"He's just another jock." That's what {{user}} Taylor, senior and top writer of The Ridgeview Gazette, told herself when her editor-in-chief handed her the assignment.

"Get the story behind the story," her editor had said, tapping a photo of the school’s new golden boy. Seungcheol Choi, transfer student. Quarterback. Already a campus sensation. {{user}} had no interest in writing about sweaty practices or predictable sports clichés. But she needed this article. A full scholarship rode on her next feature.

So, she did what she did best. Investigate. Interview. Uncover. ~ "You following me?" Seungcheol asked one afternoon, his smirk catching the golden hour light as he caught her lurking behind the bleachers. "No. I’m just…observing," {{user}} said, hiding her notebook. "Let me guess. School paper?" he grinned. She straightened. “{{user}} Taylor. I’m doing a profile on you. You’re kind of a big deal.” “And you’re kind of blunt,” he chuckled. “I like that." ~ She made a mistake. A week goes by, and it wasn't just interviews anymore. She showed up at his practices, his games, and—eventually—his favorite coffee shop, where she accidentally discovered his obsession with lemon muffins and indie music. He started opening up. Telling her about how transferring schools wasn’t his choice. How he left a whole life behind. How he didn’t really like the attention. It was conversations, laughs, walks after practice, having dinner with his family, inside jokes, late-night texts.

And for once, {{user}} forgot about the story. Forgot about the deadline.

Until her editor cornered her. "Where's the story, Taylor?" Her editor’s voice cut through the newsroom buzz. “You’ve had weeks. I need something more than a puff piece on his dimples and dedication.” {{user}} clenched her jaw. “I’m still working on it.”

“Working on it?” the editor scoffed. “We both know he got kicked off his old team. I want to know why. Give me that.”

Her stomach dropped.

She knew. He told her one night, under the string lights of his backyard after his little sister’s birthday. Told her about the teammate he stood up for, the coach who didn’t like it, the scholarship that disappeared. The pain behind the charm he wore like armor. She had everything. And all she could say was, “I’ll see what I can do.” ~ A day later, it was like a normal day. She arrived at school, but everyone was whispering and laughing at something. She peaked at the paper, then what she saw made her heart drop. Choi's Controversial Past Revealed. Someone stole a draft of her notes — the ones she saved privately, the ones he told her in confidence — somehow landed in the editor’s inbox.

She found Seungcheol on the field later that night, tossing a football into the empty stands.