All Chapters of The Last Paper Star: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Mason Blackwell looked down at me with his brows drawn together, but he didn't say anything.He'd always been like that. When he wore that cold expression, he could scare people off and send them running a mile away, but I knew he simply didn't know how to put his feelings into words.Like freshman year, when I stayed home with a high fever and he slipped three days of class notes under my door after school without sending so much as a text.Or every birthday, when he was always the first person to leave a present on my desk.So no, I'd never loved him without reason.But in my last life, that video consumed me. I spent every day distracted, bombed the entrance exams, and ended up at an ordinary state university in our city.Given another chance, I chose to leave them behind completely and study overseas.Paige Monroe walked over with her hands on her hips."Seriously? Is all this necessary? It was one video, and it wasn't even real. Do you have any idea how long I had to beg M

Chapter 2

I stared at the door, but my mind uncontrollably drifted back to something long ago.The winter I was eight, Mom brought a boy home.He wore an ill-fitting black coat, and his hair covered most of his face.Mom crouched beside me and said, "Hannah, this is Mason. He'll be living with us from now on."I skipped over, took his hand, and looked up at him."Hi, Mason. I'm Hannah Whitaker."His hand stiffened, then pulled away.Mom sighed and explained that his parents had died in a car accident and gone somewhere very far away, so he would be living with us.Later, I secretly went to knock on his door."Mason, I'll give you half my strawberry cake. Please don't be sad, okay?"The door didn't open, but I heard muffled crying from beneath his blankets.From that day on, I followed him around like a little shadow.At first he ignored me. Eventually, he got used to me.But he never smiled, and he never said anything sweet.Still, if a boy in class pulled my braid, that boy would

Chapter 3

Her eyes reddened on command."I don't deserve to ask you for help, but I really do want to learn. Can you forgive me?"The classroom went silent, and every eye turned toward me.Mason clicked his tongue.Leaning back in his chair, he looked past me at Paige on the floor."Get up. I'll teach you."As soon as he said it, the whispers around us grew louder."Of course Mason is taking Paige's side.""Hannah is so petty. Paige is literally on her knees, and she still won't forgive her?""Aren't Mason and Hannah childhood friends? Why is he defending Paige?"In my last life, Paige's kneeling had left me flustered and helpless.The next day, rumors spread through the class chat that I'd used my grades to bully a classmate and forced Paige to kneel in public.Then an anonymous post appeared on the school's social board, vividly describing how I'd tormented her.The rumors snowballed until I felt people pointing at my back whenever I walked through school.But this time was diffe

Chapter 4

I met his gaze calmly."That's my business. It has nothing to do with you."Mason's fork froze in midair.When I was ten, I practically hung from Mason like an extra limb.When he played basketball, I sat courtside hugging his water bottle. When he went to the library, I sprawled across from him with picture books.I shared everything with him. If I got a perfect score, he was the first to know. If a teacher praised me, he was the first to know. If I saw a pretty orange cat on the street, I would run home and spend ages describing it to him.Back then, I said, "I'll tell you everything for the rest of my life."He didn't lift his head, but the corner of his mouth curved."Got it."I only realized after growing up that, to him, I was probably just an annoying little tail.Now that the tail had cut itself loose, he probably wasn't used to it.After dinner, he stopped me outside the restaurant."Hannah, what is going on with you?"I turned around, my voice even."Nothing. I

Chapter 5

Mason stared at the second honor board in disbelief.Every word on it seemed foreign to him."She's studying overseas? That's amazing.""Wow, I want to be like her someday."The crowd still hadn't dispersed when Mason bolted through the school gate.Paige called after him twice, but he didn't look back.Clutching his phone, he ran across three intersections, sweat soaking most of his school T-shirt.He took the stairs two at a time. The front door wasn't fully shut, so he pushed it open.Dad was sitting on the living-room couch.At the sound of the door, he looked up. His surprise hardened into coldness when he saw the breathless boy in the doorway."Mr. Whitaker." Mason's voice came in ragged bursts after the run."Why is Hannah going overseas?"Dad narrowed his eyes at him and let out a heavy sigh."The night she came home from the karaoke lounge, Hannah said she wanted to study abroad."Mason's throat moved."You know perfectly well how she's treated you all these yea

Chapter 6

It was drizzling when Julian Parker and I landed in Skyridge.He walked ahead pulling one black suitcase and one silver suitcase, then glanced back and laughed when he saw me lifting my face toward the rain."Hannah, first time abroad?""My first."I lowered my hand. Fine rain rested cool against my palm, no different from the rain back home.The world suddenly felt enormous, and standing within it, I was no longer the small-town girl trapped in a hopeless crush.Julian was the top-ranked student in our city and had nearly perfect scores."Come on, then. I'll show you around first."We went to a square, where a street musician was playing violin. I dropped two pounds into his open case.He winked at me and played a song I'd never heard.Julian stood nearby with his hands in the pockets of his trench coat. Only after the song ended did he speak."Come on. I'll take you for a trip here."I laughed and followed him.The sun made a rare appearance on the first day of classes.

Chapter 7

My question exposed me, and he stared fixedly at my face."What happened ten years from now? Did I do something unforgivable to you? Is that why you ran overseas?"I looked away from him and toward the distance.The autumn wind swept away golden leaves and carried my memories back to another fall."In my last life, after you made that video, I performed badly on the entrance exams. During my repeat year, you confessed to me and said I was the person you had always cared about."Mason's breathing grew heavy."Later, Mom felt sick and called you. You missed it because you went to pick up Paige first after she claimed she was drunk. Mom collapsed alone in the living room and no one reached her in time."You helped me handle her funeral. You said you would be my family from then on, and I believed you."After the school year started, you and Paige attended the same university. Whenever I came to see you, she was there. At the movies, she sat beside you. At dinner, she sat across fr

Chapter 8

I took out my phone and pressed play."You wanted to know why I missed the exam. It was because Paige stole my admission ticket."He froze."The night you brought her home to comfort her, she used the opportunity to take it."She probably never expected me to install a camera in my bedroom."In the video, my bedroom door opened a crack.Paige tiptoed to my bedside, confirmed that I was asleep, then turned toward the desk.She opened my pencil case and quietly removed the admission ticket.Mason stared at the screen in shock.His lips moved. Then he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.It rang once before the other person answered."Mason?" Paige sounded delighted."You finally called me! Where did you go? You didn't even show up for orientation, and I've been terrified. Why didn't you tell me anything? Do you know how worried I've been?"Mason interrupted her."Did you steal Hannah's exam admission ticket?"The other end went silent for two seconds."What are you t

Chapter 9

After Mason returned home, I enjoyed a period of genuine peace.Two weeks later, news appeared in the class group chat.Paige's entrance-exam results had been invalidated. Mason had personally filed the report and submitted the flash drive as evidence.I didn't respond to any messages. I turned my phone face down on the desk and continued writing my lab report.Outside the window, a flock of pigeons burst into flight, tracing several crooked lines across the sky.After finishing the report, I headed back to my residence hall and saw a crowd gathered outside from a distance.As I drew closer, I saw candles arranged neatly across the ground in the shape of a heart.Mason stood at the center, holding a bouquet of red roses.I didn't know how long he'd waited. The wind had turned the tip of his nose red.The crowd automatically opened a path for me, whispers rising from every direction.I stopped and looked at him."I found out the truth about the admission ticket and cleared yo

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