Lost But Found | ✔️ - Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Under the Lights
Jaxon
Game days were supposed to be simple.
Get in the zone. Block out the noise. Win.
That was the routine. The mindset. And usually, Jaxon had no problem sticking to it.
But tonight?
Tonight, his focus was split.
Because somewhere on the sidelines, just beyond the roaring crowd and the bright stadium lights, Ava Carter was watching.
And not just watching—cheering.
He knew she was always at the games. It was part of the job, part of the whole cheer captain, perfect execution, school spirit thing. But now?
Now it felt different.
Now, he knew things about her no one else did.
Now, he wasn't just looking for her because she was there—he was looking because he wanted her to see him.
Jaxon rolled his shoulders, shifting his helmet under his arm as his teammates hyped each other up in the tunnel.
"Yo, Reed."
He turned as one of his wide receivers clapped him on the shoulder. "You locked in?"
Jaxon smirked. "Always."
The announcer's voice boomed overhead, the fight song blasted through the speakers, and the tunnel opened.
The team charged the field, the crowd erupting as they ran under the lights. The adrenaline hit like a wave, surging through Jaxon's veins. This was his moment.
And as he jogged toward the sideline, he let himself look.
Ava stood front and center with the cheer squad, her blonde ponytail swinging as she clapped in perfect rhythm with the routine.
She was smiling—the smile. The one she wore for the crowd, for the team, for the version of herself she let the world see.
But when his eyes met hers, the smile faltered.
Just for a second.
She recovered fast, snapping back into focus as the routine picked up, but Jaxon had already seen it.
A flicker of something real.
Something just for him.
His smirk deepened as he pulled his helmet on and jogged to the huddle.
Yeah. He was locked in now.
Ava
She should be focused.
She needed to be focused.
She had a routine to call, stunts to hit, a game to hype up.
But for the first time since she started cheering, she wasn't just here for the team.
She was here for him.
The realization unsettled her, but it didn't make it any less true.
Ava clenched her pom-poms a little tighter as Jaxon's gaze found hers across the field.
And for a moment, just a fraction of a second, she forgot to breathe.
Because he knew.
He knew she was watching.
She knew he was playing for more than just the scoreboard tonight.
She wasn't sure if she wanted to fight it anymore.