Chapter 2 Arrogant jerk.

Keisha's POV

The bus dropped me off at the corner of Maple and Fifth. I could have walked the extra block to the side entrance of school, the quiet one near the art rooms, where nobody ever hung out, but I was already late.

So I took the front doors. Big mistake.

The moment I pushed through, the noise hit me. Lockers slamming, kids laughing…the usual morning chaos.

Then…

“There she is.”

The whisper cut through everything, but I kept walking.

There she is… Look at her.

A group of girls by the water fountain went silent as I passed, then the whispers started again.

“Yuck. What does he even see in her?”

“Clearly he doesn't have taste.”

My jaw clenched so tight I thought my teeth might crack. I made it halfway down the main hallway before they stopped me. Three boys in basketball jerseys. They were tall and smirking. The one in front…Darius, stepped right into my path like he owned the floor.

"Well, well, well."

He tilted his head, grinning.

"If it isn't Cole Rayner's newest."

"Move." My voice was flat.

"Damn, Keisha." He didn't move. "Why didn't you just come to us? You interviewed us last month, remember? We didn't demand any price from you."

His friends laughed. That low, nasty kind of laugh that made my skin crawl.

"We could've helped you out," Darius continued, dragging his eyes over me like I was something on a menu.

"Didn't know you were available like that."

"Get the hell out of my sight."

"Or else what, huh?" He stepped closer. "What are you gonna do, Keisha? Call your boyfriend?"

I opened my mouth… And then somebody moved fast.

A shoulder slammed hard into Darius's chest. He stumbled back into his friends, hit the lockers with a loud bang, and his face twisted up ready to swing…

"Try it."

That voice.

No.

Cole Rayner stood between us. His back was to me but I could see his shoulders. It was wide under that stupid jacket.

"I dare you," Cole said quietly. "Throw a punch and see what happens."

Darius's eyes went wide. He looked at Cole, then at me and then back at Cole.

"Man, we were just…"

"You were just leaving." Cole's voice was ice. "And if I ever see you near her again? If I even hear that you looked at her wrong?"

He took one step forward and Darius took two steps back.

"Come on," Darius muttered to his friends. "She's not worth it anyway."

They disappeared into the crowd. Cole stood there for a moment, watching them go, then he turned around.

His eyes landed on me.

"You okay?"

I blinked at him. This was the same boy who'd slammed into me on the stairs, who'd broken my camera and insulted me that I needed glasses and to watch where I was going. And now he was asking if I was okay?

"What the hell," I whispered.

"Come on." He grabbed my hand.

"Wait…what are you…"

He was already pulling me down the hallway. Past the lockers, past the crowd of people who were definitely staring. I should have yanked my hand back or screamed. I should have done something, but my brain wasn't working.

He pulled me into the empty hallway near the auditorium. The one nobody used anymore. It was just us and the echo of our footsteps. I yanked my hand free so hard I almost fell backward.

"What the fuck did you do ?"

He leaned against the wall, crossed his arms and looked at me like I was entertaining.

"Saving you."

A laugh ripped out of my throat.

“Saving me?” I jabbed my finger against his chest. “Who asked you to save me? Why the hell am I even involved in whatever mess you created?”

His expression hardened instantly.

“Me?” he repeated.

“Yes, you!”

He laughed once, short and cold.

“You really want to do this right now, journalism girl?”

I blinked. “What?”

“You write one story about me and suddenly my entire relationship explodes all over campus.” His eyes narrowed. “Then a week later, somehow there's another post connecting us?”

I stared at him.

“You seriously think I did that?”

“What exactly am I supposed to think?” he shot back. “You wanted attention, congratulations. You got it. You saw my name getting attention and you wanted some for yourself. Your career is going nowhere, so you decided to use me to make it relevant.”

My mouth fell open.

“You arrogant asshole.” I shoved his chest again. “I did not write that article.”

“Your name was on it.”

“Because somebody in the editorial screwed up!”

“Such a convenient excuse.”

“Oh my God.” I actually laughed in disbelief. “You really think I care enough about your pathetic relationship drama to ruin your life?”

“You already did.”

That hit harder than I expected. For one second, neither of us spoke.

Then anger rushed back so fast it burned.

“You know what?” I snapped. “I don't even like hockey players. You're all arrogant, entitled and allergic to basic human decency.”

“Funny,” he said coldly. “Because from where I’m standing, this looks a lot like obsession.”

“Obsession?” I repeated. “You literally knocked me down a staircase!”

“And you threw your bag at me.”

“You broke my camera!”

Can you just shut the hell up for once and think.” He snapped. “There's too much at stake."

"Your stake. Not mine."

He pushed off the wall and took one step toward me. I didn't back up, even though I should have.

"Your name is in that post too," he said quietly. "Your face and your reputation. You think I'm the only one who looks bad in this?"

My stomach dropped.

"I've seen the comments," he continued. "I've seen what they're saying about you. About how you probably asked for it, how you're just another…"

"Stop." My voice cracked.

A chill slid down my spine. I looked away, suddenly feeling sick again.

"This could ruin everything for me."

Cole stared at me for a second like he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

"You don't really have anything to lose like I do."

I blinked. "What?"

“I've got NHL scouts watching me." His voice sharpened. "Do you understand that? Scouts, recruiters, brand people. One bad scandal and suddenly I'm not the disciplined captain anymore, I'm some reckless idiot sleeping around with reporters."

I stared at him.

"They've been tracking me since sophomore year," he continued, frustration bleeding into his voice now. "Sponsors care about image, coaches care about image, everybody does. And now my name is attached to some trashy rumor with a fake sex tape.”

I stared at him and then laughed in disbelief.

"Wow."

"What?"

"Did you actually just say that out loud?"

He frowned like I was the confusing one.

"What?"

"You just implied that your future is more important than mine."

"So?"

"Ohh my God. Who the hell are you?"

He dragged a hand through his hair, already looking irritated.

"Damnit. Can you stop turning this into a feelings discussion." His eyes met mine again. "We have bigger problems right now.”

I folded my arms. "You are unbelievable."

"And you're whining over insignificant things."

My mouth fell open.

"Insignificant?" I repeated. "You think this is insignificant? People think I…”

My phone buzzed in my hand. I stopped talking. Cole’s phone buzzed at the exact same time. The sound cut through the hallway like a gunshot.

We both stopped slowly, I looked down. It was Tom, my editor.

Ohh God.

Across from me, Cole exhaled sharply, already checking his screen.

“Coach,” he muttered.

For a second, neither of us moved. The air between us changed. Cole’s expression shifted first, all the arrogance draining into something colder.

“Of course,” he said under his breath.

“What is it?” I asked, suddenly uneasy.

He didn’t answer immediately. He just looked at his phone again like he already knew this wasn’t good.

Then he said, flatly:

“This just went beyond gossip.”

My grip tightened on my phone. “What do you mean?”

He finally looked at me.

“PR,” he said simply. “Control damage.”

My heart sank a little further.

“Coach doesn’t call unless sponsors or scouts are involved,” he added. “This is already spreading beyond school.”

My mouth went dry.

“So what,” I whispered, “now I’m officially a problem too?”

Cole didn’t respond to that. Instead, he straightened up.

“We’ll deal with it.”

“We?” I echoed immediately. “There is no ‘we.’”

But he was already moving toward the hallway exit.

“Don’t go anywhere,” he said over his shoulder.

I scoffed. “Excuse me?”

He paused, just for a second, not turning fully back.

“Just don’t disappear,” he said, more controlled now. “This is bigger than you think.”

Then he walked out, and I stood there alone, my phone still buzzing in my hand, and for the first time since this whole thing started… I had no idea I was inside a problem I didn’t create.