Chapter 19 : Threads
HAYDEN’S POV
For a second after she kissed me, I forgot where I was. The noise, the lights, the entire gym that was watching. All of it blurred. Then reality snapped back in like a rubber band.
The screaming didn’t die down this time. It multiplied as phones shot into the air. Someone yelled, “I KNEW IT!” Another voice shrieked, “NO WAY!” I felt heat crawl up my neck as Lilian slowly pulled back, her fingers still curled slightly against my jaw like she wasn’t sure if she should let go.
Her eyes widened. “Oh my God,” she whispered. I blinked and she blinked and then she stepped back as the kiss had physically burned her.
“I……” She glanced over her shoulder at the chaos unfolding behind her. Glitter cannons were still going off while her teammates were chanting her name. The coach was trying to regain control of the mic. “I’m sorry.”
I finally found my voice. “For what?”
“For that.” She gestured vaguely between us, cheeks flushed. “I didn’t plan that. I just….. You were there and you nodded at me and I won and it just happened.”
The gym was slowly starting to thin out as teachers ushered people toward the exits. The loudest students were still replaying the moment on their screens.
I swallowed. “You don’t have to apologize,” I said.
Her shoulders dropped slightly, but she still looked nervous in a way I’d never seen before, she was not the focused competitor from the mat or the steady girl who commanded a crowd without yelling.
She was just Lilian.
“I shouldn’t have put you on the spot,” she said softly. “I know there’s been… stuff….with Ella and everything. I didn’t want it to look like I was claiming something.”
Something twisted in my chest at that. “You didn’t,” I said. “Claim anything.”
Her gaze held mine, searching.
“I like you,” she admitted, voice quiet but steady. “Not because of tonight or because I won. I just… do. And I don’t want whatever this is to be some dramatic headline. We can take it slow. If you want.”
Take it slow. The words felt strangely grounding.
For months, everything around me had been fast, loud, chaotic. Ella and I had burned hot and public. Stephen had turned everything into some twisted competition while the whole school was always watching.
Taking anything slow sounded… different. “I’d like that,” I said.
The tension left her face completely this time. She smiled but it was not the polished cheer smile. It was a real one.
“Okay,” she said, exhaling. “Good.”
Around us, the gym had mostly emptied now. A few teammates were gathering their bags. Glitter stuck to the floor like it planned to live there forever. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’m hosting something tonight,” she said carefully. “It was already planned, win or lose. It is just a party at Halo.”
I raised a brow. “The club?”
She nodded. “Yeah. My cousin helps manage it. It’s not… insane insane. Just music, people, celebrating. You don’t have to come.”
“I’ll be there,” I said before I could overthink it.
Her smile widened again. “Good,” she said. “Eight-thirty.”
She hesitated for half a second like she wanted to say something else, then leaned in slightly, not to kiss me but just close enough that I could hear her over the remaining noise.
“And Hayden?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for coming.” Then she stepped back and let her teammates drag her into another round of congratulations.
By the time I left the gym, my phone wouldn’t stop vibrating. I could see notifications stacked on top of each other, different group chats exploding with mentions and tags.
I didn’t check them.
I walked back toward the dorms with my hood up, trying to clear my head. The night air felt cooler than I expected.
The word ‘Slow.’ kept replaying in my head. That’s what she’d said. Well, I could do slow.
The dorm building was louder than usual when I stepped inside. The doors were open as music spilled into the hallway. People were already dissecting the competition like it was a championship game.
I reached our common area and stopped.
Marcus was straddling the couch arm, leaning over Stephen, and they were kissing. I felt that same flicker of nausea again, quick and sharp. I looked away instantly.
They separated when they noticed me. Marcus straightened first, smoothing his shirt like nothing had happened. Stephen leaned back casually against the cushions.
“Well,” Marcus said, grinning. “Look who’s back.”
I didn’t respond. I started walking toward the hallway. “Congrats,” Marcus called after me. “Your girl killed it tonight.”
I paused for half a second. “My girl?” I repeated flatly.
He smirked. “The kiss? Come on, man. The whole gym saw that.”
Stephen’s eyes were on me now and if looks could kill it was going to be his. “You don’t deserve her,” he said.
I exhaled slowly. “I'm not doing this with you tonight.”
He stood up. “You used Ella,” he continued. “Drag her through your mess, let her fall on her face in front of everyone, and now you’re just switching sides?”
I felt my jaw tighten. “I didn’t switch anything.”
“You let her take the heat,” he shot back. “And now you get to play a supportive boyfriend? That’s convenient.”
Marcus touched his arm lightly. “Steph…..”
“No,” Stephen snapped, still staring at me. “He doesn’t get to just rewrite history.”
Something in me wanted to fire back and to list every moment Ella had pushed, every argument, and every choice she had made too. She was not just my fling, she was Stephen’s girl when we fucked and right now, thinking about it….it did not sit well with me. I wanted to call her a lap dog but I was tired.
“I’m not arguing with you,” I said evenly. “Believe whatever you want.”
His laugh was sharp. “Oh, I do.” I walked past them. “Jerk,” he muttered under his breath.
I didn’t stop. I didn’t trust myself too because whatever made me reply. It would end in a terrible fight and I would be at the receiving end of the lashing because now, I am not only the guy who fucked his brother’s girl but the guy who had come between two friends.
I shut my bedroom door harder than I meant to. There was silence…….finally. I walked into my room, and I dropped onto my bed, and pulled my phone out.
That was a big mistake.
My notifications were in a war zone. The school’s unofficial gossip account had already posted a clip of the kiss with a beautiful caption.
“CAPTAIN STEALS A WIN AND A BOY?”
Another post read “Hayden really said plot twist.”
My Instagram mentions were worse. Twitter or X or whatever people were calling it now, was a battlefield and half the comments were hyping it up.
“Power couple incoming.”
“They’ve been obvious for weeks.”
The other half?
“Biggest jerk of the season.”
“He used Ella, dumped her, and upgraded.”
“Red flag in human form.”
Facebook had entire threads analyzing my facial expression during the kiss like it was forensic evidence. I tossed my phone onto the mattress.
Jerk of the season.
Maybe I deserved some of that. I hadn’t handled things perfectly. I knew that. But the way people simplified everything into villain and victim made my head pound. I guess that's all life is.