Chapter 6

Ivy

I barely slept.

After the chaos at the party, after the slap, after watching Asher walk away into the night, I had tossed and turned for hours. The alcohol had left me with a dull headache and a heavy sense of dread. I finally drifted off sometime close to dawn.

“Ivy! Ivy, wake up!”

Lena’s voice yanked me violently back to consciousness. She burst into the room, still in her pajamas, waving her phone like it was on fire.

“Ivy, oh my God, wake up right now!”

I sat up groggily, rubbing my eyes. My head pounded. “What… what time is it?”

“You need to see this.” She shoved the phone into my hands, already playing a video.

The clip was shaky, clearly filmed by someone in the crowd at the party. It started with Asher grabbing my wrist and pulling me away, then Marcus intervening. The fight exploded on screen — punches, shoving, drinks flying. Then the camera zoomed in on the moment I slapped Asher hard across the face. The audio caught the sharp crack perfectly.

The caption above the video read:
“Northbridge Hockey Star Asher Hayes in Wild Party Fight Over Mystery Girl — Then She Slaps Him?!”

There were more videos. Different angles. One zoomed in on my face. Another slowed down the slap. The comments were flooding in:

​•​“Who is she?? Asher fighting over a girl is crazy”

​•​“Is this his new girlfriend or what”

​•​“That slap was personal af 😂”

My stomach dropped. I took a deep breath of pure frustration, gripping the phone so tightly my knuckles turned white.

“This is everywhere,” Lena said, scrolling rapidly. “Campus group chats, X, TikTok… it’s blowing up. Some people are calling it the drama of the semester already.”

I closed my eyes for a second, trying to steady myself. Of course this would happen. One night of trying to feel normal, one moment of losing control, and now the entire school was speculating about me and Asher.

“I shouldn’t have gone,” I muttered.

Lena sat on the edge of my bed, looking equal parts concerned and excited. “You shouldn't feel that way, Ivy. You went to have fun, things just got really messed up. But for real… what is going on between you two? Because this doesn’t look like nothing.”

I handed her phone back. “It’s a long story. We knew each other in high school. He made my life hell back then. And apparently he wants to keep doing it here.”

Lena’s eyes widened. “Wait, seriously? He seemed so… charming. I couldn't have thought he is a bully.”

I almost laughed. “Yeah. He’s good at that.”

She didn’t push too hard, but I could tell she was dying for more details. “Well, whatever it is, be careful. He’s kind of a big deal around here. Star player and all that. Also, you should look out for Jennie.”

I frowned. “Who’s Jennie?”

Lena sighed. “His ex-girlfriend… or whatever she is. She’s a cheerleader. No one really knows if they officially broke up or if they were ever properly dating. But she’s still very protective of him. Even when he barely pays her any attention, she acts like he belongs to her. She and her squad go after anyone who tries to get too close to him. They can be vicious.”

I rubbed my temples. “Damn!”

Lena gave me a sympathetic look. “Just keep your head down for a bit. And maybe… stay away from trouble for a while?”

I nodded weakly, but I already knew it wouldn’t be that simple. The viral videos were out there. The rumors were spreading. And Asher’s warning from last night still echoed in my head.

It was only beginning.

Asher

I woke up with my jaw aching and my phone blowing up.

The slap replayed in my head before I even opened my eyes — the sharp crack, the way Ivy’s eyes had burned with pure fury. I touched the tender spot on my cheek and let out a low curse. No one had ever slapped me like that. Not in high school. Not here. Certainly not the girl I used to call “charity case.”

My phone vibrated again. Coach Harlan. Three missed calls already. Coach didn’t call more than twice unless it was an emergency or someone was dying.

I answered the fourth one, sitting up.

“Hayes,” Coach’s voice was sharp, no greeting. “I want you in my office. Now. Don’t make me come find you.”

He hung up before I could respond.

What the hell happened overnight?

I tried to check my messages, but the network was acting up and I couldn’t load anything. I dragged myself out of bed, jaw tight, got dressed quickly, and headed over.

When I walked into Coach’s office, he was standing by the window, arms crossed, looking pissed.

“Sit,” he ordered.

I sat.

Coach slid his phone across the desk. One of the videos was paused right at the moment Ivy slapped me.

“Care to explain what the hell this is?” he asked, voice low and dangerous.

I picked it up. The shaky footage played: me grabbing Ivy’s wrist, the fight with that guy, and then Ivy slapping me hard across the face. The sound was painfully clear.

Coach didn’t wait for an answer. “Because right now it looks like my star player is starting bar fights over some girl and getting embarrassed in public.”

“It wasn’t a bar fight,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “It was a party. Some guy got in my face.”

“A misunderstanding?” Coach’s eyebrows shot up. “Misconduct. Public brawl. Those are the allegations flying around. Investors for the upcoming tournament are calling me nonstop, threatening to pull their funding if we don’t contain this immediately.”

I leaned back. “That’s pushing it too far…”

Coach let out a harsh laugh. “What did you expect when you beat up an ex-hockey captain on camera in front of a party full of drunk witnesses?”

I frowned. “Ex-hockey captain?”

“Yeah. Marcus.” Coach rubbed his temples. “Everyone knew him. He was the golden boy — the face of Northbridge Hockey before you got here. Talented, charismatic, unbeatable on the ice. Then he got into that bad accident four years ago. Missed almost two full years of school recovering. When he finally came back, he was so far behind academically that he had to switch majors to business. The program took a huge hit back then.”

“Oh…”

Coach leaned forward, eyes serious. “Public image matters here, Hayes. Especially with the tournament coming up. Hockey is one of the university’s biggest programs right now. I won’t have my captain making us look like idiots on social media.”

I swallowed. “So what now?”

“Turn this into something else,” Coach said. “Convince the public it wasn’t a scandal. If people think you two were already in a relationship before last night, this stops being athlete misconduct and becomes relationship drama — just a lovers’ quarrel that got out of hand. Be seen with her. Smooth it over.”

“But we aren’t dating,” I said.

“Then start acting like you are,” Coach replied flatly. “I’m not officially telling you to do anything. It’s just until the end of the tournament. But if this escalates and the administration steps in… you could lose your spot on the team. And she could lose her scholarship.”

He leaned forward, expression hard. “Fail to fix this and you’re benched. I don’t care how good you are. Understood?”

“Understood.”

Coach nodded. “Good. Now get out of here and handle it.”