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Ariana's POV

I hunched over my notebook in the library’s back corner, my earbuds jammed so deep into my ears they started to hurt. The words on the page refused to stay still. That half-second earlier of Jace Carter laughing with his teammates and me walking bumping into his chest kept replaying nonstop no matter how hard I tried to shove it away. I pressed my pen harder into the paper until the tip almost tore through.

My phone started vibrating against the wooden table. First once, twice then nonstop. I frowned and flipped it over. Notifications flooded the screen so fast the numbers blurred.

I opened the top one.

It was a video.

It showed me head down, my earbuds plugged in as I walked fast across the quad. Jace and his group were around the corner. My shoulder slammed into his chest then I stumbled, his hand instantly reached out and caught my arm to steady me. Someone had slowed that part down; made it look deliberate and intimate.

The caption read: “Hockey captain meets his mystery girl #CollisionCouple”

Comments poured in underneath.

“Who is she?”

“Jace finally got a girlfriend?”

“She’s actually cute, not like the usual ones.”

“They look good together.”

My hand tightened on the phone. I yanked one earbud out. My fingers felt cold as I scrolled faster, twenty-three thousand views already. It was almost like the shares increased every time I blinked. Someone had stitched it with romantic music and heart effects.

This wasn’t real, it was two seconds of me not paying attention and now the whole campus was turning it into something else.

I shoved my notebook into my bag and left the library. I walked fast along the path and strapped my backpack onto my shoulder. Every few steps my phone buzzed again, I silenced it but couldn’t stop checking. There were more tags, more comments, people that I didn’t even know were commenting on my face, my clothes, whether I was “good enough” for Jace Carter.

By the time I pushed open my dorm door, my breathing was uneven. Becca was already sitting inside, her legs crossed on her bed with her laptop open. The video played on her screen the second I walked in.

"Ariana,” she said, her voice high with excitement. “You collided with Jace Carter? And didn’t tell me? This video is blowing up everywhere, look at how he grabbed your arm. People are losing their minds.”

I dropped my bag on the floor. It landed with a dull thud. I stood there, my arms hanging at my sides as I stared at her screen. In the slowed clip, Jace’s hand looked gentle on my arm and my face looked surprised, almost soft. I hated it.

“It was an accident,” I said. My voice came out flat. “I didn’t see him….I was trying to get to the library. That’s all.”

Becca leaned forward, her messy brown hair falling into her eyes. “Accident or not, it looks good. Half the comments think you two are secretly dating. The other half wants to know your name, this could be huge for you.”

I started pacing between the beds. I took three steps, one way turned and three steps back. My socks made soft sounds on the floor. “I don’t want huge, I don’t want any of this but people are already assuming things. If the scholarship board sees this, they might think I’m distracted and that I’m not serious about my work.”

Becca closed her laptop but kept watching me. “You’re spiraling again, it’s just a silly video. I'm sure by tomorrow it’ll be old news.”

I stopped near my desk and gripped the edge with both hands.The memory of Davian pushed in without warning; him laughing with his friends while telling them how I was “too much work.” How he had used every quiet confession I gave him as entertainment. My throat burned and I swallowed hard but the tightness stayed.

“I can’t afford silly,” I said quietly. “I have one shot at this scholarship, just one shot to get out of here and build something real. If people start linking me to Jace Carter, they’ll assume I’m just another girl chasing attention, then professors will look at me differently and everything I’ve worked for could look cheap.”

Becca stood up and came closer, her bright energy felt too loud in the small room. “Ari, you can’t let what Davian did control every part of your life. Not every guy is going to use you and throw you away.”

I turned away from her and pressed my forehead against the cool window glass. Students moved across the quad below, many of them stared at their phones, probably the same video. 

“You don’t get it,” I whispered. “When Davian left, he didn’t just break up with me. He made sure everyone knew I wasn’t enough, he took the parts of me I trusted him with and made them jokes. I’m not doing that again, I just…can’t.”

Silence stretched between us. I heard Becca shift her weight but she didn’t speak right away. My hands were shaking slightly so I shoved them into my sweater pockets.

My phone buzzed on the bed, I ignored it at first then it buzzed again. I picked it up slowly.

Unknown number.

Unknown: Hey, this is Jace. Saw the video going around, sorry about bumping into you. Can we talk sometime?

I stared at the message until the letters blurred, my hands tightened on the phone then my heart started beating hard against my ribs. I showed the screen to Becca without saying anything and her eyes widened.

“He texted you. Jace actually texted you.”

I locked the phone and tossed it back on the bed like it could burn me. I started pacing again, shorter steps this time, and wrapped my arms around my stomach, the room felt smaller and the walls closer. Everything was moving too fast and I couldn’t stop it.

I don't want Jace Carter in my life, I don't want his number and I don’t want the campus to watch and judge me, pairing me with someone who represented everything I was trying to avoid.

But the video was already out there. The rumors had started and now the golden boy himself had reached out.

I stopped pacing and sat heavily on my bed as I put my elbows on my knees, head down. I dug my fingers into my scalp. 

“What do I do now?”