Chapter 3 The Ultimatum - Fake Dating The Hockey Captain

~Authors POV~

"Is that her? The one who slapped Ethan Carter's car with her face?"

Gabriella heard the whisper immediately she walked through the school gate the next morning. She kept her eyes forward and her chin up, but her stomach was already twisting into knots.

By the time she got to her locker, her phone wouldn't stop buzzing. She finally looked down and saw it. The video. Someone had posted the whole thing online, the crash, the argument, the slap, all of it, and it already had thousands of views.

People were laughing in the comments. Some were calling her names she didn't even want to repeat in her head. Someone had even given her a nickname: "Diner Girl."

She shoved her phone into her bag and walked into class with her head held high, even though everything inside her wanted to turn around and run.

It didn't help.

The moment she sat down, she felt every eye in the room turn toward her. Whispers followed, quiet at first, then louder, like nobody even cared if she heard them.

"That's her."

"I heard Vanessa's dad is trying to get her kicked out."

A crumpled piece of paper landed on her desk. Gabriella didn't even look up. She just brushed it onto the floor and kept staring straight ahead.

Nobody sat near her. Not on purpose, exactly, but nobody wanted to be seen talking to the girl who was apparently public enemy number one. By lunchtime, she was sitting completely alone at the end of a long table, picking at food she didn't even want to eat anymore.

That's when someone sat down across from her.

Gabriella looked up, expecting more trouble. Instead, she found a girl with curly hair and sharp eyes, holding a notebook like it was glued to her hand.

"You're either really brave or really stupid," the girl said, setting her tray down. "Slapping back at Vanessa Monroe with words instead of your hands? That takes guts."

"I didn't slap anyone," Gabriella said carefully. "She slapped me."

"I know. I watched the video like everyone else." The girl stuck out her hand. "Emma Hayes. I run the school newspaper."

Gabriella shook her hand slowly, still unsure if this was some kind of trap. "Gabriella Walker."

"I know who you are," Emma said. "Everyone does now."

Gabriella sighed and looked down at her tray. "Great."

"Look, I'm not here to make fun of you," Emma said, leaning forward a little. "I just think you should know what you're dealing with. Vanessa's dad works for the Carters. Like, closely. If she wants you gone, she has the power to make it happen."

"She already tried," Gabriella muttered. "I got a notice last night. My scholarship is under review."

Emma's eyes widened. "Already? That's fast, even for her."

"Tell me about it."

"Listen," Emma said, lowering her voice. "Crossing the Carter family isn't just risky. It's basically social suicide around here. People who go against them either get pushed out or they disappear from the spotlight completely. I'm not saying that to scare you. I'm saying it because somebody should warn you."

Gabriella's jaw tightened. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"I believe you," Emma said simply. "But being right doesn't always matter when the people you're up against own half the city."

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Emma smiled, just slightly. "But hey, if you ever need someone in your corner, I'm pretty good at digging up information nobody wants found."

Gabriella looked at her for a long second, surprised by how easily this girl had decided to sit with her when nobody else would. "Why would you help me?"

Emma shrugged. "Because somebody slapped you in front of half the school and you didn't even cry. That's the kind of person worth knowing."

For the first time since the crash, Gabriella felt something close to a smile tug at her lips.

By the end of the day, Gabriella's stomach was in knots again, but for a different reason.

The principal's office.

She had never been called there before, not once in her entire time at Saint Joseph. Her grades were always perfect. Her record was always clean. But none of that mattered now.

She knocked on the door, her hands trembling slightly.

"Come in," a voice called.

Gabriella stepped inside, expecting the worst. Maybe a letter telling her to pack her things. Maybe security is waiting to walk her out.

What she didn't expect was Ethan, slouched in one of the leather chairs across from the principal's desk, looking like he would rather be anywhere else on earth.

"You," Gabriella said before she could stop herself.

"Me," Ethan said flatly, not even bothering to sit up straight.

"Miss Walker, please sit," the principal said, gesturing to the empty chair beside Ethan.

Gabriella sat down stiffly, keeping as much distance between them as the small space allowed.

The principal folded his hands on his desk. "I'm sure you both know why you're here."

"My scholarship," Gabriella said quietly.

"Partly, yes." The principal turned his attention to Ethan. "And Mr. Carter's academic situation."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Here we go."

"Mr. Carter's grades," the principal continued, ignoring him completely, "have dropped so low that he is at risk of being pulled from the hockey team entirely. As I'm sure you both understand, Saint Joseph cannot afford to lose its star player right before championship season."

Gabriella blinked. "What does that have to do with me?"

The principal looked at her directly. "Everything."

Ethan finally sat up, glaring at the man across the desk. "Wait. You're not seriously suggesting…"

"I am," the principal said firmly. "Miss Walker has the highest grades in this school. Mr. Carter needs urgent academic help, or the school risks losing both its reputation and its biggest sports scholarship donors."

Gabriella's heart was pounding so hard she could hear it clearly in her ears. "You want me to tutor him?"

"I want you to save this school a lot of trouble," the principal said. "And in return, I am willing to make your little incident yesterday disappear completely. No suspension. No review. Your scholarship stays exactly where it is."

Gabriella's mouth fell open. "That's blackmail."

"That's an opportunity," the principal corrected calmly. "One I suggest you take seriously."

Ethan crossed his arms, clearly just as unhappy as she was. "I don't need a tutor. Especially not her."

"Excuse me?" Gabriella turned to glare at him.

"No offense," Ethan said, not sounding sorry at all, "but I don't have time to sit around being lectured by someone who works at a diner."

Gabriella's hands curled into fists on her lap. "And I don't have time to babysit a spoiled rich boy who can't even keep his grades up despite having every tutor money could buy."

"Enough," the principal said sharply, raising a hand between them. "This isn't optional. Either you both agree to this arrangement, or Mr. Carter loses his spot on the team, and Miss Walker loses her scholarship. The choice is yours. But I need an answer by tomorrow morning."

Silence fell over the room.

Gabriella stared at the principal, her mind racing.

Losing her scholarship meant losing everything. Her future, her father's hope. Everything she had worked so hard for.

But tutoring Ethan Carter? Spending hours with the boy whose family had humiliated her in public, whose girlfriend had slapped her across the face?

She looked over at Ethan, who was staring right back at her with the same look of disbelief and frustration.

"Fine," Gabriella said finally, her voice steady even though her heart was racing. "I'll do it."

Ethan's eyes widened slightly. "Wait, what?"

"You heard me," Gabriella said, standing up from her chair. "I'll tutor you. But don't think for one second this means we're friends."

Ethan stood up too, towering over her, his jaw tight. "Trust me, I wasn't planning on it."

"Good."

They stared at each other, neither one backing down.

Then Ethan leaned in slightly, his voice low enough that only she could hear. "Just so you know, Walker. I don't lose. Not at hockey, and not at whatever game you think you're playing."

Gabriella didn't flinch. She stepped closer instead, her eyes locked on his. "Funny. Because from where I'm standing, you're the one who needs saving."