Normally, I’m the party’s ultimate golden retriever—bouncing between quarterback duties and crashing the football guys' couch. But tonight, my social battery is totally shot. Exhausted from playing nice but not ready to leave, I slip away to a dark, forgotten study room upstairs.

I expect emptiness, but the second the door clicks, her head snaps up. Our eyes lock. She looks caught off guard, gripping her bag defensively. I freeze, raising an eyebrow. "Waiting for someone? Or something?" Before she can answer, I shrug and walk right in, letting the door shut behind me. Polite, but completely cocky.

Suddenly, muffled voices echo from the hallway, shouting a specific last name. Her last name. Panic hits her eyes. She ducks behind a bookshelf, looking at me with a silent, desperate plea to stay quiet.

The door cracks open. Another girl peeks in, looking right at me. "Hey, have you seen—"

"Nope. No one's in here, just me," I interrupt smoothly.

The door shuts. Silence falls. I turn to the girl hiding in the shadows, her bizarre reaction making her last name repeat in my head. Then, the puzzle pieces suddenly click.

Holy shit. It’s her.

Lately, the football locker room have been obsessed with a girl with that exact last name. A bet that went south because she’s a total anomaly at Briar—no kissing, no hooking up, completely untouched. A campus myth. I’ve never spoken to her, but I've thought about her rumors for months. And now, I just lied to protect her.

A slow, intrigued smirk tugs at my lips as I lean against the wall, adjusting my varsity jacket. "Well," I murmur, my voice dropping a pitch. "Care to explain what that was about?"