

“Not any kind of ****.” Amanda amended herself. “Not until you’re 21.”

“Jace’s mom lets him drink beer.” Matt tried.

“Jace’s mom probably lets him do a lot of things, hon. I remember what Danielle Franklin was like in high school, there’s no way she’s a strict mother.” Amanda shook her head with a laugh. Her and Danielle were decent friends these days, though they didn’t spend vast amounts of time in each other’s company.

“Dana’s a sweetheart.” Maple chimed in. “Mrs. Holland can’t be that lax.”

“Oh, I’m sure Danielle’s a wonderful mother.” Amanda nodded. “Jace is a well-behaved young man, too. Always so quick with politeness and compliments.”

Damn it, was Jace hitting on his mom? It wouldn’t completely surprise Matt, in all fairness, and Matt had shot his shot with Danielle a fair few times, too. He also didn’t plan on stopping. So Matt couldn’t be that upset with his best friend, admittedly.

“I hear he’s starting quarterback now, right?” Maple wondered.

“Yup. They finally axed that asshat Charlie. Bet daddy’s money paid for his quarterback spot, it sure wasn’t skill.” Matt grumbled.

“Language.” Amanda said mildly.

“Sorry, Mom. Charlie’s just the worst. Has no understanding of teamwork and always tries to go for the glory.” Matt shrugged. “The team’s much better off with Jace running the show.”

“That’s good to hear.” Amanda nodded.

“We’ll see how good you guys are this week at the game.” Maple pointed out. “I’m excited to come.”

“Gotta check to see if your cheer squad’s fallen apart, too.” Matt pointed out.

Maple shook her head. “I have full confidence in Anastasia. I picked her as my successor for a reason.”

Maple had been cheer captain last year, and a damn good one, too. The cheerleaders had never had better routines, and they’d been in higher spirits from the looks of it, which was saying something for a group of girls who had the job of being high spirited.

“How’s Lucas doing?” Maple asked. “I know Meg was wondering about him.”

“Uh, he’s doing good, I guess.” Matt shrugged. “We’re not all that close.”

Maple was best friends with Meghan Lake, the older sister of Lucas Lake, who was a running back on the team. Lucas was a nice guy, and Matt had had no problems with him as a teammate. Matt and Lucas weren’t too close though, as Matt was usually hanging out with Jace and Amy, while Lucas was usually off with his own best friend Ryan Anderson, another member of the team.

Meghan had been Maple’s vice captain last year, and the pair of them had done a good job together, it seemed. They definitely argued a hell of a lot less than this year’s cheer captains, Anastasia and Skylar. Matt always half wondered if he’d come onto the field to discover they’d split the cheer squad into two separate squads.

“I think Jace was talking earlier today about having some kind of pre-game party at his house if you wanted to come, Maple. I know Dana will be there if you wanted to chat with her.” Matt offered.

“Oh, that’d be great!” Maple smiled. “She had so much potential last year, I really wanted to give her the captain role, I just didn’t think she had in it her to be stern when she needed to be.”

“I dunno, Dana’s got a mean streak.” Matt warned.

“You only say that because she punches you for calling her short, dear.” Amanda put in helpfully.

“Matthew!” Maple exclaimed reproachfully.

“She is!” Matt protested.

“Just drink your milk while I keep looking for jobs.” Maple clicked her tongue.

“Ooh, what about the Sand Dollar?” Amanda suggested.

“The cafe? That wouldn’t be terrible.” Maple nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe I’ll apply there.”

“I’m gonna take my milk and go play some Madden. Job hunting isn’t something I’m really keen on doing.” Matthew sighed.

“Jace and Amy got summer jobs, I tried to talk you into one, too.” Amanda called after her son.

“I wanted to enjoy my summer!” Matt exclaimed, and he picked up his very mocked milk and went out to the living room.

———

In a much more wealthy part of town, London Calloway returned home after cheer practice feeling a knot of stress in her stomach.

The gorgeous Indian girl was proud of cheerleading abilities, and she had definitely been putting in the work the junior squad, but she had never expected to be elevated onto the senior squad. She was already eighteen, so it wasn’t like there was some massive age gap as if she was a freshman miraculously joining the cheer squad, but she had still been extremely tense the whole afternoon.

Coach Roberts had called her and Alyssa into her office, and London had worried she was in trouble, but she had almost been more nervous that she was being commended. London didn’t really like praise, it made her feel awkward and she hated being the center of attention. Coach Roberts had always been super nice to her though, and London had felt a little bubbly inside hearing how highly Coach Roberts thought of her.

Then the blonde cheerleading coach had called in Anastasia Prescott and Skylar Wayne, the cheer captain and the vice captain. London had been a little relieved to see a familiar face, as her family and Skylar’s family had been friends the girls’ whole lives. They’d seen each other at plenty of events and dinners, and while London was a bit too shy to keep up with the loud, boisterous free spirit that was Skylar Wayne, she did like the girl.

She didn’t mind Skylar’s brother Sam, either, after he’d stopped that mortifying flirting anyway. When they were younger in their teens, he’d hit on her a few times until Skylar practically dragged him away. He’d apologized afterwards, saying he really did just think she was pretty and didn’t mean to embarrass her or anything.

London had appreciated the effort, and her and Sam had been on good terms ever since. Supposedly, the Wayne twins’ mom was getting married soon, as she’d overheard her parents talking about Sophia Wayne reserving the Calloway Foundation’s event room for her engagement party. Sophia Wayne and London’s parents were old friends, so it was no surprise there she used their event room. London was pretty sure she wasn’t supposed to know about the engagement though, so she’d refrained from telling anybody about it.

Then again… London didn’t really have that many people she talked to, anyway. That made her sound sad and lonely, which wasn’t true, but she didn’t really have any super close friends. Her big sister Lilian had always been effortlessly popular and stylish, whereas London had always been the quiet, timid Calloway sister. It was hard sometimes, being in Lilian’s shadow, but London loved her big sister.

She knew it wasn’t Lilian’s fault that London was so pointlessly shy. Just like it wasn’t Lilian’s fault that London struggled making friends, and while she had a couple casual friends, she didn’t have a best friend like Lilian did in Cora McKinley. Lilian and Cora had been inseparable their whole lives, and London had never had that kind of connection with anyone.

“London! How was school?” a happy voice exclaimed, and London was jolted out of her thoughts by her mother sweeping into the entrance hall. Shreya Calloway was just as elegant and glamorous and effortlessly likable as her elder daughter. Shreya and Lilian had lots in common, while London was the only one who stammered and flushed when people looked her way.

“It was good.” London said weakly. “I got moved to the senior squad at cheer practice.”

“London! That’s fantastic news!” Shreya beamed, sweeping her daughter into a hug. London squeezed her eyes shut as she embraced her mother, a little pleased at the attention. Her nerves were nowhere near as bad when it came to her family, and praise from her mom like this didn’t make her feel self-conscious like praise from Coach Roberts had.

“Thanks, Mom.” London smiled, a bit more genuinely.

“How many other junior girls got moved?” Shreya wondered.

“Just Alyssa, that one girl I told you about.” London mumbled.

“Ah.” Shreya said with a distinct note of displeasure. “That one.”

“Yeah.” London mumbled.

“Well, don’t worry about that girl, OK, sweetie? I’m absolutely positive Skylar will shut that bit- ah, that girl down if she tries anything.” Shreya soothed her daughter. “She’s very no-nonsense, just like her mother.”

The thought of Skylar sticking up for London was somehow simultaneously mortifying and gratifying.

“Skylar did get made my big cheersister by Coach Roberts. So she’s like my mentor, basically.” London added in.

“Oh, excellent. I think that Skylar will be perfect for you as a mentor.” Shreya nodded in satisfaction.

“I did learn some new routines, which was fun.” London continued, nodding. She loved the routines of cheerleading, which was most of the reason she was still on the squad. She got in her head a bit when it came to performing on game nights, but at least it was a smaller crowd due to it being the JV game. Oh no, was she going to be cheering at the varsity game now?

London mentally committed herself to more practice up in her gymnastics room later. She needed to nail the new routines she’d learned today, so she could have some form of reliance on her abilities for the varsity game.

“Everything alright? You look stressed, hon.” Shreya frowned, cupping London’s cheek.

“I’m alright.” she said with a bob of her head. “I was just thinking about how I’ll probably have to cheer at the varsity game now.”

“Oh, you’re right! That will be amazing for you, London. You’re so talented with the routines, I know you’ll do amazing. And I can sit next to Sophia at the game now so we can both cheer you on!” Shreya beamed.

A sinking pit seemed to develop in London’s stomach at the thought of making a fool of herself in front of her mom, Sophia Wayne, and all those people in the stands.

“Um… I’m going to head to my room. It’s been a long day.” London excused herself. Shreya’s enthusiasm dimmed, making London feel awful, but she nodded.

“Of course, London, you head on up. I won’t tell your father anything, you can tell him yourself at dinner.” Shreya told her.

“Sounds good.” London said quickly, and dashed up the stairs. She went straight to her room, and breathed out a sigh of relief at being alone and at peace. She flopped onto the loveseat by her bookshelf, letting out another long relieved sigh.

A few hours of rest, then it was right back to practicing. London had to absolutely nail these routines before the next practice.