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CHAPTER FIVE.Ollie’s POVI shut down my laptop faster than I ever had in my life. My camera light blinked off, and the screen went dark, leaving only my reflection in the black glass. The mask was still clinging to my face, making my breath hot under it. My heart thumped like I had been caught doing something illegal, like someone had actually seen me through the walls. But nobody had. I was alone in my room, door locked, curtains closed, my little secret safe like always.Still, that text on my phone glowed back at me like it was laughing.“Hi Oli-nerd.”The words were simple, but they dug under my skin deeper than they should have. Ryder. Of course it was Ryder. Who else would text something like that? I didn’t even remember giving him my number. He must have gotten it from someone else. Maybe Allison without realizing. Or maybe one of his stupid friends grabbed it off a group chat. However he got it, I hated that he had it.I yanked the mask off and tossed it on the bed, scrubbing

CHAPTER FOUR.Ryder’s POVI threw myself down on my bed with a heavy thump, the springs groaning under my weight. The room was dark except for the dim light of my phone screen. I didn’t bother turning on the lamp. I liked it this way, the shadows pressing against the corners, the quiet buzz of the campus outside the window.Everyone had left after the party. Serena had called twice but I let it ring out. I didn’t feel like dealing with her shrill voice right now. The guys were probably still out celebrating, laughing, drinking too much. Normally I’d be with them, the center of it all, but tonight I just wanted space. I wanted something else.Something to entertain me.I rolled onto my side, scrolling through random messages, my smirk stretching wider each time I replayed the image of Ollie’s face at the party. That little flash of pink in his cheeks when I called him out, the way his lips parted like he wanted to talk back but knew better, the way everyone laughed at him. God, it had

CHAPTER THREE;Ollie’s POVI slammed the apartment door behind me hard enough that the frame rattled.The silence swallowed me.No thumping music. No laughter. No Ryder. Just the faint hum of the old refrigerator and the quiet creak of the building settling around me.My chest still burned, like Ryder’s words had been carved into me with a knife. You’ll never belong here.God, he was such an arrogant bastard. And the worst part? He was right.I kicked my shoes off and dropped my bag on the couch, collapsing next to it. My hands ran over my face, fingers digging into my temples. I wanted to scream. To punch something. To stop replaying Ryder’s smirk over and over again in my head. The way he had leaned close, his voice dripping poison, then pulled back laughing like I was nothing. I hated that my body shook even now, long after it ended.Instead, I stared at the crooked family photo on the wall. Just me and my sister, Mia. She was only a few years older, but she’d practically raised me

CHAPTER TWO:Ollie’s POVI spent the next ten minutes hiding in the kitchen like some kind of coward.The music pounded through the walls, bass shaking the cabinets, but at least it was quieter in here. Fewer people, too. Just a couple of girls rummaging through the fridge and some guy passed out on the counter with Sharpie doodles all over his face. His friends must’ve gotten bored and left him like that, cartoon mustache, glasses, the word loser scrawled across his forehead. That was how this house worked. Nobody cared if you embarrassed yourself. They just made sure to laugh and pile on.I clutched my half-empty cup and tried to breathe. My chest still felt tight, like laughter was echoing in there even though the kitchen was calm. I wanted to pour the drink out, but I also didn’t want to move. If I stood by the sink too long, someone might tell me I was in the way. If I went back out there, Ryder might see me again. The thought alone made my stomach churn.Why did I let Allison dr

CHAPTER ONE:Ollie’s POVIf staring at Ryder Caldwell counted as a full-time job, I’d already be employee of the month.It wasn’t like I wanted to. My eyes just… drifted. Always. They found him across the quad, lounging with his teammates, sunglasses low on his nose like he thought he was some rockstar. They found him in the student lounge, grinning like the sun itself had appointed him king of the universe. And they found him here, now, at the café table in the middle of campus, his tattooed arm around Serena Miller—aka his latest plastic Barbie.He was laughing. Of course he was. Everything was always funny to Ryder.And God, did I hate him for it.Hate him for the tattoos peeking out from under his shirt sleeves. Hate him for the way his messy brown hair fell across his forehead like it was staged for a photoshoot. Hate him for the way he looked like he owned everything he touched.And I especially hated that my stomach gave this annoying little flip every time I saw him.“You’re d