ANMELDENHazel's POV After a while, Mr. Edward exhaled slowly, as if letting the thought go.“Strange,” he murmured.Jaxon tilted his head slightly staring at him. “What is the issue?”His eyes returned to me once more.“She reminds me of someone I knew a long time ago. Mostly her eyes.”My throat went drySomeone he used to know? Who?“Your full name, Miss?”“Hazel Pierce”“Pierce…” he repeated under his breath.He said it with so much curiosity like he was weighing it.Comparing it to something only he could see.My stomach twisted.Why did that feel… important?His eyes lifted back to mine, and this time, the intensity was sharper. Then just as quickly, he smiled again waving a hand dismissively putting up a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.Then he turned to Jaxon“You’re a lucky young man. Make sure you remember that.”Jaxon cleared his throat, holding on to my shoulder “Thank you, sir.”He flashed both of us a smile“Well, I look forward to seeing you on the rink soon, boy.” and
Hazel’s POVGame nights always carried a kind of electricity. Right now, the entire campus seemed to move toward the arena like it was the only place that mattered. Every other thing seemed to have been placed on hold— the rumors and interviews, just for tonight.The Ice Hounds still had a season to finish.The problem was… nothing about this game felt like just another match because Jaxon wasn't playing.Trey on the other hand was parading himself as the new captain, he looked like someone who had been waiting his whole life for this moment.Jaxon’s fingers were wrapped around mine as we walked into the arena together. The moment we stepped inside, the shift was instant. Heads turned, conversations cut off mid-sentence, and the weight of their attention settled on my skin like heat. Some stared in admiration while others stared in concern but we didn't stop to look We kept walking until we reached the reserved section near the front close enough to the ice. It was where benched pl
Jaxon’s POV“I was wondering when you’d decide to call, Jaxon.”The man on the other end of the call sounded calm. I started racking my memory to pick any familiarity from his voice but I didn't recognize any.I sat up on my bed, the phone still pressed tighter against my ear. The man sounded calm, like he had been waiting for this moment.“Who is this?” I asked.There was a little silence before he continued.“My name isn’t important. What matters is the opportunity I’m calling about.”That answer didn’t help.“Try again,” I said, my voice sharper. “Who are you?”“I represent a private sports performance group,” he said. “We work with injured athletes who still have strong professional potential.”The words made me pause.‘Professional potential’. Was this the NHL in disguise trying to lure me into giving out my information?That wasn’t a phrase people used casually when they were talking about college players unless they were thinking about the next level.The scouts had been watc
Jaxon’s POVThe rink was nearly silent when I finished the last set of exercises. The air smelled faintly of ice and sweat, the boards cold beneath my fingers as I rotated my shoulder slowly, testing the ache that had become a constant reminder of what Trey had done. The team was on the ice as usual, practicing drills, passing the puck back and forth without me, but I stayed where I was. My eyes followed their movements anyway, catching Johnson glancing my way once, Marcus too, and I wasn’t sure what I saw in their expression, if it was concern, doubt or curiosity. At this point, I wasn’t just unsure who my allies were… I was starting to think I didn’t have any left. Trey’s smirk from the meeting, the whispers I’d caught in the locker room, all of it looped endlessly in my mind.My phone buzzed against the bench. I glanced down—Mr. Rivers' calling, which was unusual, I stared at my phone screen for a while before finally taking the call. I pressed the phone to my ear, my shoulder s
Hazel’s POVThe warmth from last night stayed with me as I stepped onto campus the next morning. My heart felt like it was still tangled in Jaxon’s arm, his laughter replaying in my ears, the brush of his hand against my hair lingering on my skin. For a moment, I almost forgot about school, about the rumours, and about Tiffany.Then reality hit the second I hit my faculty hallway.Tiffany came barreling toward me, eyes blazing, fists clenched at her sides. She didn’t waste a second on politeness. “You’re behind that stupid blog, aren’t you?” she demanded. Her voice cut through the chatter in the hallway like glass.I held my ground. I straightened my shoulders, letting the calm I felt inside carry me through the confrontation. “Must be disappointing that the blog isn’t praising you for once,” I said, keeping my tone steady. My words drew a few stares from students passing by, but I didn’t flinch. I refused to give her the reaction she was looking for.Tiffany studied me, eyes narrowin
Hazel’s POVThe glow from my phone lights up the dark corner of my room while I scroll through the comment section of the blog post I uploaded earlier that day. I did not expect it to explode the way it did. The shares keep climbing, screenshots bouncing across student pages, people tagging each other like they’ve discovered something rebellious.A few comments are still cruel, of course. The internet never runs out of those. But mixed among them are messages defending me, mocking the ridiculous stories that have been floating around campus.I lean back against my pillow and exhale slowly. Yeah… If Tiffany thought I was just going to sit quietly while she dragged my name through the mud, she clearly doesn’t know me very well.I smiled at the thought of how she would look right now seeing that everyone was not buying her cheap rumours anymore. I know she would have a comeback but for now I choose to relish in this momenyMy phone suddenly vibrates in my hand, interrupting the quiet mo
Tiffany’s POV"Captains don't kiss nerds"If I hear that headline again, I swear I’ll lose it.I’ve been on the edge since I got to school this morning to see Hazel trending with her kiss with Jaxon at the party last night.I mean who is that dumb ass behind that blog? No one has dared to cross me.
Hazel's POV The roar of the arena still buzzed with excitement in my ears from the fans as I made my way up the steps, weaving past people who were still talking about the win. My stepdad didn't look pleased at all. He was still standing with his arms crossed, and he didn't look like someone who
Jaxon's POV The door rattled on its hinges when I slammed it shut. My chest still shook with the echo, but I didn’t give a damn. Hazel had pissed me off, I hated being written off as some privileged, smug jackass. Hated it more that it was coming from her. She didn’t know me. The nights I couldn’t
Jaxon's POV I didn’t mean to end up in that hallway. I’d just finished lifting and practicing, I wanted to kick back for a while and grab something light before heading to the rink. The place was dead quiet, except for a few doors slamming and screeching upstairs.I was about to take a turn at the







