Chapter 3 – Would He Even Forgive Me?

Nicole’s POV

“Come on! Break it up! Break it up!”

Coach Austin’s voice boomed through the field like thunder cracking through tension. As he jogged closer, his presence made both Rowan and Brad freeze in place.

For once, I wasn’t the one being stared at. I wasn’t the punchline and I wasn’t the joke either.

I stood tall, chin up, watching the chaos unfold and for the first time tonight, I didn’t feel weak.

I felt like the firestarter.

It was only when the Coach got close enough that I recognized him properly—Coach Austin, the man who’d been training Rowan’s Skyblazers team since forever. I figured Rowan would relax seeing someone familiar finally stepping in.

But boy, he was wrong.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Coach Austin shouted, jabbing a finger toward Rowan. “What!” He exclaimed. “You didn't think it was bad enough that Brad kicked out your ass on the field? Now you want to take another beating from this same guy, huh?”

Rowan blinked and looked all stunned. His jaw twitched like he wanted to say something smart, but nothing came out.

Coach Austin turned to Brad, with his eyes narrowing but not in a bad way. “And you,” he said, “you’ve got fire. And trust me, I’ve been around this game longer than anyone here. And trust me, you… you’re the best quarterback I’ve seen in years.”

He extended a hand.

Brad looked a little surprised but shook it without hesitation.

I could literally see Rowan’s face crumble. He must have probably thought Coach Austin was going to defend him, give him that loyal speech or something. Instead, he just stood there looking like someone had stolen his birth right.

“Coach…” Rowan’s voice cracked as he stepped forward, reaching out slightly.

But the coach didn’t even wait.

“SHUT. UP.”

The word echoed from the coach and people nearby gasped.

Rowan flinched and tried again. “Coa—”

“I said shut the fuck up!” The coach barked. “Do yourself a favor and take your sorry ass back to the locker room before I bench you for the rest of the damn semester.”

Rowan’s mouth hung open, but Coach wasn’t done.

“And while you’re at it, grab some of those pom-pom bags. Looks like that’s the only thing you’ve got a shot at winning today.”

I covered my mouth to stop the laugh from slipping out.

Even the cheer squad behind me was trying to muffle their snickers and I felt Rowan’s ears were practically glowing red now. For someone who thought he ran the show, the fall from grace was so massive.

“Coach,” he muttered again, but it came out defeated.

“Go!”

Finally, Rowan grabbed his gear, plus a pom-pom bag and stormed off without another word. His shoulders hunched like the weight of the whole day was crushing him.

The coach turned to Sophia next.

“Young lady,” he said, crossing his arms. “Your dad’s a really powerful man, huh?”

Sophia looked nervous now, fidgeting with the hem of her cheer skirt.

“He’s an important man. Very important, I know,” Coach continued, not letting her speak. “So I’m guessing he would not just love to hear how his daughter embarrassed the entire cheer team today, right?”

“Embarrassed?” she snapped, trying to gather her fake confidence again. “Me? No. If there is an embarrassment here then, she is the embarrassment.” She jabbed a finger toward me.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. Not today, Barbie.

Coach Austin waved her off. “Okay. Cool. Grab some pom-poms too. Or I’ll be making a call to your daddy in the next five seconds.”

The way Sophia’s face twisted like she just swallowed expired milk was priceless.

She bent down, clearly against her will, and started collecting the pom-poms one by one. No words from her, just a quiet rage.

Everyone knew Sophia already had a ton of complaints filed against her like rumors, reports, drama. The only reason she was still untouched was probably because no one had dared bring it to her dad knowing how influential the man was.

As Coach Austin turned and left, she raised her head slightly and hissed at me under her breath. “Hello, you useless plastic.”

I didn’t even look at her but my silence spoke louder.

But once the coach was gone, she dropped everything and stomped closer to me.

“This isn’t over, broke orphan.”

I smiled just a little. “Yeah, it never is.”

She stomped away after that.

And then it was just me and Brad.

Everyone else had either followed the drama or wandered off. The wind felt colder and quieter now.

I cleared my throat and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Um… I’m sorry you got dragged into that. I didn’t mean to start anything or make things messy. I just… everything happened so fast, you know.”

Brad gave me this look which screamed soft and understanding. “Don’t worry about it. I understand that those two are just assholes and a thorn to your flesh. And if I had the chance to step in again, I would. That’s the least anyone deserves.”

I hated how his voice made something in my chest flutter. He was standing close enough now that I could see the tiny scar along his jawline, the way his eyes seemed to take me in like I was worth looking at. And damn, he was tall. When his gaze dipped briefly to my lips, I swallowed hard, my heart sprinting even though he didn’t move an inch. Stop it, Nic. This is not the time to be noticing how broad his shoulders are or how good he looks sweaty. But God, he did.

Something about the way he said that made my chest feel warm. I hadn’t felt like that in a long time.

“Thank you,” I said quietly. “Really.”

He shrugged, almost bashfully. “You deserve better.”

My breath caught for a second.

I wanted to ask him what he meant by better. Better than Rowan? Better than being invisible? His eyes lingered just long enough for me to feel my face heat, and I had to look away before I embarrassed myself.

I wasn’t even sure if he was saying that as a friend or something more. But either way, it meant a lot. Rowan had a way of making me feel like I deserved less than nothing. So hearing that now, in the calm after the chaos, made me not even know how to respond exactly.

“Anyway… sorry for my ill manners,” I said. “I’m Nicole.” I stuck out my hand awkwardly.

Brad took it, firm but gentle. “I know but I will prefer to call you ‘Nic’ just like I did earlier on. I hope that's cool with you?”

I blinked and smiled simultaneously. “Sure, it's fine but it reminds me a lot about something and i wouldn't want to talk about it now because it's kinda all lost memory now.”

He smiled in return. “It's ok.”

And before he could say or do any other thing, I chipped in. “I already know you’re Brad- our star quarterback. The Heisman winner. The guy who basically humiliated the Skyblazers today.”

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Guess I’ve made an impression.”

I bit back a smile because he really had. And it wasn’t just the game. There was something about the way he carried himself—confident without being arrogant—that made me want to know more. My stomach twisted with nerves at the thought, which was ridiculous because he was probably just being nice. Still… it felt different.

We stood there for a second, caught in that awkward pause. I wanted to say something, like ask if he wanted to hang out, if I would ever see him again, but the moment passed too fast. That moment where you want to express yourself in appreciation, but don’t know exactly how to start up.

Finally, he nodded toward his dropped ball. “I should probably head out.”

“Wait.” I picked up the ball Rowan had tossed earlier and held it out to him. “Here. You left this.”

His fingers brushed mine when he took it, and I swear the touch sent this weird spark all the way up my arm. I almost dropped the ball, but I forced a small laugh to cover it up. He didn’t laugh, though. He just looked at me for half a beat longer than necessary, like he was trying to memorize my face.

“Thanks, Nic.”

He turned and started walking the opposite direction while I went to the other one.

And just like that, reality hit me again. Brad was gone and I was still the girl with nowhere to sleep tonight.

The guilt crawled in before I could stop it.

What if Rowan wouldn't let me stay over anymore? What if this was it? One wrong move and I was back to sleeping behind the admin building or in that abandoned storage closet near the gym.

He’s humiliated, and knowing Rowan, he wouldn’t forget that easily, especially because I was the reason Brad even stepped in.

The moment played in my head on repeat— ‘Rowan grabbing the pom-pom bag, Coach Austin yelling, the way the whole crowd stared.’

I wanted to laugh, but I couldn’t. Of course, not now.

Yeah, he deserved it. But still that doesn't stop the reality I would definitely face as I knew there was no way he was letting this slide away easily.