RIVAL'S TO LOVER'S: My Step Brother Is Now My Roommate のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 101 - チャプター 110

HAYDEN’S POV:The whispers started before we even stepped onto the pitch. I felt them more than I heard them at first—those sideeyes, the subtle nudges, the way conversations dipped just slightly when Stephen and I walked past. It wasn’t loud, not obvious enough for anyone to call out, but it was there.It followed us like a shadow.I kept my gaze forward, shoulders squared as I walked beside Stephen. If he noticed, and I knew he did, he didn’t show it. His expression stayed neutral, jaw set, focus locked straight ahead as nothing else existed.Like none of it mattered.“Morning,” Coach called out as we approached.“Morning,” we both muttered back almost in sync.For a second, I thought Coach might say something—his eyes lingered on us just a beat too long, but then he clapped his hands sharply and turned his attention back to the team.“Alright, let’s move! Warm-ups, now!”And just like that, practice began.I exhaled slowly, rolling my shoulders as I jogged onto the field. The famil

STEPHEN’S POV:I knew the moment it left his mouth, the hesitation and that tiny pause before he shook his head.It shouldn’t have hit me the way it did but it did.The room felt too small after that, like the air had thinned out and something solid between us had just cracked and neither of us knew how bad the damage was yet.Hayden didn’t move right away. He just stood there, eyes searching mine, like he was waiting for me to say something to fix it or make it easier.I didn’t.Because I didn’t know how.A part of me had already seen this coming. I wasn’t stupid. I knew Hayden, knew the life he had lived before this, the way things had always been easy for him when it came to girls, attention, and expectations.This? This wasn’t easy.But knowing it and hearing him say it out loud were two completely different things.“You’re not ready,” I said finally, my voice quieter than I expected.It wasn’t an accusation. It just… was.His jaw tightened slightly. “I didn’t say I’d never be.”I

HAYDEN’S POV:I didn’t mean to drink that much. It just… happened.One cup turned into two, then three, then I stopped counting altogether. The burn in my throat stopped feeling sharp after a while, dulling into something easier, something quieter. The noise around me blurred into a low hum, the laughter and music melting into the background like they didn’t matter anymore.And for a little while, it worked.It numbed everything.The thoughts, the tension. The constant replay of Stephen’s voice in my head.You’re not ready.I leaned heavily against the wall, staring down at the half-empty cup in my hand like it had answers I couldn’t find anywhere else. My fingers felt loose around it, my grip unsteady.Maybe he was right. No… not maybe. He was right.That was the worst part.A laugh burst somewhere across the room, too loud, too sharp. It made me flinch slightly, my head turning toward the sound before I quickly looked away again.Everything felt off and wrong, like I didn’t belong h

STEPHEN’S POV: I leave before it gets harder to stay.Hayden is still sitting on the bed when I grab my jacket, his phone loose in his hand, his shoulders slightly hunched like he’s bracing for something that hasn’t even happened yet. He looks smaller like that.It does something to me that I don’t like.“I’ll see you later,” I say, keeping my tone light, normal—like we didn’t just have that conversation, as nothing shifted between us.He nods, but he doesn’t really look at me. “Yeah… later.”I hesitate for half a second. Then I leave.The hallway outside feels colder than it should. Or maybe it’s just me. I shove my hands into my pockets and start walking, my mind replaying everything he said over and over again.You don’t care the way I do.That’s what he thinks.I exhale sharply, jaw tightening.It’s not that I don’t care. It’s that I don’t let it control me. There’s a difference. A big one.But try explaining that to someone who’s already decided fear is safer than honesty.By th

HAYDEN’S POV:It had been two weeks of pretending, stolen moments and hidden glances and learning how to exist in a world where the best thing in my life had to stay a secret.And somehow… it’s been the happiest I’ve felt in a long time.I didn’t think it would be like this.I thought it would be stressful, suffocating—constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for someone to notice, waiting for everything to fall apart. And yeah, there are moments like that. Moments where my chest tightens if someone looks at us for too long or if Stephen’s hand lingers a second too close to mine in public.But then there are the other moments.The ones that make everything else feel worth it.Like right now.I’m pressed up against the cool wall of an empty corridor in the arts building, my heart racing for an entirely different reason as stephen leans into me, his lips brushing mine in a kiss that’s soft at first, before it deepens.My fingers curl into the fabric of his hoodie, pulling him close