All Chapters of Your Crown Has Nothing to Do with Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Madison, Tyler, and I grew up together.From high school on, the two of them were the most popular people in any room.Beside them, I was ordinary.Honestly, if I hadn't always been with them, no one would have noticed me at all.Madison was beautiful, with a figure to match. The squad she led won nearly every competition it entered, and at each one, an entire section of the stands chanted her name, louder every time.Tyler was the football team's starting wide receiver and was known throughout the school as the party king.His parents traveled for work most of the year. From freshman year on, his basement was where the whole school ended up on Friday nights.Tyler always invited me, of course.But once we got there, the crowd swallowed him and Madison within minutes, and neither of them spoke to me much.I remember one night clearly. I was tucked into the corner of a couch with a drink when one of the guys on the team asked Tyler, "Who's that girl who's always behind you two? You've n

The afternoon after the senior ball, I was tagged in the group chat.Madison: [Claire! I'm so, so sorry. I forgot to give the pin back, and I wore it with my dress to the ball last night. When I got home, I saw that the stem was bent and one of the pearls was chipped.]Madison: [Tell me how to make it up to you. Anything you want.]She knew perfectly well that the pin was what had made Blake and me official.Three years ago, on pinning night, Blake fastened it over my heart while the whole fraternity applauded.He said, "Claire, from now on, this pin stands for me. It means I'm with you for good."The pin's value to me had nothing to do with its price.Blake knew that better than anyone.But his message came in first.Blake: [Relax, Madison. It's a pin.]Blake: [Claire is the chillest person alive. She won't care about this.]Chill?That word brought last winter back to me.I'd saved for two months to buy a dress for formal. Madison asked to borrow it for one night.It came back with r

[Third-person POV]The plane touched down in New York at four that afternoon, local time.Madison kept complaining about her back. Tyler ran back and forth, hauling boxes.Blake stood by the baggage carousel, watching people come and go as he opened his phone.Nothing from Claire.[We landed. We're going to get settled first. Your flight gets in at eight, right? I'll come get you.]He sent the message without reading it over and slipped his phone back into his pocket."Let's drop the bags at the apartment first. Claire won't be here for a while."By the time the lights came on in the new apartment, it was fully dark.Tyler ordered pizza. Madison was sitting cross-legged on the floor, unpacking boxes, when she suddenly asked, "Blake! What time is Claire's flight? It's past eight. Why are you still unpacking?"Blake set down the scissors and quickly pulled out his phone.Plenty of messages were waiting, full of greetings and congratulations. None were from Claire.He dialed her number. T

Zoe and Luca filled my life in Florence and helped me adjust.Zoe had endless energy and went running every morning.On mornings when I overslept and showed up for class with my hair a mess, she'd hand me a paper bag.Inside was a hazelnut cornetto, still warm from the oven and smelling like the whole bakery."Last time you skipped breakfast, your blood sugar dropped, and you nearly fainted."She mimed passing out and told me to hurry up and eat it.The warm scent sank deep into me.Luca wasn't with us all the time, but he showed up whenever I needed something.He seemed to be that way with everyone. He didn't single me out, and he never forgot me, either.During group meetings, he noticed when I started to say something but stopped, and he'd ask me what I thought.Whenever the three of us went somewhere, he made a point of asking what I wanted."Claire, say it. Where do you actually want to go?"Stop telling us you're fine with anything. What you want matters."His words were gentle b

"Claire!"Blake hurried across the street and nearly ran into a bicycle.He stopped in front of me, breathless, and reached out to pull me into his arms.I stepped aside and put some distance between us."Don't touch me."His arms froze in midair. The dark circles under his eyes made the rest of his face look even worse.Maybe it was how calm I sounded. The delight slowly faded from his face."Claire, I came here to apologize."He lowered his arms and pulled a small velvet box from an inside pocket. "I had the pin repaired. The pearl is the same size as the original, and the stem has been rebuilt. I didn't just grab something to shut you up."The lid popped open, and the Greek letters caught the October light with a cold gleam.Three years earlier, on pinning night, Blake had fastened it over my heart while the fraternity crowded the porch and cheered as he made his promise.Back then, I thought someone had finally chosen me and meant it.Later, that same person took my wrist, removed