One

Hira’s POINT OF VIEW

“You swear you didn't send it to anyone?” My best friend, Lena Turner’s voice cut through the low noise of the Blisters university hallway. I hadn't even stepped fully into the building yet, one hand still on the glass door, when I heard my name from students lip.

“I didn't,” I said, frowning as I stepped in, my eyes scanning the cluster of girls near the lockers. “What are you talking about, Lena?”

Lena Turner, my best friend since freshman, turned toward me slowly, her expression like someone who had seen something despicable and was trying hold something in place to prevent her for shattering.

Her phone was gripped tightly in her hand, screen facing down, but the way the others leaned in told me everything I needed to know.

Something had happened. Something big enough to pull enough attention from students on a usually busy Monday morning.

“Nothing,” she said quickly, and that was the first thing that felt wrong for her. Lena never brushed things off with me. “It's just…people talking.”

“About me?” I asked, uneasiness suddenly falling inside of me.

A laugh suddenly came behind me— that kind of mocking laugh. “God, she really doesn't know?”

My grip tightened more around my backpack strap as I turned. A group of guys stood near the stairwell, with phones in their hands and no effort to hide the fact that they were watching me. One of them tilted his screen slightly, just enough for me to catch a glimpse of - a video, maybe - but he angled it away before I could make sense of it.

“Know what?” I asked, my voice cracking in the process.

In Blisters University, the only person who could pull strings on me— I mean, who had pulled this kind of strings on me a countless times was the university most treasured said to be— Prince. Prince of NHL and - unfortunately my hockey captain —Alaric Jeremiah. A prince that had no region!

So what has he done this time? What was new?

Another voice chimed in, this one even more mocking than the first. “You're trending, Hira. Didn't you check your phone this morning?”

And for some reasons, my stomach rumbled at the thought of the word ‘Trending’

Because the last time Coach and I had a peaceful conversation, he warned against any thing that could cause me ‘Trending Wrongly Again’.

I reached for nmy phone without thinking, my fingers clumsy as I unlocked it. Notifications flooded the screen. Messages upon messages, missed calls, unknown numbers, group chats I barely paid attention to lighting up like they had something to prove to me.

My pulse plummeted as I opened the first message that popped up.

#Dont come to school today.#

#Too late, she already did.#

#What were you thinking?#

#You’re actually disgusting.#

My throat went dry and sweat started to form on my forehead as I tapped on the video link someone had sent. For a second, nothing made sense— just a blur room— and for the umpteenth time, I thought it was Alaric Jeremiah’s doing — until, I clicked into place with a tightened chest.

It was me.

In my room!

No! A video that wasn't me, but looks exactly like me. Like a duplicate of me in my room with kade, my boyfriend's voice in it.

Watching the private video, it was that of my chest! The one that Kade had pleaded I make for him but I didn't.

How?

It was a freaking video of my naked breast that wasn't even mine!

“No,” I whispered, barely hearing myself over the sudden rush in my ears but the laughter only grew more louder with no restraint.

“I didn't….this isn't …” I find myself saying as I looked up, searching for something, someone, anything that made sense to me now.

Lena. Where is she?

She was still there, still watching my confused self, but she wasn't moving any closer to me or saying anything.

“Lena,” I said, stepping toward her. “You know this isn't…tell them. You know me. This isn't me! This is fabricated!”

For a second, I thought when she opened her mouth, she was about to say something to relief me but oh, no.

“I know what I saw,” she started, her tone flattening in a way I had never heard before. “And it's not a good look, Hira.”

I raised my brows, disbelief and confusion hitting them. “What? You don't believe me?” I asked, the disbelief in my tone slipping through before I could stop it.

She shrugged, casual, like this didn't matter to her anymore. “I believe you made a mistake.”

The hallway suddenly felt smaller in my eyes, the walls coming together as more people gathered, drawn in by the noise. Phones were out everywhere now, some pretending not to record, others not bothering to hide it at all.

“Say something else,” someone called out. “Maybe there's a part two.”

“Yeah, maybe she’ll cry this time.”

Heat was starting to crawl up in my neck, my hands curling into fists at my sides. I suddenly wanted to disappear. Wanted the ground to open and take me whole. I wanted to grab my phone and delete those fake things.

But I couldn't. It was already there and the only person that I thought would cause me a commotion wasn't even him!

It was Kade! Kade pulled this stunt! He did this to me!

Everything suddenly made sense in the worst possible way. The argument. The way he had looked at me last night, like I was already nothing to him.

“I said no.” I muttered, more to myself than anyone else.

“What was that?” one of the girls asked, leaning in with fake curiosity.

“This isn't me! This is completely fake video. AI! Can you not see?” I tried to yell but nobody seemed to want to listen.

“It isn't? AI? AI my foot!” She replied, smiling. “So maybe don't make things like this if you don't want people to see them.”

My breathing suddenly became difficult.

I turned, pushing through the crowd before it could close in back on me any further.

I needed space, air! Anything that wasn't this!

“You really outdid yourself this time, baby.”

A familiar voice said behind me, and I halted almost immediately.  It was Kade's smooth and amused voice.

I turned slowly, anger flaring up through the humiliation and teary eyes. “You did this? You think this is funny? You did this to me?”

My boyfriend! The one I loved since the beginning of freshman leaned against the walls, his arm crossed, completely at ease like nothing was going on.  “I think you should have been more careful.”

“I told you no. I said it wasn't proper and I cannot be doing…” I stopped myself, the realization hitting too late. Of course, he would say anything if it meant getting what he wanted.

“You said no to me and  I gave you something that could simply make things easier for you when you make me look like an idiot,” he cut in with a cold expression. “You should know that.”

I stared at me. A gasp of disbelief escaping my lips as I stared deeply in tears at the boyfriend I had loved too deeply than myself.

Perhaps because there was no love at home.

“I didn’t make you look like anything,” I shot back, my voice shaking despite the anger. “You did that yourself.”

For a second, something dark flashed in his eyes, but it was gone just as quickly.

“Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “But now everyone sees you the way I do.”

The words struck hard into my ears and before I could give a response, someone appeared behind Kade and he Kade didn't need to turn before he straightened, pushing off the lockers, his attention moving past me.  

Alaric Jeremiah.

Even without looking too much, I could picture him clearly. The sharp lines of his face, his clenched jaws, his blue plus grey eyes staring deadly at you with that cocky smirk of his. And worst? The drooling of his brown curly hair over half of his face.

Captain of hockey team. And the prince of pride and arrogance everyone feared, yet, can't take their drooling eyes away from him whenever he was near.

And right now, standing somewhere behind Kade Lawson.

I forced myself to meet his gaze and for a second, nothing seemed to be happening.

He just looked at me, his blue grey eyes boring inside of me because if anyone could have stopped this, if anyone had the power to shut it down before it spread to the coach, I was him.

He stepped forward, his eyes flicking to Kade, then back to me and that was when I noticed the team behind him.

“What’s going on?” he asked, his cold voice sending jilts in me.

Kade let out a small laugh. “You haven’t seen it yet?”

Jeremiah didn’t look at him. “I asked a question.”

The tension in the room rose, and for a second, I thought, or hoped, that maybe this would go differently for him even if he was my biggest bully. That maybe he would see what was happening, understand it for where it was.

“Someone decided to share a little secret,” Kade said, gesturing loosely in my direction. “Didn’t think it would blow up this fast, though.”

Jeremiah's gaze returned to me,, his cocky smirk tugging at the corner of his lip. “Is it true?”

He was asking me that?

I swallowed, my throat going dry. “It….it’s not what they’re saying it is.”

There was a long pause as he held my gaze for a second longer, like he was weighing something, then nodded once, almost to himself.

“Regardless,” he said, turning slightly to address the rest of the team, “this kind of situation reflects on the team as a whole.”

My stomach turned. “Jeremiah…” I started, panic rising inside of me but he didn't even give me a glance.

“Until further notice,” he continued, firmly . “Hira Harlow is suspended from all team activities.”