When it all sinks [Frog]

the team leader yelled. The band, composed by both boys and girls (thought there were mostly girls in the team), grouped with such discipline similar to a military formation. It was the routine's gran finale, and the one starring at it would be nobody other than Brittany. It's of wide knowledge she was basically the soul of the equip, the one who entices the audience with her sunshine personality and the one often stealing the spotlight whenever she executes the complicate pirouettes and dance movements in the air. Despite Brittany's overall humble and down-to-earth personality when referred as the "heart, soul and face of the Seven Stars Academy cheerleading team", she loved every time she was chosen to be featured in a risky, eyecatching pirouette during a performance. The closest sensation to flying, the closest feeling of the liberty a human can experience without real wings...and also the highest moment of a performance, all of this belonged to her. Few times scream "the world is mine" like this.

All she had to do was run, do a cartwheel, then a series of two or three back handsprings before stepping on the hands of a fellow cheerleader duo, use it as a platform to perform a series of twists above the whole cheerleading team, only to land by the other side, supported  by another duo who'd catch her on her fall. Ambitious routine? Maybe. But she could do that, they were sure. They've been trying this new move for weeks, the captain, named Daisy, was confident in everyone's synchronization and harmony. They weren't called a team for nothing.

Brittany...wasn't. When Daisy signaled it was her time to get ready for leap in the air, she didn't feel exhilarated anymore. Or joyous. She was just...anxious. Eyes closed, deep breath... She still couldn't concentrate.

"Com'on, Brit?? We're waiting!", the captain yelled again. Reopening her eyes, the girl glared at the straight path ahead. It was nothing she hasn't done before, only taken to one level higher. If she could defeat demons, she could handle this, the greatest point for her career as a cheerleader up to now. She was athletic, with an aerodynamic build that favors quick and risky movements. A no-brainer.

Stepping forward... then again... the jog became a run, followed by the precise routine the model had been rehearsing in her mind: an easy cartwheel, naturally the easiest part to perform, then a series of back handsprings. One, two, and by the third one, two male cheerleader mates were waiting kneeling right by her feet. The moment the shoes stepped on their hands, they used their max strength to toss her in the air, enough to lift her to great heights that could guarantee the sufficient time for her twirls allied to the impulse derived from the hurtle speed. Everything happened in a perfect coordinated timing, and soon Brittany found herself leaping across the whole team. Ha, they looked at her down there like she was a star. Maybe she was indeed one. Her hair felt so light, swinging by the moves her body established in an imaginary axis... Her body felt like there was no gravity. How amazing it would be if she could never go down again, wouldn't it? Physically impossible, yes, but being able to fly and never coming back down is an old dream of humanity. A dream she was fulfilling, with her hazel-like eyes closed, feeling the soft breeze generated by the speed energy of her body flutter the pink cascade of hair... A dream that evoked her childhood, when she was thirteen years old... A dream from before the Divide.

The Divide... The day it all started, the day the demons invaded the city and it all started. The day she met...him.

Him.

...

"AAAAAACK!!"
When she opened her eyes again, Brittany wasn't in the air anymore, floating like a sylph-like entity away from all the terrene, mundane troubles of a daily life. Instead, her body laid in a painful position over the body of two other fellow team mates. Presumably, the duo supposed to catch her on her landing, if only the girl had actually prepared the landing in first place. She didn't, and the results were visible to anyone: a bunch of bodies on the ground in an awkward mess, limbs pointed to all directions waving aimlessly trying to find any solid opportunity for their owners to get up. Brittany moaned in pain, rolling to the side (that is, getting off the team mates so they could stand up on their own). The others naturally helped them standing up, offering either a hand or the whole arm so they had something to grab if the ache was enough.

"What the hell are you doing?? Girl, were you paying attention?"

Brittany didn't answer. Her shoulder aching like it was misplaced, head zooming... On her face a very short smile, like never before: an ashamed, forced smile.

"I...I'm sorry, I--" Daisy was infuriated, almost foaming on the mouth.
""Sorry"? Are you serious? You almost killed yourself, Brian and Terrence with that! It's not the first time, three people could have been potentially hurt because you weren't paying attention to what you're doing and you're saying you're "sorry"? This is serious, girl. This. Is. Serious! Have you ever thought you could be injured by now? You could have injured others??", the girl gritted her teeth. She was considerably shorter than Brittany, with a long, blond hair tied in a ponytail that did little to impress anyone. Yet she didn't earn the title of leader of the team for nothing; what she couldn't do with her height, she compensated with her attitude and an iron fist. "Got nothing to say? Then go to the bench. Take a rest. Mellany will replace you if you're "sorry". Come back once your head is in the right place, I don't wanna lose any more time because of you."

Turning her back without giving time for a response, Daisy made a snap sign in the air for the team to get back on track. Little by little, the other members of the team left her, some with an unsure glance, some with an apologetic look... The truth is they were as confused as the seemingly lost Brittany. But not as hurt. Not even the fall had hurt Brian and Terrence, who shrugged impotently at the cheerleader, as much as her. Not even the understanding smile she used to cover the aching shoulder after the deserved scolding, or the vain attempt to ease the pain through a careless massage on the wounded spot... None of this hurt her as much. Because the true wounds lie within, and that is something none of them could see.

"Go to the bench". Words were sharper than a knife would cut. Oddly enough, Brittany wasn't mad. Being downcast to the substitute role couldn't be all that bad, it definitely wasn't the end of the world. But...she was disappointed, if anything struck her heart to the point it felt heavy like a burden, it was this feeling of frustration with herself. The rise and literal fall of Brittany... How ironic is that?

Her knees ached when she tried to stand up moments before, consequence of how recent the fall (not the metaphorical fall, but the literal one that almost escalated into an accident) was. Even her wrist felt weak when she propped her hand against the floor... All of this because of a guy. Or rather, because of this stupid Terrorist stuff she got involved in. If they didn't volunteer to help that reporter, or even go into that weird house in the Backlight District, none of this would have happened. Lame. That's how Brittany felt. Yet, she couldn't even complain. Not when the girl acknowledged in her core that, even though she was thrown in the middle of this supernatural eerie scenery, she opted to be Terrorist. Brittany chose this. And so she had to live with the perks and odds of having powers... She wasn't the type to grieve, and yet...

"??" While everybody else from her team returned to their scheduled rehearsals, practicing the moves and rhythmic routine for the next presentation, Brittany rose her head in the direction of the exit hallway, only to find her eyes reflecting the last image she expected to encounter in such a miserable state.

Frogerio.

Her eyes widened as much as her heart raced in silence. He wasn't supposed to be here, not if he hadn't joined any sports team or, in an even remoter possibility, the cheerleading team. What was he doing here, running in her direction? Shouldn't he be back home or something now that classes are on a break?

Regardless, everything happened too fast, from Frogerio bursting in the place to the speed-paced sentence he blurted out and the fact their hands were touching in a manner that to any bystander they'd seem like a couple; therefore, while there was enough window for a reaction, the only thing Brittany did was... blink and open her mouth mildly at the mention of saying something in return, yet nothing came out. As if suddenly her rationality blanked out even though she had been thinking about it the whole morning, like brain and mouth were out of sync. Not that she needed to actually say something, considering Frogerio's loud banter attracted the attention of a large audience, unbeknownst to her...

"Hey. HEEEEEEY!!", Daisy yelled, clapping her hands thrice. If the loud shrill voice wasn't enough to catch their attention, the loud sounds of clapping would be enough. "Hello-o? Are you lost or blind? We're practicing here and your yelling is disturbing our concentration! Get out, you nerd! NOW!!"

"Erm...it's okay, Daisy... He's with me", Brittany said, in a glimpse of lucidity she regained almost as if she had woken up from a hallucination, or rather, a trance of confusion.

"Oooooh, I see how it is...", a sarcastic smile bloomed in Daisy's lips as she crossed her arms in front of the duo. It took her only two seconds to catch what the whole scene was about and despite the acidity of her words, tinted with some venom of a person who enjoys poking at people's most inner affairs, it was a genuine smile. Or rather, half-genuine. "That's why you're so distracted today! You two are dating and you had a fight! Really, Brit, you deserve better. I thought you would, you know, choose one of the guys from the basketball team, or the soccer team even. But not a loser like him, he's not handsome at all, or even cute! Are you two really dating?"

From behind Daisy's scornful look, the cheerleader team laughed at the situation. Some openly, some giggling with a degree of discretion at the hilarity of the scene, displays of mockery ensuing as Brittany's eyes shifted from her captain's inquisitive and expectant stare to the contemptuous assumptions and chit-chatting from her team mates.

"...Huh...what?"

For someone who's used to be the center of the attention, this felt nothing like the spotlight she desired.

While it was completely uncalled for, Frogerio's reaction to Daisy's arrogant and belittling complex did extract a reaction from all kinds. Brian and Terrence got ready to give some lesson to the guy he wouldn't forget, if only the other girls of the team hadn't held their arms. Daisy seemed unimpressed, just crossing her arms and delivering a contemptuous sneer, apparently unaffected by the finger pointed to her face or even how aggressive of a comeback it was.

"I wasn't talking to you?? I was talking to B, now get back to your cage. Ew, have you taken your anti-rabies shots today?"

The crew behind the cheerleader captain busted into laughter, watching as the scene unfold like an audience at a TV show. "As I was saying, Brit--"

"Daisy... okay, that's enough. Don't treat him that way, not while I'm around" Her tone, albeit not as loud as Frogerio's or not as cynical and acid as Daisy's, was much more serious and incisive than her regular self. Even the smile Brittany usually wears faded, giving space to a stern and rather collected expression Daisy could easily tell as a clear demonstration of displeasure. "I'm a bit distracted today, I get it, totally. I'll leave the rehearsals for today and come back tomorrow. You already replaced me for Mellany so it's all good. See you tomorrow."

Running one of her hands through Frogerio's arm, Brittany grabbed him by the shirt's sleeve at first, then a full grip on his arm, pulling the guy with her with more force than she meant to. Despite not being really known for her physical strength, it would be no surprise if Frogerio felt discomfort or even a bit of pain, giving the considerably effort Brit put into dragging the fellow Terrorist to the gym's exit with her. Regardless, she turned away from the team even before Daisy or anyone else could say something in return - which they didn't -, not looking back...and not looking at Frog either.

"..." At first, the cheerleader said nothing. Eve after they finally settled down away from the group in the gym, Brittany didn't turn around. It would take a while for her to do something expressive, body language wise, before turning back to Frogerio, the silence corroding her mood more and more, like a dangerous drug. Her back leaned against the hallway walls, being separated by the cold surface only because the girl placed her hands between them. After some seconds that seemed like an eternity, her lips reopened, this time with less of a mopey face, though the mopiness was still there, noticeably. "It's alright. I believe in you."

Should Frog look back at her, he would meet her smile. Not the usually bright smile like high noon summery day, but the warm smile of a sunny winter morning: not so shiny, not so dazzling, just enough to bring some comfort to the heart when times felt too cold for endurance. He cared, in his own manners to demonstrate, this much was clear and it was all that mattered for her. "I thought you were hating me or something. I mean, not only back there when it all happened... but this whole time. You didn't come back home with me either, so I assumed... And I didn't know what I did wrong, or what even happened there, so, like, if want to tell me... I'm all ears. As I've always been."

Gosh, Frogerio was the most eccentric guy she has ever met, but god, he looks so adorable whenever he smiles rather than his agitated self that if she almost threw her body weight on him into an emotional embrace. "Almost" being the key word here, because even Brittany knows how to tone down her shining disposition at times and even if, she was still recovering from a sour mood. Instead, the girl opted for displaying her affection in a very different manner illustrating her typical good humor... "Yeah... you're indeed a brat. The cutest of brats, but still a brat!", she jested as the tip of her finger touched the very extremity of his nose, the outlines of her lips gaining a new form, not a serene, mature-like, understanding smile anymore, but a mischievous, childish grin that developed into a genuinely happy giggle. Knowing her as he did, the guy should expect she wouldn't be gloomy for long; the cheerleader was joyful again and all it took for her was an apology. No matter how simple it is, it felt like a burden has been lifted from her shoulders (and probably his too).

"I should have trusted you. I know you wouldn't hurt people like that... I dunno, I guess I was just shocked to see all those bodies on the ground, I thought they were, you know, dead. But nevermind that, we're all good now, right?" Back to her usual self, whatever happened before would not matter. Unless Frogerio ignored the "nevermind that" and explained himself in further details, of course. Brittany naturally wouldn't extract an explanation from him or demand it to do so, things don't have to be that complicated. Not when it can all be solved with an apology and acceptance.

"Uh, did I look like I was hurt?"

Question tinted with genuine surprise, Brittany widened her eyes like somehow she didn't even know how to react, momentarily erasing the free, good-willed smile the friendly atmosphere installed in her countenance moments before. In her own perception, she was merely quiet and reflexive, pondering. But our own perceptions are flawed as biased they can be, and unaware of it, Brittany might have been expressed herself more obviously than she wished for. Whatever is it, Frogerio noticing her state managed to fluster the cheerleader rather well.

"It's fine! I'm totally fine, really! I was just, you know, thinking. I mean... The last night thing, not only about us, but what Larsinny said too, the issues with the Queen being a, you know, tyrant...", her tone lowered as the hazel eyes glanced to the gym's door, looking for any unexpected bystander that would suddenly open it and catch them inadvertently talking about the city's Queen. The last thing they'd need is intruders pestering them about their secret lives as outlaws and even talking about it in the corridors could be a risk Brittany carelessly chose to assume. Upon realizing no one would come, Frogerio's face would again have her full attention. "Did you hear what Larsinny said? There were others before us, other Pee Tees... And he doesn't know who the Phantom is, but wasn't the Phantom guy the one told us to go to that house the other night? So who is him?"

"Yeah, I know right?? Hm, I dunno..."

Her arms crossed over her chest, looking at a fixed spot on the ground. Thoughts roaming inside her mind, thinking... The last days have been truly messy in all aspects since they awakened this special, magical power named as "Persona". It was fun and brought an unique sense of ownership of their own fate and the fate of others, like a super heroine she idolized since childhood, but it also brought danger to their lives. Unless they forsake the power they earned, they were officially outlaws. Criminals. Not heroes and heroines.

"I haven't seen that reporter lady from the other night since then either... After we left her in her van, you know, unconscious and all. Maybe nothing bad happened or we would have heard by now. But she kinda, like, disappeared after that... I can't shake the feeling we're being toyed with..."

"Mmm, alright! Smile is close to my house, maybe I can stop by when I have nothing better to do and talk to her?"

Assuming the lady is still around and alive, of course. And there's the obvious possibility that the reporter won't remember anything due to her being unconscious the whole time. Still, despite considering these facts, Brittany had a feeling about the disappearance it wouldn't be the case, given the weird nature of the recent events and happenings.

As she thought about it, one hand went straight to her shoulder, massaging it. The pain of the fall was still there, making the muscle a bit stiff around that area and causing her usually cheery face to twist into a light grimace for one moment.

"Hm...Frog... You know back then, when Daisy said those stuff. I mean, not the name calling and all that... I mean the second part, that we're, like, "dating"..." As the bout of silence installed while Brittany tried to organize her words eloquently (without much success, one should add), it was possible to notice the embarrassment taking shape and tinting the upcoming smile with drops of anxiety. "You didn't say we aren't..."