Crossing Calloway

Amelia's POV

People think monsters live in dark forests or haunted houses…. mine wore football jerseys.

The worst mistake I ever made at Blackthorne University was letting them notice me. For a year, I'd mastered the art of being invisible, it took less than sixty seconds to ruin it.

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"Here we go again." I tightened my grip on the handlebar of my bicycle, adjusting the strap of my backpack before pushing through Blackthorne University's towering iron gates.

Students streamed past me in groups, laughing like they hadn't spent the last three months apart, their suitcases rolling across the pavement.

A roar erupted somewhere ahead, followed by whistles and excited screams.

I didn't have to look to know where it was coming from….The football field.

I sighed under my breath and kept walking.

Hey! Ball!"

The shout made me stop. I looked down at the football resting against the front wheel of my bicycle.

I picked it up, ready to throw it back. The field was already packed, girls were practically hanging over the fence, screaming themselves breathless.

"Zane!"

"Oh my God, did you see that?"

"CALLOWAY!"

I followed their voices. 

A football spun through the air. He leaped, catching it with one hand. The crowd lost its mind.

“You'd think they were giving away free tuition.” A laugh escaped me. I threw the ball back to the nearest player.

He caught it without looking. I wasn't surprised, no one ever looked at me. I preferred it that way though.

I lowered my head and continued toward the parking rack. Most people came to Blackthorne for football, I came for one thing…My degree, nothing else.

My plan for this semester was simple. Go to class, go home and repeat. It had kept me out of trouble last year…Hopefully, it still would.

I locked my bicycle, slipping the key into my pocket. Pulling my backpack higher onto my shoulder, I headed for the Student Center. 

If I hurried, I could grab my timetable before the crowd got any worse.

"Amelia!"

I heard someone call from behind me. I smiled, already recognizing the voice. I turned and there she was..weaving through the crowd, waving both her hands at me.

"Lena…." She threw her arms around me before I could finish. "Oh my God, I missed you!"

I laughed, hugging her back. “I missed you too.” I held onto her tighter.

She stepped back, looking me up and down. “Yo….” She burst out laughing. "I'm sorry….what’s this?"

I frowned. "What's what?"

She tugged lightly at the sleeve of my oversized hoodie. "What are you wearing?”

“Oh, it's the new me.” I grinned, pulling at my big trousers.

She looped her arm through mine. "So, where are we going?"

"Student Center."

"Timetable?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Perfect. I'm coming with you."

She leaned on my shoulders as we moved forward. "Oh my God, I missed you so much. It feels like it's been a year."

Lena and I had just stepped into the Student Center when the crowd suddenly split in two. "What now?" she groaned, craning her neck. 

Everyone seemed to be looking in the same direction. A girl beside us grabbed her friend's wrist. "Oh my God...they're here.”

Voices spread through the crowd. "They're coming."

"Move."

Lena leaned closer to me. "Tell me that's not who I think it is.” she squealed.

"It's Calloway." Someone cheered behind us.

I sighed quietly. “Of course.”

Three figures appeared through the entrance, still wearing their practice jerseys and their hairs damp with sweat.

Zane Calloway walked between his friends, laughing about something, I'm sure it's something stupid.

The students instinctively stepped aside, creating a clear path down the middle of the hallway.

Lena's fingers closed around my arm. "I swear he's even hotter than last semester."

I rolled my eyes. “Seriously?"

"What? Let me dream."

I shook my head. "You need help."

"No, I need his number." She sighed, dreamily.

I snorted. "Naa, you need help.”

A loud thud cut through, the sound of books hitting the floor echoing down the hallway.

I looked up…. Leo.

He had bumped into Zane Calloway. The hallway went quiet. “Oh no!!” My heart sank….Leo, he sat two rows ahead of me in Statistics. He was really nice.

He looked up, color already drained from his face. "I…I'm so sorry."

He dropped to his knees immediately, scrambling after the papers. "I wasn't looking. I didn't mean to…”

“Oh, you didn't mean to?" one of the boys cut in with a laugh….Jaxon. I've always hated him.

He nudged one of Leo's books with the toe of his sneaker and it slid farther away.

Leo reached for it but Jaxon nudged it again. A couple of students snickered, enjoying the show.

"Come on," another said. "He's playing fetch." The second one….Mason, grinned, looking down at Leo on the floor. "Careful, man. He might cry."

More laughter followed, some already raising their phones.

Leo finally caught one of his books. Before he could stand, Jaxon hooked a finger around the bridge of his glasses, they came off easily. 

Leo's eyes widened. "Please..."

Jaxon held the glasses between two fingers. "These things older than you?"

"They're all I have," Leo said quietly.

"Then maybe you should've watched where you were going." He said, letting them fall to the floor.

Mason stepped forward….Crunch!!

The sound made me flinch.

Leo stared at the broken frame like he couldn't believe what just happened.

No one did a thing, they all just watched. I wanted to….God, I wanted to. But this goddamn university.

If you wore designer shoes, people moved for you. If you wore a scholarship badge...You learned to move, students like us never won fights like these. I hated this place.

Leo swallowed hard, reaching for the broken glasses anyway. "I said I'm sorry."

He whispered.

A low chuckle drifted through the silence.

I looked up….Zane. He hadn't said a word, he was just...watching, the corner of his lips lifted, finding all this amusing.

Jaxon crouched until he was eye level with Leo. "You think we give a fuck about your apology? You touched the captain."

“And I apologized…I apologized….” Leo spat, finally gathering the courage to speak up.

That was when Zane finally moved, he took slow steps until he stopped in front of Leo, crouching down to his level.

Leo looked up at him, hopeful. “I really am sorry, I wasn't….”

"Pick it up." Zane cut him off, nodding toward the shattered lens on the floor.

Leo swallowed, reaching for the lens. 

"Not like that." Zane's voice stopped him. "On your knees….All the way down."

The students' chuckles echoed in the hallway.

Leo hesitated, glancing around at the ring of faces, then lowered himself the rest of the way to the floor, his knees against the tile, gathering the broken pieces of his glasses one by one while people watched like it was a show.

"Slower," Jaxon called out, laughing. "We want to see."

"Yeah, take your time, scholarship boy." The crowd joined in.

Leo's hands were shaking. He kept dropping the same shard, picking it back up while Zane watched, arms crossed and a grin on his face. 

I closed my eyes, I can't watch this. Someone do something…anyone. My fingers curled into a fists. “Don't.”

When Leo finally had all the pieces cupped in his palms, he looked up, waiting to be told he could stand.

Zane crouched down again, closer this time and closed Leo's fingers around the glass with his own hand. "Now say thank you…Loud enough that everyone hears it."

Leo's face crumpled. "Thank you," he said, barely audible.

"Louder."

A few people started laughing before Leo even opened his mouth again. Someone said, "Come on, we can't hear you," The crowd around us laughed harder.

"Thank you," Leo said again, louder, his voice cracking and humiliation written all over him as he knelt there with blood beading where the glass had cut into his palm.

Something inside me snapped. "Enough!" My voice echoed across the hallway. Without thinking, I pushed through the circle of students. "Let him go."

Every head turned towards me. Slowly…

Zane lifted his head.

For the first time since I'd stepped foot into Blackthorne University... Zane Calloway saw me. His ice-blue eyes locking onto mine.