All Chapters of Edges Of Us: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

33 Chapters

Different Ways Of Loving

**Ezra POV**Practice ended later than usual that day. The rink was almost empty by the time the coach finally called it. The bright lights above the ice made everything feel colder than it actually was.My body was tired, but my mind was worse. These last few days kept replaying in my head. The cabin, messages, Mason looking at me like he was trying to be brave even though he was scared. And Kai smiling like he had everything under control when I knew he didn’t. Lila trying to act like she was okay.I was surrounded by people I cared about, and somehow I had never felt more lost like this right now. I was putting my things away near the boards when I saw Mason and Kai standing near the penalty box.They weren’t arguing, which alone surprises me.Mason had his arms crossed, his usual defensive posture. Kai leaned against the boards, quieter than normal. No teasing. No jokes. I stayed where I was, pretending to fix my bag while listening.Mason spoke first. “You really like him,

The Weight Of Expectations

Mason POVI always gets to the rink before everyone else. The quiet was the only time this place actually felt like mine. No teammates shouting. No coach correcting every move. No scouts watching from the stands. Just me, the ice, and the sound of my blades cutting through the surface.Usually, that was enough to clear my head but not today. Because all I could think about was Ezra. I hated how easy it had become to think about him.The way he smiled when he was trying not to. The way he got annoyed when Kai teased him but still laughed anyway. The way he looked at me like I wasn’t just some hockey player trying to be perfect all the time. Like I was actually a person. Hockey had always been simple.You worked harder than everyone else. You trained longer. You won. That was the formula.My dad made sure I knew that. I still remembered being ten years old, standing on the ice after practice while everyone else had already gone home. My legs were shaking. My hands were numb. I had tears

The Son He Thought He Knew

**Mason POV**The drive home felt longer than it should have. My dad’s message kept sitting on my phone screen like something waiting for me.Just four words that somehow felt heavier than any lecture he had ever given me. I knew what this was about.At least, I thought I did. He had seen me slipping during practice. The way my attention kept drifting even when I tried to force myself to focus.He was going to talk about scouts, my future and probably everything I had spent my whole life working toward.I could handle that because yea. I have handled it my entire life. I knew how to sit there, nod my head, and promise I would do better.That was easy. What wasn’t easy was the fact that lately, every time I looked at Ezra, every time he smiled at me or reached for my hand when nobody was watching, I felt like I was finally living a life that actually belonged to me. And that really scared me than losing hockey ever did.When I pulled into the driveway, the house was quiet. Usually

Choosing Us

The first thing I notice when I woke up was the silence.No alarm. No practice notification. No stupid group chat blowing up with plays and stats. Just my room, pale morning light coming through the gaps in my blinds, and the kind of quiet that only happens when the world decides to leave me alone for once.I checked my phone and it was 7:47 AM. Then a text lights up the screen.Mason: get ready. I'm stealing u for the dayMason: wear something u can actually move inI grin at my phone. Just thirty minutes ago, I had been bracing for the weekend to be weird. Tense. The kind of thing where Mason would act fine in public but tight as a drum the whole time, stuck in his own head about his dad, and about everything.But this….this feels different like Mason is actually trying.I roll out of bed and get in the shower, already running through my closet in my head. Not too fancy. Not trying too hard. But also not looking like I just rolled out of bed at seven in the morning, which, technical

Maybe This Could Work

[Lila pov] I'm shoving books into my locker on Monday morning when Kai appears like he materialized out of thin air or something. He's got that post-weekend look—hoodie, messy hair, the kind of casual energy that makes it look like he just woke up five minutes ago and decided clothes were optional. "You got plans for lunch?" he asks. I turn around, holding a stack of textbooks against my chest. "Plans? Kai, it's Monday. My plans are to survive until Friday." "So that's a no?" "That's a 'why are you asking me this right now.'" He scratches the back of his neck, which is apparently his nervous tic, and I watch it like it's one of the interesting thing I've seen all week. Which, honestly, might be. "Cool. Eat with me," he says. I blink at him. "That's... random." "Yeah. I'm trying something." "Trying what?" "Giving you an actual chance instead of acting like an idiot." I laugh before I can stop myself. "Wow. That almost sounded romantic." Kai grins, and it's the kind of gri

All about sport festival

[Ezra pov]Lunch has become this weird sacred thing for the four of us. Like, we have our own table in the corner of the cafeteria, and it's just understood that this is our spot. No explanation needed. Our school calendar just shifted everything into overdrive for the spring sports festival, which basically means we're all about to disappear into our respective athletic worlds, but for now—right now at lunch—we're still together.I'm starving. Not exaggerating-starving, actually starving, and I drop my tray on the table like it's the last act of a dying man."I'm gonna die," I announce. "Actually die. I have practice until like seven tonight and I haven't even eaten breakfast.""You just ate breakfast," Mason says, already stealing my fries like he has some kind of standing invitation."That was a lie I told myself to feel better about my life choices."Kai doesn't even look up from his phone. "Your only life choice right now is whether you want your funeral catered or not

The Weekend Shift

[Lila pov]Saturday afternoon and I'm sitting on my bed in sweats and an old hoodie, scrolling through Instagram like it's my job. Some girl I follow is posting TikTok-style dance trends—these new moves that are supposedly "easy" but are absolutely not easy, and I'm stuck between wanting to learn them for cheering and knowing my shoulders are gonna hate me if I do.I've been lying here for like three hours, which is sad, but the festival prep has me exhausted. Practice until I can't feel my arms, then come home and collapse. Rinse and repeat. It's Saturday and I literally have zero energy to do anything except doom-scroll and pretend I'm being productive.My phone buzzes.Kai: yoKai: watchu doingI smile at my screen despite myself. He texts like a psychopath.Lila: dying slowly on my bedKai: dramaticLila: factualKai: come overI stare at the message for a second. It's random, but also... it's Kai. Random is kind of his brand. And honestly, being alone with my own brain ri

The Weight Of Everything

The ice is mine right now. Empty rink, just me and the sound of my blades cutting through, and it's the only place my brain stops running in circles.I've been doing the same routine for like forty minutes—jump, spin, land, recover. The festival is two weeks out and I can feel Coach wanting more from me. He doesn't say it, but it's there in the way he watches my landings, the way he stays late to see my run-throughs. He knows I can be better. He knows I'm capable of placing.But my brain isn't cooperating today.Every time I go into a spin, I see Mason's face. Every time I land a jump, I feel the weight of the ring on my hand under my glove. We don't wear them at school anymore because apparently that's "asking for trouble," but I wear it when I'm alone. When it's just me and the ice.I love him. That's the thing that keeps hitting me while I'm out here. Not the complicated version of love that gets tangled up with timing and fear and not knowing if it's real. But actual love. The kind

Night Club

[Kai’s Pov]I'm not usually a "let's go to a club" guy, but apparently that's what we're doing now. Lila texted me like an hour ago saying she needed to get out, needed to do something that wasn't cheerleading or school or any of the normal shit, and somehow I ended up getting dressed in something that doesn't look like I got it from my dad's closet.Black jeans. A fitted shirt. Cologne that probably cost. I look ridiculous. I look good. Whatever.The club is exactly what I expected—too loud, too many people, everyone either dancing like their life depends on it or standing in corners pretending they're cool. The lighting is dim enough that you can't see how tired everyone actually is, and the drinks are definitely overpriced for what they are.But then Lila shows up. She's wearing this dress that's black and fitted and probably violates like three dress codes simultaneously. Her hair is down, falling over her shoulders. She looks like she walked straight out of every fantasy I

Soft Mornings

[Mason pov]I was lying in my bed at like nine in the morning on a Saturday, which is basically unheard of for me. Usually I'm up at six for training or doing something productive, but today my parents are out, probably to see their friends for some charity thing my mom insisted they both attend, so I have the house to myself. And I can't stop thinking about Ezra. Not usually in the frantic way I used to, where thinking about him felt like a threat to my stability. This is different. This is soft. This is the way my chest feels warm just from the memory of him.Last weekend we had the whole space to ourselves for like 10 hours, and we spent most of it talking, eating and trying out new things. Not even in a performative way. Just... together. His head on my chest, my fingers in his hair, talking about stupid things and then not talking at all, just existing in the quiet of it.At one point he looked up at me and asked, "What are you thinking about?"And I told him the truth: "Tha

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