"Fight for your fairytale."
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Eve

The roar of the crowd rolled over me in waves, so loud it felt like it was rattling my ribs. The stadium was alive—fans on their feet, waving banners and scarves, their cheers blending into a chaotic wall of sound. The Panthers were dominating, and everyone knew it. Katie, beside me, was shouting so loudly I could barely hear myself think, but my attention wasn't on her or the people around us. My eyes were locked on the field.

On him.

Carson stood near the huddle, his helmet tucked under his arm, his grey eyes scanning the field with sharp precision. He looked calm, confident, completely in control. His wavy brunette hair stuck to his forehead, damp with sweat, and his jersey clung to his broad shoulders, streaked with dirt and effort.

He didn't just play the game, he owned it.

"Wow," Katie said, leaning in close to my ear to be heard over the noise. "You've been staring at him for like... ten straight minutes."

"I'm not staring," I said, pulling my gaze away quickly, though my cheeks burned.

"You are, though," she teased, her grin wide and mischievous. "And honestly? Same. He's kind of impossible not to look at." She leaned back, smirking.

"You've got it bad, Eve."

I tugged at my sleeves, trying to hide my embarrassment. "I'm just watching the game, Katie. Like everyone else."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Sure. Everyone else is watching the game. You're watching Carson. There's a difference."

I opened my mouth to argue, but the crowd erupted before I could get a word out. Carson had just dodged a tackle, spinning away from a defender like it was nothing. In a single, smooth motion, he threw a perfect spiral down the field, and the receiver caught it effortlessly in the end zone.

Touchdown. Panthers.

The stands went wild. People were jumping, screaming, waving their arms in celebration. Katie was on her feet, clapping and cheering louder than anyone around us, and I couldn't help but smile as I stood too. My hands came together in applause, but my eyes were back on him before I even realized it.

Carson wasn't celebrating with his teammates, at least not yet. Instead, he turned toward the stands, his grey eyes searching. And then—like it was the most natural thing in the world—he found me.

Our eyes met, and my heart stuttered.

He smiled.

It wasn't a cocky, self-assured grin like the one he gave his teammates or the press after a win. It was something softer, something that made my chest ache. For a moment, it felt like the noise of the stadium melted away, like it was just the two of us, even with thousands of people between us.

Katie nudged me hard, nearly making me stumble. "Oh my god, he totally saw you."

"No, he didn't," I said quickly, sitting down and trying to act like my heart wasn't racing.

Katie plopped back into her seat beside me, raising an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah, he did. Eve, he smiled right at you. And don't even try to tell me you imagined it, because I saw it too."

I didn't respond, mostly because I didn't trust myself to speak. I wasn't imagining it. Carson had smiled at me, like he wanted me to know he saw me, like he was happy I was here.

But why?

The rest of the game passed in a blur. The Panthers dominated the field, crushing the Wildcats with one touchdown after another. Carson was unstoppable, leading his team with the kind of focus and determination that made it obvious why he was captain.

By the time the final whistle blew, the scoreboard read Panthers 35, Wildcats 21. The crowd exploded into cheers, chants of "Panthers! Panthers!" echoing through the stadium.

Katie turned to me, practically bouncing with excitement. "They won! You have to go congratulate him. This is your chance."

I hesitated, my stomach twisting into nervous knots. "I don't know if I should..."

"Eve," Katie said, exasperated. "He smiled at you. He looked for you. If you don't go down there, you're going to regret it forever."

I glanced toward the field, where the team was gathering to celebrate. Carson stood in the middle of it all, his helmet still tucked under one arm, his hair messy and damp, his grin wide and infectious. He looked so happy, so alive, and for a moment, I let myself imagine walking up to him, telling him how amazing he'd been out there despite everything between us.

"Okay," I said finally, taking a deep breath. "I'll go."

Katie gave me a victorious thumbs-up as I made my way down toward the field. The closer I got, the louder the noise became—teammates shouting, fans cheering, the steady hum of celebration filling the air.

I weaved through the crowd, my heart pounding with every step.

When I finally reached the edge of the field, I saw him again. Carson was standing near the fifty-yard line, his back to me at first, but then he turned. His grey eyes locked onto mine, and for a moment, everything else faded away.

"Eve!"

His voice cut through the noise, clear and unmistakable. He took a step toward me, and my heart leapt into my throat. But before he could get any closer, a group of cheerleaders swarmed him.

A bleached blonde was at the front.

She placed a hand on his arm, leaning in too close, her hair shimmering under the stadium lights. She said something I couldn't hear, her voice drowned out by the crowd, but the way she smiled made my stomach twist. The other girls crowded around him, laughing, their voices loud and eager, all of them vying for his attention.

Carson barely glanced at them, his eyes still on me, but the blonde wasn't letting go. Another girl held up her phone, trying to snap a selfie with him, while the rest of the group chattered and giggled, pulling him back into their orbit.

I felt my chest tighten, jealousy and insecurity crashing over me like a wave.

This was stupid. I shouldn't have come down here. What was I even thinking? Carson didn't need me. He had girls like this—confident, beautiful, perfectly polished girls who fit into his world like they were born to be there.

I turned to leave.

"Eve, wait!" Carson called again, his voice tinged with something almost desperate.

I froze for a second, my feet rooted to the spot. But when I glanced back and saw the blonde still clinging to him, the other girls still laughing and pulling for his attention, I knew I couldn't do it. I couldn't stand there, feeling small and invisible while he tried to fight through the crowd to get to me.

I turned and started walking, my steps quick and purposeful.

"Eve!" His voice was closer this time, but I didn't look back.

By the time I reached the parking lot, my hands were trembling. Katie was waiting by her car, her face falling when she saw me.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice soft with concern.

"Nothing," I said quickly, brushing past her. "Let's just go."

Katie didn't move, her eyes narrowing. "Eve—"

"Drop it, Katie," I snapped, my voice sharper than I intended. "Please."

She didn't argue, she could hear the desperation in my voice, the tiny sliver that escaped. Though I could feel her watching me as we got into the car.

As Katie drove, I stared out the window, my hands clenched tightly in my lap. The image of Carson's face—the way he'd called after me, the way his eyes had searched for mine—played over and over in my mind.

But no matter how badly I wanted to believe he meant it, I couldn't shake the feeling that I didn't belong there. Not in his world.

Not at all.

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Three chapters in three days who dis????

lol just making up for lost time plus I have such a good book idea for after this😈😈😈😈

It's about a couple that's been highly requested😛😛😛