ログインJacksonThe hallway was barely awake — half the lights still flickering on, kids yawning into their sleeves, lockers slamming open like metal thunder. I wasn’t even fully caffeinated by the time I reached my locker, spinning in the combo out of muscle memory.Another normal morning.Or… whatever qualified as normal now.I was shoving a textbook onto the top shelf when I felt something — a hand sliding around my waist, fingers curling just enough to make my brain stop functioning.I turned, already knowing who it was.Mariah.She leaned against me slightly, her lips curved into a slow, unapologetic smile. “Good morning, QB.”My brain glitched for a second.Because yeah — this was my life now.Mariah Morales casually wrapping herself around me at my locker like it was the most natural thing in the world.“Uh… hey,” I said, and immediately wanted to punch myself for sounding like a stunned idiot.She laughed — soft, warm, and way too pretty for seven-thirty in the morning. Her hand staye
Jessa I woke up smiling.Actually smiling — like, full-face, cheeks-hurt kind of smiling.For a second I didn’t even know why. I just lay there in my bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling… light. And warm. And ridiculously giddy in a way that probably should’ve embarrassed me, but didn’t.Then it hit me.I have a boyfriend.A real one.No trick.No joke.No waiting for the punchline.Noah Carter is my boyfriend.I buried my face in my pillow and squealed — quietly, because Jackson would be obnoxious if he heard me — but still. I squealed. Me. The girl who has literally never squealed in her life unless it involved a spider.Everything felt different. My room. My clothes. The sun. Even the air.It was stupid. It was magical. It was mine.I rolled out of bed and headed to my closet, bracing for the usual morning anxiety:What do I wear?Will it look tight?Will people stare?Will I look bigger today?Will it cling weird?Will I be “the fat girl trying too hard”?But the dread… wasn’t th
NoahBy the time the final bell rang, all I wanted was silence.Not because the day was hard academically — I couldn’t even remember what half my teachers said — but because the whispers were getting under my skin in a way that made me want to break lockers.Jessa and I walked out of the cafeteria together — not holding hands, but close enough that people noticed.Which, apparently, was a crisis.I heard:“Why her?”“He can do better.”“She’s not even that pretty.”“She doesn’t wear makeup.”“Dude, he’s desperate.”Every whispered word felt like it hit me directly, even though the comments were about her.And she heard them too.I could see it in the way her shoulders tensed… relaxed… then tensed again.She was trying so damn hard not to let it show.I hated that for her.I hated that for me.But mostly?I hated that people seemed to think they had some say in who I wanted.Spoiler:They didn’t.⸻Practice rolled around, and the locker room felt loud enough to crack concrete.Jackson
MariahThere are moments where I sit back and think,Damn… my best friend is actually handling this.And today?Jessa was doing exactly that.The whole makeup conversation, the whispers, the sideways comments — she handled it without shrinking into herself. For the first time all year, she wasn’t folding like a cheap lawn chair.I was so proud I could’ve cried.I was leaning forward mid–eye roll at Shane’s rant about contouring when something brushed lightly across the small of my back.Not a hand.Jackson’s hand.He was already sitting beside me — had been since the start of lunch — but now he shifted closer, thumb gliding once before he pulled away like he hadn’t meant to do it.My stomach flipped.I shot him a tiny smirk, one only he could see.He pretended nothing happened, staring hard at his tray like his mashed potatoes had personally offended him.Cute.Very cute.Before I could say anything snarky, Chris brought up Homecoming.“So we’re still on for the group thing, right? Sa
JessaBy Monday, it felt like the whole school had watched that kiss in slow motion.They probably had.I’d had an amazing weekend — which, honestly, still felt weird to think about. Saturday, Noah and I hung out on his back porch, sharing junk food and listening to music while his little sister made fun of us for “being disgusting and in love.” Sunday, we spent way too long on the phone, talking about nothing and everything until my battery died mid-sentence.For once, I didn’t dread Monday.That lasted… about fifteen minutes.Because apparently, Ridgeville High loved nothing more than a new storyline. And this week’s trending topic was:Noah Carter is dating Jessa Lombardi.I heard it the second I walked through the doors.“No way, did you see them on the field?”“Yeah, he kissed her. Like full-on movie scene.”“Maybe he lost a bet.”“Or maybe he has a type?”“What type? She’s not even—” whisper, whisper, giggle.By lunchtime, the whispers had gotten sharper.“Honestly, what does he
JessaThe stadium lights always made everything look unreal.Too bright. Too sharp. Too much.But tonight, standing in the packed Ridgeville stands with Mariah practically vibrating beside me, everything felt even louder. The kind of buzzing energy that makes your pulse flutter and your breath come short.It didn’t help that every time Noah stepped on the field, my stomach flipped over like it was trying to do gymnastics it had no business attempting.It also didn’t help that Mariah noticed.“Oh my god,” she hissed, elbowing me. “You’re glowing. You look like you swallowed Christmas lights.”“I do not!” I whisper-yelled.“You absolutely do.”I tried focusing on the scoreboard, the field, literally anything else… but my eyes kept going back to him.Noah Carter.Shoulders like armor. Determination in every step. Mud streaking his jersey. Focus carved into his face like the world depended on this game.And when the announcer had said his name at the start, he looked up toward the stands.







