Chapter: Playing With FireEthan’s POV The gym was the one place I could always breathe. Or at least, it used to be. The smell of rubber and varnished hardwood, the squeak of sneakers, the echo of the ball hitting the rim—this was supposed to be my sanctuary. My space. But today, even here, I couldn’t shake her. Ava. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face under that lamppost last night, tilted up toward me, her eyes bright in the glow. For one second, I’d wanted to lean in. One second, I’d forgotten every reason I had to keep my distance. Then my phone buzzed. Tyler’s name flashing across the screen. Reality slamming back into me. I couldn’t afford distractions. Not when people depended on me. Not when Coach was breathing down my neck, not when scouts were watching. And yet—here I was, standing on the court, bouncing the ball mindlessly, and all I could think about was the way her laugh had hit me like a body check. Clean, sharp, unexpected. I hadn’t heard myself laugh like that in months, maybe yea
Last Updated: 2025-09-06
Chapter: Close Quarters Ava’s POVWhen Maya announced the new media initiative at the next editorial meeting, I almost pretended to be sick just to escape. Group projects were bad enough; group projects with athletes were worse. They always ended with someone else doing the work while the “face” of the piece posed for the photo op. Still, nothing could’ve prepared me for the way her next words landed like a wrecking ball. “We’ll be pairing sports staff with athletes for a week-long feature series,” she said briskly. “Profiles that go deeper than stats. The human side. Ava, you’ll be working with Ethan Cole.” The room tilted. My stomach flipped. Across the table, one of the layout editors smirked, probably already imagining the drama. “Maya,” I started, my voice higher than usual, “maybe that’s not—” She cut me off with a raised brow. “You’re our strongest writer, Ava. And Cole’s the biggest story on campus. It makes sense.” It made sense the way walking into a fire made sense if you wanted to bur
Last Updated: 2025-09-06
Chapter: Wrong Question Ava’s POV The night after I saw Ethan with his brother clung to me like damp clothes I couldn’t peel away. Every time I closed my eyes, I didn’t just see him on the court—the fierce competitor, the golden boy everyone dissected like a stat sheet—but Ethan on the floor of that small apartment, laughing until his voice cracked, wrestling a bag of chips from the boy who looked just enough like him to erase any doubt. Tyler. His brother. I had no right to that moment, no permission to witness it, but it was carved into me all the same. And now, sitting in the newsroom the next afternoon, the memory made it impossible to focus on the cursor blinking against a blank document. “Ava?” Maya’s voice jolted me. She stood over my desk, a slim folder in one hand, her expression sharp in that way she had when she was more editor than friend. “You’re zoning out again. Everything okay?” I forced my shoulders to straighten. “Just…thinking.” “Thinking doesn’t meet deadlines.” She slid the folder
Last Updated: 2025-09-06
Chapter: The Weight He Carries Ava's POV The article was still folded in my bag, its headline burning a hole through the leather like a scar I couldn’t erase. I’d read it too many times—my own words staring back at me—but tonight they sounded like they belonged to a stranger. Ethan’s face when he’d shoved the paper at me replayed in my mind: jaw clenched, eyes blazing, his anger not the shallow kind that flares up and burns out, but the kind that comes from someplace deeper. I hadn’t meant to wound him. I’d wanted to show his strength, the way he carried burdens no one else seemed to see. But maybe I’d crossed a line. By dusk, I couldn’t stand the dorm walls anymore. Lila tried distracting me with a movie, but my thoughts kept circling back to him. Finally, I grabbed my notebook, slipped on a jacket, and walked. The campus gave way to quieter streets. Houses and apartments lined the road, lights glowing in windows like little worlds carrying on without me. I told myself I was just clearing my head, but my ste
Last Updated: 2025-09-06
Chapter: Crossed WiresEthan's POV The first thing I noticed when I walked into the locker room wasn’t the smell of sweat or the sound of running showers—it was the folded stack of school newspapers sitting on the bench. Someone had tossed them there, the headline bold enough to catch my eye even from a distance. I didn’t care about the usual stuff—campus announcements, the dean’s latest pep talk—but the second I saw my name in print, my chest went tight. “Star Player Under Pressure: Ethan Cole’s Balancing Act.” My jaw clenched. I picked up a copy, flipping it open. The words were neat, measured, unmistakably Ava’s. Her byline sat at the top like a signature etched into my nerves: By Ava Reynolds. At first, I skimmed. Just looking for the blows. She’d written about the game, about my performance, about how I “carried the weight of expectation on and off the court.” That should’ve been fine—flattering, even. But the deeper I read, the worse it felt. Every line seemed sharper than the last. “Cole’s
Last Updated: 2025-09-06
Chapter: Rumors & WhispersAva’s POV The cafeteria buzzed with its usual morning energy, trays clattering, the air thick with the smell of coffee and powdered eggs. But beneath the noise, there was something else—an undercurrent I couldn’t quite ignore. Whispers. Glances. The kind that lingered a second too long before darting away when I looked up. I stirred my coffee more than necessary, watching the swirl of cream dissolve, trying to pretend I didn’t notice. But it was impossible. Every time I lifted my eyes, someone was watching me. Not directly, not boldly, but in those sidelong looks people use when they think they’re being subtle. It had started the moment I walked in. Two girls from my journalism class had exchanged smirks before ducking their heads together, voices hushed. A group of guys near the vending machines chuckled, their laughter trailing as my name floated between them like a spark waiting to catch fire. I forced myself to keep eating, back straight, chin high. If I pretended not to hear
Last Updated: 2025-09-05
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