Obsessed With The Pretty Winger

- Crystal’s POV -

"You have to help me, or our whole family will go bankrupt. You don't want to see our parents digging through trash on the street, right?"

I clicked my tongue, remembering my twin brother Christopher's words. Looking at the long road ahead that I had to travel alone, I wanted to drink a fizzy drink to feel less annoyed. But the storage box in the passenger seat was empty. Frustrated, I pushed it away.

I looked in the rearview mirror. The back of the car was packed with stuff. What annoyed me most was the big bag of Chris’s hockey gear. We both worked so hard to get into Briarcliff University, but Chris broke his leg right before the school year started. How could he join the Briarcliff Titans hockey team now? How could he get the scholarship to help pay off our family’s huge debt?

A sudden debt had fallen on my family after my father’s business failed. The only way to pay it off was for one of us to get a scholarship. We put all our hopes in Chris’s hockey talent, but fate played a trick on us again.

Seeing a grocery store in the distance, I quickly turned the wheel. I gripped the steering wheel tightly, took a deep breath, put on my sunglasses, hat, and face mask, and walked inside. Not far away, a luxury car parked next to mine. I took a few steps and couldn't help but look at it. Inside was a man dressed like a private driver, and a man in black stood guard at the door. They stared intently inside the store, which made me shiver.

When I pushed the door open, a bell chimed. The owner just looked up for a second and went back to his work. I looked around. Besides me, there was a tall guy at the back of the store by the drink fridges.

I grabbed a pair of scissors, then walked over to the drink aisle and picked a few cans of energy drinks to stay awake for the rest of the drive. I glanced at the guy beside me. I only reached his chest, and I saw him picking up one beer can after another. Those cheap cans didn't even cost one-tenth of the shirt he was wearing, so I didn't understand why he was struggling to choose. I picked up a can and handed it to him.

"Take this one. It tastes better."

He said in a low, cold voice, "But I don't like the color."

I frowned. "Are you picking beer based on color?"

That was when I looked up at his face. Even through my dark sunglasses, I had to admit he was very attractive. He had a sharp jawline, a straight nose, and manly cheekbones.

"I’ve never drunk these before. Can't I choose by color?" He stared at the beer cans with a serious look.

I didn't want to say anything else, so I quickly picked a few more items to leave. I went to the cashier. While checking me out, the owner said, "That guy has been standing there picking drinks for over half an hour. Is it really that hard? I thought he dragged you along to help him choose for another hour."

I shrugged. "Maybe he has never seen such cheap drinks before."

The owner frowned, but when he looked outside, he nodded. "Yeah, maybe that's true."

"Can I use your restroom?" I waved my hand and walked deeper into the store. Passing by the guy, I saw him pick up a few more cans of the same brand I gave him. I smiled slightly.

I locked the restroom door and set my bag aside. I slowly took off my sunglasses, mask, and hat. My long, cream-brown hair fell down to my waist. I had grown it for nearly four years. I held the scissors, my hand shaking as if it wanted to stop me. I squeezed my eyes shut, gathered all my courage, and cut off my long hair. When I looked in the mirror again, my hair was uneven, and my eyes were red. I hated it, but I had to do this for my family.

I tried to fix my hair, but it still looked terrible. Giving up, I gathered the cut hair into my bag. Covering my face again, I walked out of the store. The luxury car and the guy were already gone.

After a few more hours of driving, I arrived in the town of Frostlake, Massachusetts. It had tall skyscrapers and busy streets, completely different from the quiet area where I used to live. I pulled into a famous salon I found online. Holding my cut hair, I went inside to sell it for extra living money. The salon owner even styled my hair for free.

I followed the address and stopped at a mid-range apartment building. I looked up from the bottom, then leaned against the door and looked down at my worn-out shoes. After a while, as the sky turned orange, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

I looked at the name on the screen and answered happily, "Hello..."

Before I could say anything else, Clara spoke rapidly on the other end: "Why are you standing down there for so long? Aren't you going to stay with me?"

I let out a forced laugh. "No, I'm coming up now. My legs were tired, so I just stood here for a bit."

"Is that so?"

I heard Clara's voice close by and immediately looked up. Seeing her standing in front of me, I scratched my head awkwardly.

Clara put her phone in her pocket, crossed her arms, and glared at me. "I came down to help you carry your stuff up. Don't even think about leaving me to live alone."

"I'm not leaving you," I said softly, not daring to look into her eyes.

Clara and I had been best friends since childhood. Even after her family moved to Massachusetts, we kept in touch. When she heard I got into Briarcliff University, she was thrilled and asked me to move in with her. But I didn't want to be a burden.

After moving my stuff into her apartment, I hesitated and said, "I'll just stay with you for a few days, then I'll move into the dorms."

"Why the dorms? Staying here is much more comfortable."

I still didn't know how to explain. Suddenly, Clara pulled off my hat. She frowned and raised her voice, "Why did you cut your hair short? You love long hair!"

"Well... I..." I stammered.

"Are you trying to hide things from me now? Do you even consider me your friend?" Clara lowered her eyes, her lips turning down.

I couldn't bear to see her sad, so I told her everything: my family's debt, my brother's broken leg, and how I was posing as him to attend school.

"What was your family thinking, letting you go instead of your brother? Do you know how hard it is to get into the Briarcliff hockey team? Everyone on that team is huge!" Clara said quickly, her eyes wide with shock.

I rubbed my temples and frowned slightly. "No matter how hard it is, I have to try. This is the only way my family can live in peace."

"It's okay, I'll help you. First, I'll take you to buy some things so you can disguise yourself better."

Clara drove me to the shopping mall. She was ready to spend money on chest binders and protective padding for me in case I made the team. Seeing the cart full of items, I had to stop her before she bought the whole mall.

The next morning, I looked in the mirror at my tightly bound chest and the protective padding all over my body. I took a deep breath to motivate myself.

Time to go. I must join the Briarcliff Titans hockey team no matter what.

However, I ran into trouble in the very first round. Triston looked at my info sheet, scanned me from head to toe, and tossed my paper aside:

"Sorry, you don't meet the requirements for my team."