All Chapters of Offside Hearts: Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

Kelsey’s POVIf I could delete one thing from the universe, it wouldn’t be spiders or pineapple on pizza. It would be Monday mornings in the second semester.The campus was a literal zoo. You had the freshmen wandering around like lost puppies, the seniors acting like they discovered fire, and the professors already giving us enough homework to sink a ship. I was power-walking to Hall C for my combined engineering lecture, trying to protect my sanity and—more importantly—my brand-new white sneakers.I was five minutes early. In engineering time, that means I was basically late.I rounded the corner of the main hallway, ready to slide into my favorite seat, when I saw him.Imagine a guy who looks like he’s lived his entire life in a gym, but currently has the brain cell of a goldfish. He was tall—like, "blocking the sun" tall—with a grey hoodie and shoulders so broad he probably had to walk through doors sideways.This was Marcus Halverin.If you don't know who Marcus is, you clearly d

If there was a "How to Ruin Your Life in 60 Seconds" tutorial on YouTube, I’d be the featured creator.I was sprawled across my bed, fully rotting in my room, which is my favorite weekend activity. I had my headphones on, blasting a playlist that was 90% "sad girl indie" and 10% "I could fight a bear," and I was deep in an Instagram scroll hole. You know the one, where you start looking at a recipe for 15-minute pasta and end up watching a video of a woman in Vermont who knits sweaters for her pet ducks? Yeah, that.My room was a vibe—LED strips set to a soft purple, textbooks pushed into a corner where they couldn't judge me, and the smell of a vanilla candle trying its best to mask the fact that I hadn't opened a window in two days.Then my phone buzzed. It was my mom."Kelsey, honey, I’m at the estate and I’m in a total panic," she said, her voice sounding like she was one minor inconvenience away from a breakdown. "I forgot my specialized pastry kit on the counter at home. The own