All Chapters of Until The Finish Line!: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

Her face carried the kind of pleasant symmetry people might describe as "cute." A youthful look, soft and round around the edges, with deep green eyes that rarely caught light the way others' did, her hair the most common of brown. Despite her small chest, she recognized that her curves were her one asset, long legs and a slender figure, forged by years of intense running training — her muscles were toned and in excellent shape. But they were for most of the time hidden under baggy jeans and t-shirst 3 sizes bigger. God forvide a girl for being into streetwear and hip hop for her fashion style.Nothing else about her stood out. Not in a way that made people stop or stare. She wasn't the mysterious girl in the corner or the stunning one who made heads turn as the walks down in the hallway. She was the one who made people laugh. The one who kept the energy up. The funny, comfortable one.And she liked that part of herself—she really did. But sometimes it hurt that no one ever looked at

Uriah, calm as ever but clearly entertained, lifted his drink. "Sooo... you two know each other?"Julian opened his mouth to answer, but Sloane beat him to it—far too quickly."We just met last week!" she blurted, too loud, too fast. "Like barely!"The air tightened.Julian looked down at her, one eyebrow arching, that infuriating grin tugging at his lips again—slow, knowing, playful. The kind of smile that said he was enjoying every second of her unraveling.And Sloane, against all logic, felt a flicker of something. From this angle, Sloane noticed something she hadn't before—Julian had blue eyes and snakebite piercings. Two little silver rings glinting on his lower lip. Oh. Okay. That was... unexpectedly distracting. And unfairly hot."Yeah, we're friends," Julian said, casual as ever."Maybe!" Sloane cut in, turning toward the others with an awkward laugh."Maybe?" He looked at her, amused, that stupid half-smile tugging at his lips."We just met!""Valid," he said with a small no

"I was trying to get your attention! You had your AirPods in, you heathen!" she said, crossing her arms defensively—though the corner of her mouth betrayed her with a twitch. "Oh gosh, let it go!"His grin widened. "You could've, I don't know, tapped me on the shoulder? Used your words?""I did! Twice! You ignored me!""I didn't ignore you—I couldn't hear you.""Excuses," she declared, like she'd just won a trial. "Desperate times, desperate measures."Julian ran a hand through his hair, laughing. "I remember turning around and thinking, 'Who the hell throws breakfast food at strangers? What kind of country is this?'"Sloane snorted. "Yeah, and then you glared at me like I'd personally offended your ancestors.""I was startled! You don't expect a bagel to become a projectile weapon at eight a.m. outside the admin office."They both burst out laughing, their voices echoing off the porch beams, breaking the soft rhythm of crickets outside.Julian glanced at her with that lazy half-smile