The Captain's Dirty Little Secret

Chapter 30: Chapter 30 - Sit With You

The cafeteria noticed all at once.

The football table went quiet first.

Then it got loud in the worst possible way.

Someone whistled.

Someone yelled, ”Prescott!”

Another boy called, ”Damn, Captain, you moving teams?”

Kendall stopped laughing.

Roxie felt heads turning before she even looked around. It moved through the cafeteria fast. Zac Prescott at her table. Football boys invading cheer territory. Roxie letting it happen. Kendall watching from the best seat in the room.

This would be everywhere by next period.

She leaned forward. ”Get up.”

Dylan put a hand to his chest like she had personally offended him. ”We just sat down.”

”Then stand back up.”

Mason picked up a fry from his tray. ”Aggressive.”

Zac leaned back in his chair, eyes on her. ”Nice to see you too.”

Roxie pointed at him. ”Stand up before I make you.”

Karen snorted into her water bottle.

Roxie shot her a look. ”Tell them to go.”

Karen lifted one shoulder. ”I’m neutral. Also, this makes my image more unreachable.”

Angela leaned close to Roxie, eyes bright. ”This is kind of funny.”

Roxie turned back to the boys. ”Go away.”

Dylan grinned. ”I feel like we should officially know each other.”

”We should absolutely stay strangers.”

”I’m Dylan.” He pointed at Zac. ”His best friend.”

Zac said, ”You are not my best friend.”

Dylan did not miss a beat. ”He says that because he struggles with emotions, but everyone knows quarterbacks and receivers are basically bonded for life.”

Mason nodded like this was serious. ”When you shower together, it counts. So technically, I’m Zac’s best friend too.”

Zac gave both of them a flat look.

Roxie’s irritation sharpened because Dylan was watching her like he wanted to learn which buttons made her erupt.

Zac had brought two immature boys with personality disorders.

”I don’t care who you are,” Roxie said. ”You’re sitting at the cheer table.”

Mason looked past her. ”Angela, is she always like this?”

Angela smiled sweetly. ”She’s worse.”

Dylan leaned in. ”Worse how?”

Angela lowered her voice like she was sharing government secrets. ”You have no idea how badly she talks about you.”

Dylan and Mason laughed.

”Hi, Karen,” Mason said, winking at her.

Karen rolled her eyes. ”If you’re flirting, get in line.”

Dylan looked back at Roxie, grin widening. ”Captain, we like your friends. How about a triple date?”

”How about a triple homicide?”

Mason laughed into his cup.

Roxie sighed and looked at Zac. ”I told you. No more rumors.”

Zac’s mouth tightened, but he still did not move.

Mason glanced toward the football table. ”Don’t worry, football sits everywhere.”

”Football sits there.” Roxie pointed across the cafeteria. ”Cheer sits here. The system has worked for years because everyone understands basic boundaries.”

Behind them, the football table had fully abandoned the idea of pretending.

A linebacker cupped his hands around his mouth. ”Zac, you need permission to eat now?”

Another one yelled, ”Ask your girlfriend where we sit!”

The cafeteria reacted like someone had thrown glitter into a fan.

Laughter. Whispers. Phones lifting halfway. Girls turning in their seats. Boys grinning at Zac like this was the best thing that had happened since Friday’s touchdown.

Roxie’s face heated.

Zac’s jaw flexed.

She pointed across the cafeteria. ”See? This is why you need to move.”

Zac looked over his shoulder at his team. ”Shut up.”

They got louder because teenage boys were allergic to instructions.

Then the rest of the cheerleaders walked in.

Lacey came first, then two juniors, then the younger girls behind them, all in ribbons and spirit outfits and fresh gloss. They stopped so sharply near the table that one sophomore almost bumped into Lacey’s back.

Their eyes went from Roxie to Zac.

Then Dylan.

Then Mason.

Then Kendall.

Then back to Roxie.

Lacey spoke first. ”Why are they sitting here?”

Roxie stood immediately. ”They’re leaving.”

”We just got comfortable,” Dylan said.

”They’re leaving,” Roxie repeated.

A junior whispered, ”Football never sits here.”

Another girl asked, ”Are we allowed to sit with them?”

That question hit the table like a dropped tray.

At Briarwick, football and cheer mixed on the field, in photos, at pep rallies, and at parties where everyone could pretend it was casual.

They did not mix in the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was politics.

Kendall’s eyes were on Roxie now, sharp and bright across the one-table gap. She said nothing, but her face said plenty.

What the hell are you allowing?

Roxie wanted to drag Zac out by the jersey.

Dylan turned in his chair and smiled at Lacey and the others. ”Actually, we had a proposal.”

Roxie looked at him. ”Nobody asked for one.”

Mason pointed toward the football table. ”Temporary cultural exchange.”

”Denied.”

Dylan ignored her. ”You take our table for today.”

The cheerleaders froze.

The football table sat directly in the middle, loud and impossible to ignore. Nobody touched it unless they had protection, confidence, or a serious lack of survival instinct.

Lacey’s eyes widened. ”Your table?”

Mason nodded. ”Just for today.”

From the football table, someone yelled, ”Hell yeah!”

Another boy added, ”Cheer table upgrade!”

Kyle, sitting with the football boys, lifted both hands like he had no part in this but would absolutely enjoy the outcome.

The younger cheerleaders looked ready to ascend.

Angela leaned toward Roxie and whispered, ”That’s the table beside the football table. And Lacey has a crush on someone there.”

Roxie’s head snapped toward her.

Then she looked at the cheerleaders.

They were excited.

Trying to hide it, but excited. Their eyes kept darting toward the football table, then toward Kendall, then back to Roxie for permission.

The whole thing was insane.

One wrong move and Kendall would turn it into a power grab. One smart move and half the squad would think Roxie had somehow gotten them upgraded.

It would make Kendall furious.

That helped.

Mason grinned at the cheerleaders. ”Table’s yours, ladies.”

Lacey looked at Roxie. ”Captain?”

Kendall leaned back at her table, arms crossing slowly.

Roxie forced a smile. ”Fine. Just for today.”

The cheerleaders lit up.

Lacey grabbed one of the juniors and pulled her toward the football table. The younger girls followed fast, whispering and laughing. One of them fixed her hair before crossing the aisle.

”Do not embarrass me,” Roxie called after them.

Karen lifted her water bottle. ”We passed that point when Prescott sat down.”

Angela was still smiling. ”They’re so excited.”

”They’re ridiculous.”

”They’re teenage girls near football players.”

”Same thing.”

Zac stood.

The cafeteria quieted in pieces.

Roxie noticed and immediately hated everyone.

He picked up his tray, stepped around the table, and walked to the serving cart near the wall.

She thought he was finally leaving.

Then he came back with another plate.

He set it in front of her.

Chicken sandwich.

Fruit cup.

Fries.

Roxie stared at it.

Then Zac set his own tray down across from her and sat again.

The nearest table gasped.

Someone behind her whispered, ”Oh my God.”

Karen slowly lowered her water bottle.

Angela’s mouth fell open.

Across the gap, Kendall’s face went still.

Roxie looked from the plate to Zac.

”What are you doing?” she asked, voice low.

Zac leaned back like he had not just committed social violence in front of half the school. ”You didn’t have food.”

”I didn’t ask you for food.”

”You didn’t ask for the drink either.”

Roxie’s face burned.

The football table started making noises again.

Mason covered his mouth like he was trying to laugh quietly and failing in public. Dylan looked like he had discovered a new sport.

Roxie leaned forward. ”You need to stop feeding me.”

Zac’s eyes stayed on hers. ”Eat.”

Her face burned hotter.

Because everyone heard him.

Because Kendall saw the plate.

Because Karen and Angela suddenly looked less amused.

Because Zac had noticed she did not have food, and instead of letting that stay private, he had put lunch in front of her like he had a right to care.

Roxie pushed the plate an inch back. ”I’m not hungry.”

Zac looked at the plate, then at her. ”You’re lying.”

Her fingers curled under the edge of the table.

”Careful,” she said.

His jaw shifted.

For once, he looked like he knew he had stepped too far and still wanted to stand there.

Dylan cleared his throat. ”For the record, this is wildly romantic and also terrifying. Zac in his romantic era is terrifying.”

”Dylan,” Zac warned.

Karen leaned toward Angela and whispered, ”I feel like we’re sitting in the splash zone.”

Roxie looked at Zac again. ”We are just friends.”

”Yeah,” Zac said, and his grin made it worse.

”Ugh.” Karen made a gagging sound as the rest laughed.

The whole cafeteria was loud around them, but their table had become its own problem. Football boys laughing across the aisle. Cheerleaders pretending they were comfortable at their stolen table. Kendall’s stare cutting through every inch of space between them.

Roxie picked up the fork.

Zac’s eyes dropped to her hand.

She stabbed one hash brown.

Then she lifted it, held his stare, and took the smallest bite possible.

The cafeteria noise rose around them, sharper now, already turning the scene into a story.

Roxie took another bite.

Zac watched her like he knew exactly how much pride each bite cost.

She swallowed and leaned closer, voice low enough for only him.

”If this becomes a rumor, I’m blaming you.”

Zac leaned in too.

”It already is.”

Roxie stared at him while he smiled like that was somehow helpful.

She hated him enough to take another bite.