chapter seventeen:the circle

Josh’s world moved like a carefully orchestrated play. Every laugh, every glance, every whispered compliment had a place. His friends, all around him, were part of the choreography — enablers, mirrors, accomplices in a game most wouldn’t even recognize as a game.

“Bro, you’ve got the charm on lock,” one of them said, leaning back on the sofa, sipping from a bottle. “Any girl, anywhere, and she’s yours in minutes.”

Josh grinned, the familiar arrogance settling over him like a second skin. “It’s not just charm,” he said smoothly. “It’s… knowing what they want before they even do.”

Another friend chuckled. “Yeah, you collect them like trophies, bro. Just make sure you don’t mix them up — don’t want drama in the squad.”

Josh leaned forward, phone in hand. Names popped up, emojis, little flirty texts ready to be sent. He scrolled casually, thumb flicking with ease.

“She’s different,” one friend whispered, nodding toward a name on the screen. “You’re not just playing with her, right?”

Josh paused. His lips curled, not quite a smile. “Maybe I fell a little,” he admitted, voice low. “But that doesn’t change the rules. The game… it still goes on.”

The friends nodded knowingly. They had all been through it. The parties, the girls, the whispers in corners and hallways. They knew how to navigate the code: who to scout, who to collect, who to keep at a distance. And Josh… Josh was the master.

“Don’t fall too hard, bro,” one friend warned. “You know how fast things can get messy.”

“I know,” he said, but his eyes lingered on her name. The one girl who had managed to make him pause. The one he hadn’t collected yet. The one who had started to see through the carefully constructed world he and his friends had built.

Across town, laughter echoed from a party he had just left. Girls smiled, friends cheered, drinks clinked. Plans were made, conquests celebrated. And all the while, Josh was already thinking three steps ahead — messages to send, parties to attend, names to remember.

From his friends’ point of view, it was business, a sport, a system. They didn’t see cruelty, only strategy. They didn’t see hearts being broken, only attention being collected. They didn’t see her — the girl he wanted — resisting, observing, growing stronger with every careless act they applauded.

And somewhere in the back of his mind, Josh knew the rules were changing. He could feel it. That one girl — the one he hadn’t controlled — was slipping away from the easy pattern he had mastered.

He scrolled, laughed, texted, collected. But for the first time, mama, he felt a flicker of unease. A tiny, dangerous spark that maybe, just maybe, he couldn’t charm or collect her like the others.

And across town, somewhere quiet, she was burning with fire — aware, awake, untouchable.Josh’s world moved like a carefully orchestrated play. Every laugh, every glance, every whispered compliment had a place. His friends, all around him, were part of the choreography — enablers, mirrors, accomplices in a game most wouldn’t even recognize as a game.

“Bro, you’ve got the charm on lock,” one of them said, leaning back on the sofa, sipping from a bottle. “Any girl, anywhere, and she’s yours in minutes.”

Josh grinned, the familiar arrogance settling over him like a second skin. “It’s not just charm,” he said smoothly. “It’s… knowing what they want before they even do.”

Another friend chuckled. “Yeah, you collect them like trophies, bro. Just make sure you don’t mix them up — don’t want drama in the squad.”

Josh leaned forward, phone in hand. Names popped up, emojis, little flirty texts ready to be sent. He scrolled casually, thumb flicking with ease.

“She’s different,” one friend whispered, nodding toward a name on the screen. “You’re not just playing with her, right?”

Josh paused. His lips curled, not quite a smile. “Maybe I fell a little,” he admitted, voice low. “But that doesn’t change the rules. The game… it still goes on.”

The friends nodded knowingly. They had all been through it. The parties, the girls, the whispers in corners and hallways. They knew how to navigate the code: who to scout, who to collect, who to keep at a distance. And Josh… Josh was the master.

“Don’t fall too hard, bro,” one friend warned. “You know how fast things can get messy.”

“I know,” he said, but his eyes lingered on her name. The one girl who had managed to make him pause. The one he hadn’t collected yet. The one who had started to see through the carefully constructed world he and his friends had built.

Across town, laughter echoed from a party he had just left. Girls smiled, friends cheered, drinks clinked. Plans were made, conquests celebrated. And all the while, Josh was already thinking three steps ahead — messages to send, parties to attend, names to remember.

From his friends’ point of view, it was business, a sport, a system. They didn’t see cruelty, only strategy. They didn’t see hearts being broken, only attention being collected. They didn’t see her — the girl he wanted — resisting, observing, growing stronger with every careless act they applauded.

And somewhere in the back of his mind, Josh knew the rules were changing. He could feel it. That one girl — the one he hadn’t controlled — was slipping away from the easy pattern he had mastered.

He scrolled, laughed, texted, collected. But for the first time, he felt a flicker of unease. A tiny, dangerous spark that maybe, just maybe, he couldn’t charm or collect her like the others.

And across town, somewhere quiet, she was burning with fire — aware, awake, untouchable.