Chapter 3: The Star Quarterback

Hannah’s POV

By the afternoon, campus had become even busier. I was walking alone after my last class when I suddenly noticed a group of students gathered near the football field.

They were cheering loudly.

Curious, I slowed down.

Standing in the middle of the field was a tall guy wearing a football jersey. He moved confidently, throwing the ball with ease while his teammates shouted his name.

“Zachary! Zachary!”

The name echoed across the field.

I shifted my bag nervously on my shoulder, unsure if I should keep walking or stay for a moment. Before I could decide, a girl standing beside me noticed my confusion and leaned closer.

“That’s Zachary Reed,” she said excitedly. “The star quarterback.”

“Oh,” I replied softly.

She smiled like she had just introduced me to someone important.

“Everyone knows him,” she continued. “He’s rich, popular, and basically runs this campus. Girls are always chasing him.”

I nodded slowly, not knowing what else to say.

The girl studied my face for a second.

“You’re new here, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Yes,” I admitted quietly.

“That explains it,” she said with a small laugh. “Trust me, you’ll hear his name a lot.”

I gave an awkward smile, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the conversation. Talking to strangers had never been easy for me. I always felt like I might say something wrong.

“He seems… confident,” I said carefully.

The girl laughed.

“Confident? That’s one way to put it. Most people would say arrogant.”

I didn’t respond. Instead, my eyes returned to the field.

He looked like someone who had everything,confidence, attention, power. The kind of person who lived in a completely different world from mine.

Suddenly, I heard a loud shout.

“Heads up!”

Before I could react, something hard slammed into my shoulder.

The impact knocked me off balance, and I fell straight to the ground with a small cry.

Pain shot through my arm as my bag slipped from my shoulder and landed beside me. For a few seconds, everything felt blurry.

Then laughter erupted around me.

My face burned with embarrassment as I slowly looked up.

Zachary was jogging toward me, the football in his hand. His teammates stood behind him, some of them smirking.

Instead of concern, a small, amused smile appeared on his face.

“You should probably pay attention to your surroundings,” he said casually.

My heart sank.

“I—I’m sorry,” I stammered, struggling to sit up.

He let out a short laugh.

“Sorry for what?” he replied. “You’re the one standing where you shouldn’t be.”

More laughter followed.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I quickly grabbed my bag, avoiding eye contact. My hands trembled slightly as I stood up.

He didn’t offer to help.

He didn’t apologize.

“Next time,” he added coolly, spinning the football in his hand,

“use your eyes.”

Without another word, he turned and walked back toward the field.

I stood there for a moment, frozen, my chest tight with embarrassment.

That was the moment I realized something important.

Zachary Reed wasn’t just confident.

He was cruel.

Zachary’s POV

The ball left my hand with perfect force and curved straight across the field.

“Nice throw!” Tyler shouted.

I barely reacted. Compliments didn’t mean much anymore. People praised me all the time,it was expected.

My attention drifted toward the fence again.

The quiet girl.

She was still standing there, too close to the field, talking awkwardly to another student like she didn’t belong anywhere else. She looked nervous, shifting her weight from one foot to another.

Adrian tossed the ball back to me.

“Think fast,” he said.

I caught it easily and rolled my shoulders before throwing it again.

The ball flew straight,and hit her.

She dropped immediately.

For a second, the field went silent.

Then the laughter started.

I jogged toward her slowly, spinning the football in my hand. She was sitting on the ground, clutching her shoulder like the world had just ended.

Her eyes lifted to meet mine, wide and embarrassed.

Instead of concern, I felt irritation.

Why was she standing there in the first place?

“You should probably pay attention to your surroundings,” I said flatly.

“I—I’m sorry,” she stammered.

I let out a short, humorless laugh.

“Sorry for what?” I replied. “You’re the one standing where you shouldn’t be.”

The guys behind me snickered.

She quickly grabbed her bag and stood up, avoiding eye contact like she wanted to disappear.

“Next time,” I added coldly,

“use your eyes.”

I turned and walked back toward the field without helping her.

Practice continued, but Tyler jogged up beside me a few minutes later, shaking his head.

“Man, that was rough,” he said. “You didn’t have to embarrass her like that.”

I scoffed.

“She embarrassed herself,” I replied.

Adrian joined us, lowering his voice.

“She looked scared, Zach.”

I rolled my eyes and caught the ball again.

“So?” I said bluntly. “What do you want me to do,babysit every clueless student who wanders onto the field?”

Tyler frowned slightly.

“It was an accident.”

“No,” I corrected sharply.

“It was stupidity.”

The words came out cold, and I didn’t bother softening them.

Adrian studied me carefully.

“You’re acting like she did something personal to you.”

I stopped walking and looked at him with a hard expression.

“I don’t even know her,” I said.

“And I don’t care to.”

There was a brief silence.

Tyler crossed his arms.

“You’re turning into your father,” he muttered.

My jaw tightened instantly.

“Watch your mouth,” I said quietly, my voice dropping.

Neither of them spoke for a second.

I picked up the football and threw it harder than necessary, sending it flying across the field.

The impact echoed loudly.

“Practice,” I snapped.

“Focus.”

They exchanged a look but didn’t argue.

As the game resumed, I tried to push the whole thing out of my mind.

She was just another student.

Another nobody.

But for some reason, the image of her falling kept replaying in my head,and it annoyed me more than it should have.