Chapter 7

Ivy

I walked across campus clutching my bag like a lifeline, my steps slow and heavy. The meeting with the student adviser kept replaying in my head on an endless loop.

The woman had been polite but firm, her expression unreadable as she reviewed the notes on her laptop.

“The board is already reviewing your scholarship in light of the recent… incident,” she had said. “We’ll try to contain the situation, but only if the attention dies down quickly. Otherwise, you may have to forfeit the scholarship entirely.”

She had paused, then added, “I’ll be in touch soon, Miss Hart.”

Just like that. No “one more chance.” No warnings. Just the cold reality that everything I had fought for could be taken away.

I thought back to the two years of endless applications, rejection letters, late nights filling out forms while Mom was in treatment, and the constant fear that someone like me didn’t deserve a shot at Northbridge. I had sacrificed so much to get here. And now, barely a week into the semester, it was all hanging by a thread because of Asher.

The gloom settled deep in my chest. I felt dull. Drained. The kind of tired that made every step feel heavier.

I kept my head down, hoping to make it back to the dorm without any more drama.

But I didn’t get that wish.

Three girls stepped out from a side path and blocked my way. The one in the middle — tall, blonde, with sharp features and an expensive-looking cheer jacket — tilted her head and smiled. It wasn’t a friendly smile.

I recognized her immediately from Lena’s warning. The queen bee.

She stepped forward, her two friends flanking her like well-trained bodyguards. Students walking nearby slowed down, sensing the tension.

“Well, well,” Jennie said, her voice sweet but dripping with venom. “If it isn’t the little freshman who’s been causing so much trouble lately.”

I stopped, clutching my bag tighter. My stomach twisted, but I forced myself to meet her eyes.

“Can I help you?” I asked, keeping my voice as steady as I could.

Jennie laughed softly, looking me up and down. “Oh, honey. You already have. That little show you put on last night with Asher? The videos are everywhere. Everyone’s talking about the charity case who thinks she can put her hands on him.”

Her friends snickered behind her.

I felt heat rise to my face, but I refused to look away. “Whatever happened last night has nothing to do with you.”

Jennie’s smile sharpened. She took another step closer, close enough that I could smell her perfume.

“It has everything to do with me when it involves my Asher. Stay away from him. Stick to taking your little pictures and collecting your pity scholarship. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you actually belong here… or with him.”

The words stung exactly where they were meant to. For a second, the old high school shame threatened to pull me under.

But I thought of the adviser’s warning, and everything I had fought for.

I lifted my chin.

“I don’t want anything to do with him,” I said coldly. “So you can keep him for all I care.”

Jennie’s eyes narrowed, clearly not expecting me to push back.

“Since when did you get so bold, Charity Case?”

The old nickname hit like a slap, but I have a lot to lose already. I simply turned to walk away.

But her friends started closing in, forcing me backward. I kept retreating until my back hit a tree, the rough bark pressing into my spine.

One of the girls suddenly knocked my bag hard, sending it crashing to the ground. Notebooks and my camera strap spilled out onto the dirt path.

Before I could bend down, Jennie stepped even closer and poked me sharply in the head with two fingers.

She squatted to my level, her face inches from mine. Her voice dropped to a venomous whisper.

“I'll say this once so listen attentively charity case.”

“If Asher loses his position on the team or he’s unable to play because of you,” she said slowly, “you should be ready to face hell, okay?”

“Okay?” She yelled

I flinched, raising my arm to shield myself as panic rose fast in my chest.

“Ivy!”

Asher’s voice cut through the air like a whip.

I froze, still crouched on the ground, one hand raised defensively as I tried to shield myself from another poke.

Asher stormed over, his expression dark with anger. “What the hell are you doing?”

Jennie turned toward him instantly, her mean expression melting into a sugary smile. “Asher baby, you're he—”

“Shut up,” he snapped, cutting her off before she could finish. His eyes stayed locked on me. “Ivy, get up.”

He turned back to Jennie, voice low and furious. “Stay away from her, Jennie. I mean it.”

Jennie’s eyes widened in disbelief. She tried to step closer to him, reaching out to touch his arm in that familiar, possessive way. “Asher, baby—”

He yanked his arm away sharply. “Don’t.”

Jennie’s face twisted with hurt and anger. “Are you really doing this? Over some random girl?”

Asher stared at her for a beat, then glanced down at me, still crouched on the ground, humiliated, and trying to gather my scattered things before looking back at her.

“She isn’t a random girl, Jennie” he said coldly, loud enough for the growing crowd of onlookers to hear. “She’s my girlfriend.”

The words landed like a bomb.

Jennie’s mouth fell open. Her friends froze. A few students nearby gasped and started pulling out their phones to record.

I stared up at Asher in complete shock, my heart hammering wildly in my chest. What the hell was he doing?

Jennie recovered quickly, her voice rising. “You’re lying. There’s no way you’re actually with her—”

Asher’s expression didn’t change. He looked at her for a beat, then said calmly, “Really? Then let me show you.”

Before I could process what was happening, he turned to me, cupped my face with both hands, and kissed me.

The world stopped.

His lips were warm and firm against mine. The kiss wasn’t quick or hesitant, it felt longer than it should have, deep enough to make my knees weak and my thoughts scatter completely. For a few stunned seconds, I forgot about the crowd, the scholarship, Jennie, everything. There was only the heat of his mouth and the way his thumbs gently brushed my cheeks.

Then, just as suddenly, he pulled back.

My lips tingled. I stared at him, breathless and wide-eyed.

Asher didn’t look at Jennie. He reached down, picked up my fallen bag with one hand, then took my other hand and locked our fingers together. He raised our joined hands slightly, as if presenting proof to the entire watching crowd.

“I guess that’s enough to make you believe me,” he said, voice loud and clear. “So stay away from her henceforth.”

Jennie stood frozen, her face pale with shock and fury. Her friends didn’t move.

Asher didn’t wait for a response. Still holding my hand, he started walking, gently pulling me along with him. I was too stunned to resist. We left Jennie and the growing crowd behind us, the murmurs and whispers following like a wave.

My heart was racing so hard I could barely think.

What the hell had just happened?

This day just kept getting worse.