The Bad Boy and His Cheerleader

Jordan’s Point of View Today was it. The final moving day. The furniture had already been dropped off yesterday, boxes stacked and waiting. My mom wanted a fresh start, and Mom always gets what she wants. I don’t complain—I’d follow her anywhere. Summer was almost over, not that I cared. Chicago hadn’t done much for me anyway. A few cousins, a few girls, but nothing that mattered. Most of my gang brothers were out west in Cali now, which honestly made the move better for business. But Ryker? I missed that fool like hell. My best friend since forever, and I hadn’t seen him in almost a month. Going back meant going back to him, and back to the streets I knew best. I shoved the last of my stash into a shoebox and dropped it into a gym bag when my mom called from the car. “Jordan, are you ready?” “Yeah, Ma. I’m coming.” I locked the apartment door for the last time, tossed the bag in the car, and slid into the passenger seat. Our life in Chicago was behind us. Ahead was California—the town where I grew up, the place with more memories than I could count. And trouble. Always trouble. See, I’m not your average eighteen-year-old. I’m Jordan Blake—street fighter, racer, hustler. Leader of the Flaming Dragons. People whisper about me, but those whispers are true. I don’t do girlfriends, never cared to. I like girls who know what they want, and I don’t make promises I won’t keep. The only woman I’ve ever promised anything to is my mom, and one day, I’ll make her proud. She deserves it. When my dad walked out, she held everything together. Strong, beautiful, untouchable—that’s my mom. And now she’s finally ready to put her degree to work. She quit managing hotels and wants to practice medicine again. She’s chasing her dream, and me? I’ll chase it with her. “We’re going to stop and get some food on the way. I am hungry,” She told me. “No problem.” I gazed out the window, drumming my fingers on my knee as I watched the buildings fade behind us. The move could do me well right now and I am closer to where my main capital is. “Have you decided what you wanna do? You have to fill out your college applications, Jay.” Ma glanced at me and I sighed. “Eventually, I will. Stop fussing over it, I am good.” My tone was reassuring enough for her to drop it. “You are the main reason I do not have any more kids. You stress me out so bad,” She muttered. I looked at her and chuckled, raising my brows. “I stress you out? This Jordan?” She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. “Yes, you do. All the damn time.” “A liar... That's what you are.” I scoffed and she slapped me. “Abusing me and s**t. Then you wanna say I stress you out.” “Watch that mouth,” She warned me. Yeah, yeah. ・・・ Hours on the road later, the California night wrapped around us as we pulled into the driveway of our new house. My car was already there, waiting. The U-Haul sat at the curb like a sleeping beast. The place was decent—five bedrooms, big kitchen, plenty of space for the life we were about to build. Mom rubbed her eyes. “Jordan, let’s leave the heavy lifting. We should book a motel. I’m exhausted.” “You go, Ma. I’ll be fine. I’ll call Ryker, get the guys to help.” She raised her brows. “You sure, baby?” “Yeah, Ma. Go on, I got you.” She gave me the truck keys, kissed my cheek, and drove off. Alone now, I sat on the front steps, phone in hand. The neighborhood was quiet, shadows stretching under the streetlights. That’s when I noticed him. Some dude crossing the street, headed straight toward me. “Hey,” he said, casual. “Sup.” He dropped onto the step beside me like we were already friends. “I’m Theo. Live across the street.” “Jordan,” I said. “Where you from?” Came his question. “Born here, lived in Chicago and came back. You?” I glanced at him. “Been here since freshman year. You still in high school?” “Yeah,” I answered. “What school?” He looked at me. “Eden Lake.” He gave a half-smile, half-laugh. My brows raised at that. “What’s funny about it?” “Just… it’s full of assholes. Jocks and stuck-up cheerleaders. My sister’s a nerd, they give her hell.” “Why don’t you do something about it?” He sighed. “Nobody listens. Especially with guys like Jake Olson around. Star quarterback. Total prick. His girlfriend’s the cheer captain—way too sweet for him, though.” I raised a brow. “You like her?” “Nah. Her sister, Adrianna. Soccer captain. Amazing player. But…” He shrugged. “She’s out of my league. Her ex was a model-type. Look at me—I’m not that.” I finally looked him over. Blond waves, fit build, tattoo on his forearm that read STRENGTH. Kid wasn’t ugly. “I’ll be the judge when I see her ex,” I smirked. He laughed, then nodded toward my ink. “You got a lot of tattoos. Into art?” “Guess so. You?” “I did this one myself.” He held out his arm. The lines were clean. Not bad. “That’s fire. Maybe I’ll let you give me one someday.” His grin widened. “Deal. You need help unloading?” “Yeah. I’m waiting on my boy Ryker, though.” “Cool. I’ll stick around. Got nothing better to do.” We sat in silence for a bit, the streetlights buzzing overhead. Theo tapped his sneakers against the step, glancing up and down the block like he wanted me to see what he saw. “This neighborhood,” he said quietly, “it’s the kind of place where nothing really happens. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone stays in their lane. No gangs, no fights. Safe.” He hesitated. “I mean, most of the time.” I huffed out a laugh. “Sounds boring.” “Boring’s good,” Theo said quickly. “It means no cops. No drama. People like it that way.” I tilted my head, smirking. “Yeah, but boring doesn’t last forever.” Theo opened his mouth to say something back, but headlights swept across the street, pulling both our attention. A black Mustang rolled up, engine growling low. The car barely stopped before the door flew open and Ryker jumped out, grinning like a maniac. “Yo, Jordan!” he shouted. I stood, smirking. “About damn time.” We clasped hands, pulling each other in for a quick hug. Ryker hadn’t changed—same cocky smile, same restless energy buzzing off him. Theo raised a hand awkwardly. “I’m Theo. I live across the street.” “Cool,” Ryker said, barely glancing at him before turning back to me. “So we moving boxes or what?” “Yeah. Let’s get it done.” The three of us headed toward the truck, and as I unlocked it, I couldn’t shake the thought that Theo’s quiet, safe neighborhood was about to get real loud. Because I was home now. And the Flaming Dragons? We never stayed quiet for long.