Sophia's phone never stopped buzzing.
That night, sprawled across her velvet-trimmed bed with Chloe, Amelia, and Isabella lounging around her, she scrolled through the edits fans had made in less than twenty-four hours.
One showed her golden smile against Noah's stone-cold profile, their faces spliced with glittering crowns above their heads. The caption:
"Golden Queen ❣️ Ice King. Opposites attract. #CrownShip"
Another edit looped a slow-motion clip of Noah walking through the academy halls, paired with Sophia flipping her hair in one of her vlogs. The background song was some dreamy pop ballad.
Sophia's lips curved into a satisfied smile. "See? They're doing the work for me."
Amelia giggled, kicking her legs in the air. "You're basically the academy's power couple already."
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Even if he doesn't know it yet."
Isabella tapped her nails against her phone. "And your engagement? Skyrocketed. We're talking five-digit numbers, Soph. You might even get a brand deal out of this."
Sophia tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, I'll get more than a brand deal. I'll get Sinclair."
The girls squealed, but deep inside, Sophia wasn't joking. She meant every word.
Noah Sinclair wasn't just another boy. He was a challenge. The one person in Crown Height who acted like she was just another student. Who refused to fall at her feet like the rest.
And Sophia? She lived for challenges.
---
Across town, Noah's evening was the opposite of glitter and filters.
The Sinclair estate was quiet — too quiet. A sprawling mansion that should've echoed with life felt instead like a museum. His father was still at the company's headquarters, his mother busy hosting some charity gala abroad. Noah had learned to stop expecting warm greetings a long time ago.
He sat at the edge of his bed, scrolling through his tablet.
He didn't mean to look. He swore he didn't. But somehow, the academy gossip page appeared on his screen. And there she was — Sophia — laughing in a thirty-second clip someone had caught earlier. Her eyes sparkling, her voice carrying, her presence undeniable.
The caption under the clip read:
"How long till the Ice King melts? 🔥 #GoldenQueenxIceKing"
Noah exhaled sharply, tossing the tablet onto the bed.
It was ridiculous. Irritating. Infuriating.
And yet… his pulse quickened.
He hated that.
---
The next day at Crown Height, the whispers didn't die down. If anything, they grew louder. Sophia strutted down the hallway, her golden curls bouncing, while her friends trailed behind, recording a vlog segment.
"Day in the life at Crown Height Academy," Chloe narrated dramatically, swinging the camera to capture Sophia's radiant walk. "Golden Queen edition."
"Don't forget the Ice King cameo," Amelia teased, tilting the camera toward where Noah stood by his locker, effortlessly regal even in his silence.
Sophia smirked. "Relax, girls. He'll cameo when he's ready."
Her confidence wasn't fake. She believed in it — believed in herself. If her posts didn't break Noah's walls, her presence eventually would.
Noah looked up just then, catching her gaze.
For a moment, the hallway stilled.
The whispers, the cameras, the phones — they all faded. It was just his ice meeting her gold.
Sophia tilted her head slightly, lips curving in the faintest smirk. She didn't need words. Her look said everything.
And Noah? He forced himself to look away, slamming his locker shut. But the way his hand lingered against the cold metal betrayed him.
Sophia saw it. She always saw it.
---
By lunchtime, the "Golden Queen x Ice King" tag had hit new heights. Students crowded around Sophia's table, begging for selfies, fangirling over her latest vlog upload where she casually dropped a line about "working with someone who doesn't believe in partnerships."
Everyone knew who she meant.
Noah's friends couldn't let it slide either.
"She's got you cornered, man," Ethan laughed, nearly spilling his drink.
Adrian smirked. "Honestly? Just give in. She's gorgeous, she's popular, she's rich. What's the problem?"
Mason shoved his notebook toward Noah, revealing a doodle of a queen tugging on a frozen king's crown. "This is literally you."
Noah sighed, pushing the sketch back. "This is nonsense."
But Leo — quiet, watchful Leo — studied Noah closely before murmuring, "You don't sound convinced."
Noah froze. His grip on his fork tightened.
Because maybe, just maybe… Leo was right.
---
That night, Sophia uploaded another story.
A close-up shot of her smiling, her golden hair spilling across silk sheets, paired with a text overlay:
"Melting ice takes time. But gold always wins in the end. "
Within minutes, the academy's feed exploded.
And somewhere in his silent, echoing room, Noah stared at the glowing screen longer than he should have.
He shut it off.
But the image lingered anyway.
Her smile. Her words. Her unstoppable glow.
For the first time in his life, Noah Sinclair wasn't sure if he wanted to stop her.
Or if he wanted to let himself fall.