The Article

Jace’s POV

I couldn’t stop thinking about yesterday’s café “date.” The way Ariana had forced those smiles, the way her hand had felt when I brushed it, the way she had looked at me like she was waiting for me to mess everything up. I was still replaying it when my phone buzzed on my desk.

Ariana: If you’re still offering to help with the hockey article, you can come by my dorm. Room 312. Becca will be here too.

I stared at the message for a long second. My stomach did a weird flip. I hadn’t expected her to actually invite me over. I typed back quickly before I could overthink it.

Jace: On my way. Be there in ten.

Mike looked up from his bed where he was scrolling on his phone. “You’re smiling at your phone like an idiot. Is that her?”

I shoved the phone in my pocket and grabbed my hoodie. “Yeah. She said I could come help with her article. Don’t make it weird.”

Mike grinned. “Too late. You already look nervous. Just don’t do anything stupid, Captain. She’s not a game.”

“I know,” I muttered, heading for the door. My shoulder ached as I pulled the hoodie on, but I ignored it like always.

The walk to her dorm felt longer than it should. When I knocked on room 312, Becca opened the door almost immediately. Her messy brown hair was tied up in a loose bun, and she gave me a bright, curious smile.

“You must be Jace,” she said, stepping aside. “Come in. Ariana’s at her desk pretending she’s not nervous.”

I stepped inside, my eyes finding Ariana right away. She was sitting at a small desk by the window, laptop open, notebook beside her. She wore a simple gray sweater, hair pulled back, but something about the focused way she sat there made my chest feel tight.

“Hey,” I said softly.

She turned in her chair, her expressive eyes meeting mine. “Hey. Thanks for coming.”

Becca flopped onto her own bed, grabbing her phone but clearly still listening. “I’ll be over here pretending to mind my own business. You two behave.”

Ariana shot her a look. “Becca.”

I sat on the edge of the bed closest to her desk, keeping some space between us. “So… what are you working on exactly?”

Ariana turned back to her laptop, her fingers hovering over the keys. “A neutral piece on the hockey team’s season so far. Strengths, upcoming games, that kind of thing. I need it to be solid for my portfolio.”

I leaned forward a little, watching her screen. “You already have good notes?”

She nodded, scrolling through a document. “Yeah. But I want real quotes and insight. Not just surface stuff.”

We started talking as she typed. The conversation felt easier than yesterday, but there was still that undercurrent; that quiet tension every time our eyes met for too long.

“So the power play,” she said, glancing at me. “You’ve been running it really well this season. What’s the biggest thing you focus on during practice?”

I rested my elbows on my knees, thinking. “Timing, reading the defense before they even move. Mike’s usually the one setting it up from the blue line. He’s got this calm way of seeing the ice that most guys don’t.”

Ariana typed quickly, then looked back at me. “And you? What’s your role in it?”

“I finish it,” I said simply. “Or create the lane. Depends on the night.”

Becca chimed in from her bed without looking up. “Sounds intense. You two sound like you’re actually working. I’m impressed.”

Ariana rolled her eyes but smiled a little. “Ignore her. She thinks everything is a romance novel.”

I chuckled. “She’s not wrong about the intensity part. Hockey eats up a lot of time. But watching you work… you’re really focused. It’s impressive.”

Ariana’s fingers paused on the keys. She glanced at me, cheeks a little pink. “It’s just an article. Nothing special.”

“It is special,” I said quietly. “Most people don’t put this much care into their work. You’re good at this, Ariana.”

The room got quieter. Becca pretended to be very interested in her phone. Ariana looked back at her screen, but I could see her shoulders were tense.

She cleared her throat. “What about the team chemistry? You’re captain. How do you keep everyone together when things get hard?”

I shifted on the bed, moving a little closer without thinking. “I talk to them. One on one. Mike helps a lot too. He’s the steady one. I’m… the one who pushes.”

We kept going like that for a while. She asked questions. I answered. Sometimes she typed. Sometimes she just listened, really listened, and it made me want to tell her more than I should. Every now and then our eyes would meet and hold for a second too long. Each time, something pulled tighter in my chest.

At one point she reached for her notebook at the same time I leaned forward to point at something on her screen. Our hands brushed. Neither of us pulled away immediately. Her skin was warm, soft. I felt her breath catch.

“Sorry,” I murmured, but I didn’t move right away.

“It’s fine,” she whispered back. Her voice sounded a little unsteady.

Becca finally stood up. “Okay, I’m going to grab snacks. You two… keep working.”

The door clicked shut behind her. The room felt smaller with just the two of us.

Ariana pulled her hand back slowly and typed a few more lines. “You’re actually helpful. I didn’t expect that.”

I smiled a little. “What did you expect?”

She looked at me then, really looked. “I don’t know. Someone who only cared about the fake part.”

The silence stretched again. I could hear my own heartbeat. I wanted to say something real, but the words got stuck.

Ariana saved her document and closed the laptop. “I think I have enough for now. Thanks, Jace.”

I stood up at the same time she did. We were close. Closer than we needed to be. Her eyes flicked to my mouth for half a second before she looked away.

I swallowed hard. “Anytime, really.”

She nodded, but she didn’t step back. Neither did I.

The air between us felt thick. Heavy with everything we weren’t saying.

I wanted to reach out. I wanted to ask if she felt it too; this pull that kept getting stronger even though we both knew it shouldn’t.

Instead I took a small step back, shoving my hands in my pockets.

“See you soon?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said softly. “See you soon.”

As I left her dorm, my heart was still racing. This was supposed to be fake, simple ans safe.

But watching her work, talking to her like that… it didn’t feel fake anymore.

And that scared the hell out of me.