Serena's Pov:
My hair was dripping, my sneakers squeaked, and my soul officially left my body. I stood there looking like a drowned rat on display while the entire hallway laughed like they'd just witnessed the season finale of a comedy show.
That's when it happened.
"ENOUGH!"
Sarah's voice ripped through the laughter like thunder. I swear, her eyes almost popped straight out of their sockets. She was shaking, not with fear this time, but anger, the kind that made everyone actually shut up for two seconds.
And they did stop. Just like that. Cheerleaders, random bystanders, even the kid halfway through filming everyone froze because quiet, soft-spoken Sarah had just gone full Godzilla.
Before I could even breathe, Sarah grabbed my wrist (again with the wrist abuse) and pulled me out of the circle. "Come on," she hissed.
"But my bag…."
"Forget the bag."
I didn't argue. I let her drag me down the hallway until we burst into the girls' PH changing room.
As soon as the door clicked shut, I broke. Tears burned my eyes before I could stop them. I blinked hard, swallowed harder, but one slipped out anyway. Stupid, salty betrayal.
Sarah spun on me, shaking her head. "No. No crying. You hear me? That's what they want. Don't give it to them."
"I'm literally dripping like a broken faucet, Sarah. Crying feels kinda appropriate right now."
She didn't laugh. Instead, she pulled me into the kind of hug that squeezes the air out of your lungs but somehow makes you breathe easier. I stood there, wet, humiliated, and pressed against her shoulder like some lost puppy while she rubbed my back.
"Listen to me, Serena," she whispered, firm. "They don't deserve your tears. You're stronger than this."
Which would've been really inspiring… if I didn't smell like moldy mop water.
I sniffled, stepped back, and croaked, "Great. Now I smell like a sad salad."
That made her crack a laugh, the tension snapping just a little. She tossed me a fresh PH uniform from her locker. "Change. I'll stall anyone who comes in."
I peeled off my soaked clothes, tugged on the PH kit, and tried not to think about how my dignity had drowned somewhere back in that hallway puddle.
By the time the bell rang, my hair was still damp but at least I didn't look like a sewer rat anymore. Sarah walked beside me as we headed out to the field.
PH. Fantastic. Because what I really wanted after public humiliation was to sweat in front of strangers.
The coach barked for warmups, everyone started running laps, and I forced my legs to move. My brain was still chewing on humiliation stew when it happened.
I slammed into someone. Hard.
My shoulder bounced off solid muscle, my balance went flying, and I would've faceplanted if not for the strong hand that caught my arm.
And then oh.
The smell hit me. Not sweat, not deodorant, but perfume. Expensive. Clean. Like rain mixed with cedarwood. Heaven in cologne form.
I blinked up, ready to roll my eyes at whatever jock thought it was funny to body slam the new girl.
It was Alex Gregory.
Of course.
The smirk I expected wasn't there, though. His brows furrowed instead, genuine concern in his eyes. "You okay?" His voice was calm, deep, way too smooth for my brain to handle while standing this close.
I nodded like an idiot. "Yeah. Fine. Totally fine. Just testing gravity. Works great."
Instead of laughing, he bent a little, offered me his hand, and pulled me up with ridiculous ease. Then, to make it worse, he patted my head like I was some toddler who'd tripped on the playground.
"Next time, look where you're running," he said, tone soft but unreadable. His face didn't give me anything no smirk, no mockery. Just… nothing.
And then he walked away, back into the crowd, like it hadn't been anything.
Meanwhile, I stood there, brain rebooting, heart pounding like an idiot over shampoo-commercial-boy.
And somewhere off to the side, I felt it burning into me.
Aaron Rodgers.
His eyes were on me. Not just on me. Piercing, furious, like Alex helping me had just signed my death warrant.
I gulped.
Well. Fantastic.
Aaron's POV
I don't even know why I'm this furious. It's not like she stabbed me or something, but my chest feels like it's on fire. The whole day has been a blur, and now here I am in the game room, trying to distract myself by throwing arrows at the target board.
Bull's-eye. Again.
Didn't help.
Antonio and Ace were lounging behind me, watching like they had nothing better to do. "You're scaring the poor dartboard," Ace muttered. I ignored him.
Then Alex walked in. Just casually, like he owned the place. And before my brain could process, my fist connected with his jaw.
"Damn!" Ace and Antonio shouted at the same time, jumping up.
Alex stumbled back, holding his face. "What the hell, Aaron?!"
My chest heaved. "Why are you helping that lowlife?" I barked.
Alex's eyes narrowed, calm as ever. "I'm not you, Aaron. You know I've never been involved in all that. She stood against you, so what? You're not used to it. Big deal."
I froze. Big deal?
Alex sighed, rubbing his jaw. "I'm your friend, but don't go too extreme with this." He walked past me like nothing happened and sat down on the couch, scrolling through his phone.
Behind me, I heard Ace whistle low. "Woooooaaahhhh… the great Aaron is speechless."
"First time for everything," Antonio added with a smirk.
My blood boiled. Speechless? They thought this was funny?
The plastic cup in my hand didn't survive. I crushed it in one squeeze, water dripping down my knuckles.
Serena's POV
Sarah was practically giggling her lungs out when I finished telling her everything.
I threw my hands in the air. "It's literally my first day at school and somehow I've already made an encounter with the cheerleaders, the so-called big boys, got bullied, and then out of nowhere got pulled up by some nice-looking, refreshing-as-hell,who's also one of the big boys. Great. Totally normal day, right?"
Sarah, with her annoying straight face, just nodded like she was some bored detective in a movie. "Yes, of course. We see that every day. No biggie."
I blinked at her. "Sarah."
She widened her eyes and nodded harder, lips twitching.
That was it.I burst into laughter. "You liar. You so don't see that every day."
She started laughing with me, nudging me with her elbow . "Fine! Okay, no we don't. But seriously, Serena, only you could manage all that in, what, five hours of school? That's like a record."
I groaned, burying my face in the pillow. "I feel like I just stepped into a new world…like some alternate universe where my life is basically a drama series and everyone else already read the script except me."
Sarah gasped, over-dramatic as always. "Yes! The main character has entered."
I playfully nudged her with my elbow. "If I'm the main character then where's my contract? I need to start charging people for front row tickets."
We both cracked up again, and honestly, for a second, all the crazy that happened today didn't feel so heavy.