Chapter 001

Ivy's POV

Every day I had one more reason to dread college, and today I just added one to the list.

My locker was jammed to a fault. I'd tried all possible solutions but nothing had worked. Currently, I was banging my hands on it and it was so loud that everyone turned to stare at me.

"Damn it!" I whisper-yelled and winced as pain tore through my fingers. I prayed to whatever was out there that this was just due to a humidity climb and not because one of the stupid puck bunnies decided to play a trick.

I tried to pull again when I saw it give way just a little. Yes! I wedged my pen in the gap and fought the latch while the hallway emptied around me. And there I was, the fat girl who had apparently latched on to Hockey Captain Noah Carter, losing a fight with a piece of metal.

Don't get me started on Noah Carter. That was a forbidden area.

"I think Fat Ivy has a problem with her locker." My blood ran cold at the sound of that voice. Morgan heels, who had chosen that making my life miserable was the only part-time job her over-spoiled ass could handle.

"You can just say Ivy without adding fat," I said and turned to face her. She stood tall with her long legs and blonde hair… what Anna would call an 'over-priced' Barbie look.

"Do you think I would care about you if you weren't fat?" She asked, and I scoffed.

"I would rather you not care about me at all," I said and turned to my locker, still fighting to open it, just hoping that she would waltz away. But instead, two other bimbos joined her.

Great. The Puck Bunny Association was complete.

"Aww, look her locker's stuck," Morgan said, tilting her head like she was looking at something cute.

I gritted my teeth and kept pulling. "Just let me be," I said because honestly I didn't have time for this. I was running late for my part-time gig at Mac and Beers. Horrible name by the way.

"Or what? You'll report to Noah… oh wait. He doesn't know you exist."

I felt my whole body stiffen but I continued immediately, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of messing with me. I yanked angrily with a force that hadn't been there before and the locker came open. A wave of paper flyers came spilling onto the floor and on my face. My eyes widened as I landed on one.

It was a very poorly photoshopped picture of me in lingerie. And then a bold writing on it.

"CARTER I CAN BE YOUR WHORE IF YOU'LL JUST LOOK AT ME."

I dropped to my knees as my stomach dropped with it. Trying to pick them up, squeezing them as I did. Morgan and her two bimbos kicked the paper in every direction for people to see.

"Cute picture of you actually. Really captured the whole desperate thing you've got going on," she said with a giggle, and I heard the hallways respond to her with a laugh.

I felt my eyes sting. This was wrong! They were all wrong. I wasn't the one who had approached Carter first. He was…

"Cat got your tongue?" Her voice took on a cold tone.

I looked up at her, refusing to back away from her cruelty.

"Desperate? You're the one who's been over Noah for months now and he's never even looked at you like you mattered. Or has he even touched you?" I said. I might be wrong. But if Noah even had any ounce of truth in him… he'd told me exactly how he felt about Morgan. She didn't even classify as a puck bunny.

Her eyes widened and she looked around at the eyes watching us.

"That's a lie… Noah and I have…"

"Have what?" I asked, still on the floor.

She lunged at me as though she was about to hit me and I flinched, but the hallways suddenly grew with whispers.

"The hockey captain is here."

"Oh my god… it's Noah Carter. He's so hot."

Morgan immediately straightened, but my whole attention was on Noah, the six-foot-four god who was walking towards me. Not me… his eyes weren't even on me. They were elsewhere, like they had been for this past week.

Even if we weren't public yet, he had winked at me whenever he passed or gave me a stolen glance or touch. That was why Morgan had begun to suspect something in the first place.

But a week ago, Noah had stopped answering my texts. He didn't come to our secret meeting place, and when he saw me… he just nodded. Or sometimes he didn't even see me.

And that was what shocked me even more. He never acted like he was obviously trying to avoid me. He just… didn't see me.

Like this time. He walked past me and even stepped on the flyers but he didn't turn. I felt something ache deep in my chest.

Morgan and her sidekicks followed after him immediately. Everyone dispersed but I stayed there, still bent… still picking up the flyers and forcing myself to keep my eyes dry.

He was a jerk who played with my feelings for the fun of it. He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve my tears… or anything else from me.

I immediately finished picking the flyers and shoved them into my bag. I checked my phone and saw several texts from Anna demanding to know where I was. I let out a frustrated groan and hurried to my part-time job.

When I reached the counter, Anna was glaring at me.

"I'm sorry," I told her, putting on my apron. I packed my brown way hair up and put a face cap over it.

"Where have you been? I almost got caught trying to cover up for you!" She yelled because the customers in the dimly lit bar were talking in loud voices. Customers were mostly college students who came to argue about anything at all. Football, hockey, girls, boys.

"I'm sorry, I promise… I'll cover for you next time." But she wasn't looking at me anymore… she was looking past me with raised brows.

"Okay, so don't freak out," she yelled.

"I'm gonna freak out when you start your sentence like that." I turned to see what she was looking at but she held me steady.

"Noah Carter just walked past that door. And I think he's coming here. Oh… he's definitely coming here."

I felt my heartbeat increase rapidly, about to ask her if she was sure when a low baritone voice stopped me short.

"Hi… you're Ivy, right?" This was… Noah Carter was talking to me after ignoring me for a whole week.