Chapter 3 · From Enemies To His Obsession

I held up my phone and said, "I'm really into gaming. Wanna hop on?"

Lucas looked away and mumbled that he was going to dry his hair first.

Before I could even open the game, his voice came from the bathroom. "Hailey, is your hair dryer busted or something?"

I called back, "No way, I just used it yesterday."

I walked toward the doorway, and a crisp, woodsy scent drifted over to me.

Lucas had changed into a white T-shirt, and the whole grown-man energy just rolled off him.

I stole a quick glance at his phone screen and caught a notification from Julian: [Try switching to the clean-cut look. Hailey might be into a new type now.]

He spotted me coming and shoved the phone behind his back.

I reached over, grabbed the hair dryer, and tried to turn it on, but nothing happened.

Then I realized he had plugged it into the wrong outlet.

I told him, "Oh, I forgot to mention. That outlet's dead. Go use the one in the living room, it actually works."

Late that night, I texted my best friend and told her Lucas might like me.

She sent back four voice messages, each a full sixty seconds long.

She laughed. "Hailey, are you hallucinating right now? Since when did you get this funny?

"Lucas likes you. That's honestly the best joke I've heard all year!"

A moment passed.

She said, "Wait. Hailey. Hold on. You're not serious, are you? This isn't some kind of delusion?

"Hailey, you better not make the same mistake you made back in high school."

I fired back with the photo of Lucas' abs.

She replied instantly: [Oh my God, girl, is this actually real?]

On the other side of the screen, my best friend was practically drooling with envy.

The typing bubble popped up and disappeared over and over again. Ten full minutes later, she finally sent one message: [If he pulls the same crap he did in high school, I'm beating his ass.]

She followed it with a smiley face.

I was in the middle of a Wild Rift match, with Yuumi perched on top of Yasuo.

When I read her message, the corner of my mouth curved up, and the hand holding my phone started to tremble.

Yasuo sealed the pentakill, and we took the win.

I rolled my shoulders and looked up at Lucas. "Let me jungle next round."

He glanced at me in surprise, then chuckled and nodded. "A whole year apart and Hailey's already leveled up. Alright, I'll play Yuumi and support you, but you better have my back."

He stretched out and sank into the couch.

I was about to queue up for another match when a party invite popped up from Nina.

She was a schoolmate who had always looked out for me, so I hit accept without a second thought.

The moment Lucas spotted Nina's random username on the screen, he shot upright from the couch. His fingers flew across the phone to pull up the stranger's profile.

His voice came out sharp. "Who's that?"

I kept my eyes on my phone. "A friend."

The match loaded, and I locked in Evelynn. Lucas frowned at my screen.

I shot him a teasing look. "You said you'd play Yuumi, remember? No take-backs."

Lucas picked Yuumi, and Nina locked in Jinx.

Nina typed in team chat: [Hailey, my throat's a little sore, so I'll just type. Since we've got a Yuumi, I'll go Jinx.]

I let out a whoop and slapped Lucas on the shoulder with a grin. "Relax. Both Evelynn and Jinx will have your back this time."

Three minutes into the match, I had already taken down the enemy Lux three times.

Lucas' voice cut through the silence, low and tight. "Is that Jinx player from the student council?"

The question came out of nowhere. His eyes were tinged red.

On his screen, a yellow warning flashed: AFK detected. Disconnected for three minutes.]

I set my phone down. "Why? Why does it matter that I invited him?"

He clenched his jaw. "Can't you tell?"

Couldn't you tell that I like you?

He stared at me, frozen in place.

I held his gaze, but my mind drifted past his face to three years ago.

I saw the boy who lived on the basketball court, the one who had handed back my love letter without a word, and the one who boarded a flight overseas the second graduation ended without ever looking back.

The words slipped out before I could stop them. "Then why did you leave for school abroad? Wasn't it to chase after her?"

Chapter 3

I held up my phone and said, "I'm really into gaming. Wanna hop on?"

Lucas looked away and mumbled that he was going to dry his hair first.

Before I could even open the game, his voice came from the bathroom. "Hailey, is your hair dryer busted or something?"

I called back, "No way, I just used it yesterday."

I walked toward the doorway, and a crisp, woodsy scent drifted over to me.

Lucas had changed into a white T-shirt, and the whole grown-man energy just rolled off him.

I stole a quick glance at his phone screen and caught a notification from Julian: [Try switching to the clean-cut look. Hailey might be into a new type now.]

He spotted me coming and shoved the phone behind his back.

I reached over, grabbed the hair dryer, and tried to turn it on, but nothing happened.

Then I realized he had plugged it into the wrong outlet.

I told him, "Oh, I forgot to mention. That outlet's dead. Go use the one in the living room, it actually works."

Late that night, I texted my best friend and told her Lucas might like me.

She sent back four voice messages, each a full sixty seconds long.

She laughed. "Hailey, are you hallucinating right now? Since when did you get this funny?

"Lucas likes you. That's honestly the best joke I've heard all year!"

A moment passed.

She said, "Wait. Hailey. Hold on. You're not serious, are you? This isn't some kind of delusion?

"Hailey, you better not make the same mistake you made back in high school."

I fired back with the photo of Lucas' abs.

She replied instantly: [Oh my God, girl, is this actually real?]

On the other side of the screen, my best friend was practically drooling with envy.

The typing bubble popped up and disappeared over and over again. Ten full minutes later, she finally sent one message: [If he pulls the same crap he did in high school, I'm beating his ass.]

She followed it with a smiley face.

I was in the middle of a Wild Rift match, with Yuumi perched on top of Yasuo.

When I read her message, the corner of my mouth curved up, and the hand holding my phone started to tremble.

Yasuo sealed the pentakill, and we took the win.

I rolled my shoulders and looked up at Lucas. "Let me jungle next round."

He glanced at me in surprise, then chuckled and nodded. "A whole year apart and Hailey's already leveled up. Alright, I'll play Yuumi and support you, but you better have my back."

He stretched out and sank into the couch.

I was about to queue up for another match when a party invite popped up from Nina.

She was a schoolmate who had always looked out for me, so I hit accept without a second thought.

The moment Lucas spotted Nina's random username on the screen, he shot upright from the couch. His fingers flew across the phone to pull up the stranger's profile.

His voice came out sharp. "Who's that?"

I kept my eyes on my phone. "A friend."

The match loaded, and I locked in Evelynn. Lucas frowned at my screen.

I shot him a teasing look. "You said you'd play Yuumi, remember? No take-backs."

Lucas picked Yuumi, and Nina locked in Jinx.

Nina typed in team chat: [Hailey, my throat's a little sore, so I'll just type. Since we've got a Yuumi, I'll go Jinx.]

I let out a whoop and slapped Lucas on the shoulder with a grin. "Relax. Both Evelynn and Jinx will have your back this time."

Three minutes into the match, I had already taken down the enemy Lux three times.

Lucas' voice cut through the silence, low and tight. "Is that Jinx player from the student council?"

The question came out of nowhere. His eyes were tinged red.

On his screen, a yellow warning flashed: AFK detected. Disconnected for three minutes.]

I set my phone down. "Why? Why does it matter that I invited him?"

He clenched his jaw. "Can't you tell?"

Couldn't you tell that I like you?

He stared at me, frozen in place.

I held his gaze, but my mind drifted past his face to three years ago.

The words slipped out before I could stop them. "Then why did you leave for school abroad? Wasn't it to chase after her?"