I adjusted the hem of my sweater, the soft fabric brushing against my fingertips, and grabbed my bag. I had been a nervous wreck the entire afternoon. Even then, standing in the foyer of the Hockey House, my stomach bubbled. While we had been away, Eden had invited me to hang out with a couple of the Falcon's girlfriends. I had tried to remind her that Maverick and I weren't anything to write home about, but Eden had been persistent. Her bubbly excitement was contagious as she explained their weekly ritual of getting together with junk food and wine while watching trash TV.

By the end of her pitch I had been sold. There was a small part of me that longed for that connection again––the one I had broken when I first started dating Miles. The pressure for this night to go well weighed on my shoulders.

Arms crossed, I turned away from the window by the front door with a sigh. Eden should be here soon. Oliver observed me with green tea eyes from his spot on the carpet, his tail flicking lazily as if judging me for leaving.

"I won't be gone long," I promised him, slipping into my boots.

To be honest, I didn't know what time the other girls would be dropping me off at home. It had been a long time since I had hung out with a group of friends outside of class.

I was squatting, scratching Oliver behind the ear when the door swung open with a loud bang. For a moment, I thought the whole thing had gone off its hinges. Maverick barged in, his face pinched in rage. He didn't even glance at me as he stomped past, his boots leaving faint wet prints on the floor.

"Maverick?" I called before I could stop myself. Maybe putting myself in the line of fire wasn't a good idea. "What's wrong?"

Maverick froze inches from the staircase. With tension in his shoulders he snapped his head towards me. "You won't have to worry about your ex getting me kicked off the team anymore," he ground out in a low voice.

Miles no longer being a problem should have been a good thing, but Maverick wasn't necessarily jumping for joy. Something had gone wrong with the team. Horribly wrong.

My brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

But he didn't answer. He just shook his head, muttering something under his breath as he stormed up the oak steps.

"Maverick!" I tried, my heart twisting with worry.

His door slammed a second later.

Before I could even consider following him, the sound of a car horn outside broke through the tension. Eden's voice shouted from the driveway, the front door still wide open. "Celeste! Come on, we're late!"

I hesitated, glancing between the second floor and the front door. But another honk forced my decision, and I grabbed my bag, stepping outside, closing the door behind me. I tried to fix the expression on my face and flashed both girls a grin as I made my way down the driveway. Clearly, Maverick wasn't in the mood to talk about what might have happened. I had to give him some time to cool down, then maybe––maybe––I could approach him about it again. We were friends, but I wasn't a miracle worker. He would open up to me when he was ready.

At least, that's what I told myself as I slid into Ella's back seat. It made me feel a little bit better about the fact that I left him alone.

There wasn't much time for me to wallow. It was a quick ten minute car ride to campus. The apartment building was much more modern than the rest of the architecture at Fenton. Expansive windows allowed for natural lighting, and the neutral interior was every sad-beige-mom's dream. It was definitely more visually appealing than the patch-work aesthetic of where I was currently living. But considering I was living there for free, I wasn't going to be picky.

The mouth-watering fragrance of fresh bread danced down the hallway as we approached Lydia's apartment. In the back of my mind I wondered if I should have brought something along as a thank-you for hosting. This was my first time meeting Lydia and there was a strong desire to make a good impression.

We made our way to the end of the hall, Eden skipped ahead and knocked on the door. By the time we reached her the door was creaking open.

"Ready to give our two-cents about other people's love-lives?" An airy voice entered the hall.

Standing in the doorway was a blonde with big, cascading curls that rolled down her shoulders. The cream set she was wearing made her sapphire eyes pop. That coupled with the freckles across her nose made me question if she was real or a life-sized doll.

Eden beamed up at the person who answered the door. "It's what I live for."

Lydia ushered us inside with an infectious smile. When her gaze landed on me we exchanged a quick round of introductions.

"Dinner's almost here," she announced, gesturing towards the living room. "I put out a charcuterie board for us to snack on while we wait."

We settled in the cozy living room that flowed out of the open-concept kitchen. The window that took the length of the entire west wall of the apartment was covered by a sheer drape that allowed us to take in the setting sun. The three of us lounged about on the couches with Eden opting to sit on the carpeted floor in front of the coffee table. The chatter of conversation mixed with the faint hum of a reality TV show playing in the background. Everything seemed to be going great.

Eden, however, seemed distracted. She kept glancing at her phone, her fingers flying across the screen between bites.

Ella had taken notice too, because she poked Eden's shoulder with her toe before asking if everything was alright.

"Sorry," she said, placing her phone down next to her, face down. "McKinley's been texting me about what happened with Maverick."

My stomach dropped, and I twisted my body, focusing on her. "He came home in a horrible mood just before I left. What happened?"

Eden hesitated, biting her lip before sighing. "Apparently, there's some drama with his ex booty call. Mila? McKinley didn't give me all the details, but..." She trailed off, her thumb scrolling on her phone. "Here, look at this."

She passed her phone to me, and my heart sank as I watched a grainy video of Maverick standing on a porch, his voice raised and his movements agitated. It was an aerial view, as if he was being filmed from a window of whoever's house he was at. He was pounding on the door, shouting as Booker and Cole came into view.

"Who's house is this?" I asked, trying to identify the location based off of the context clues in the view. But I was coming up short.

"Mila's," Eden muttered as I gave her phone back. "He showed up at her place after practice pissed the fuck off and demanding that she speak to him. Hell, I would have probably done the same thing."

I shook my head, not understanding why Maverick would go there so fired up in the first place. "But why? What did she do?"

She ran a hand through her black hair, a dark look taking over her face. "She got him kicked off the team," she explained.

The lines in my forehead creased. "How did she manage to do that?"

There was a long pause then. It was as though time had stopped.

"She's accusing him of assault."

A collective gasp echoed around the room. I physically recoiled.

"There's no way," I whispered, my voice shaking. "Maverick wouldn't do that."

He wasn't capable of such an evil act. Was he?

No.

This was the same Maverick that refused to do anything without my verbal consent. The same man who sat and watched a scary movie with me so that I wouldn't be afraid. There was no way he had the ability to do this to someone. Especially someone he considered a friend. I wanted to smack myself for even considering any other option.

Eden gave me a sympathetic look. "I figured you'd say that. But you know how this kind of thing goes. People see something like this, and they run with it. And now that this video has been circulating, people are saying that he's trying to scare her into silence."

Ella frowned into her glass of wine. "I don't know Maverick well, but from a social standpoint, people are going to side with Mila until a court of law proves otherwise. That's just how society is."

I shook my head, my thoughts racing. "Maverick wouldn't do that. He's not capable of it. He's... he's always been careful. Verbal. When we—" I stopped, realizing I'd said too much, but Eden and Ella were already honed in.

"When you what?" Eden asked, her voice gentle but curious.

Heat rose to my cheeks, and I looked away. "When we've spent time together. He always asks permission. He's never pushed. He's not... like that."

The room fell silent, the weight of the conversation settling over us. I didn't want to discount anyone's experience. There was a chance that Maverick was different with me or that there was an outlier I wasn't aware of. But I knew regardless of how I felt, I couldn't form a proper conclusion until I spoke to him.

Eden's blue eyes were thoughtful. "I believe you. But if this sticks, Celeste... it could ruin him. And even if it doesn't, the damage to his reputation could already be done."

_ _ _ _ _

author's note:

Things are looking pretty dark right now... not going to lie. I sort of feel like I've written myself into a corner lol tune in next week to discover how I fix it!

Also, a little reminder (because I've been thinking about this all week); life is too short to be spending all your time doing something you don't love. Make every moment count.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah,  and Best Holiday Wishes!

P.S. Breaking The Rules is posted in its complete and uncensored glory over on Ream for anyone who'd like to binge over their time off (: