CHASING HALFTIME

Chapter 1: Just another face in the crowd

Lexi Carter was the kind of girl people forgot existed the moment she left the room.

Not in a sad, tragic way—at least, not to her. She wasn’t some bullied outcast or a secret genius waiting to be discovered. She was just… normal. Average grades, average looks, average life. A background character in the grand production that was Ridgewood High.

She had three best friends:

Madison the social introvert, could be popular because she's a cheerleader but doesn't want to.

Mia Delgado, the no-filter, loudmouth artist who somehow managed to be both effortlessly cool and completely chaotic at the same time.

Ryan Patel, the self-proclaimed “nerd with style” who spent most of his free time hacking into the school’s grading system (not to change grades, just to prove he could).

The four of them existed in the middle ground—not losers, but definitely not part of the elite social circles. They were the people you borrowed a pencil from in class but never thought about after the bell rang.

At Ridgewood High, the social hierarchy was a well-oiled machine:

Jace Callahan was the untouchable bad boy quarterback—cocky, talented, and always one wrong move away from being expelled.

Savannah Monroe ruled the school as the cheer captain, with perfect hair, perfect grades, and a reputation for making people’s lives hell if they crossed her.

Then there was the invisible crowd, where Lexi and her friends comfortably resided.

Most students knew each other by association, but Lexi? She could sit next to someone in three different classes, and they’d still struggle to remember her name. And she was okay with that.

Until the day everything changed.

Lexi Carter: The Invisible Girl

Lexi Carter’s mornings were painfully predictable. She walked into Ridgewood High unnoticed, coffee in hand, earbuds blasting her favorite playlist—a mix of indie bands no one at this school had ever heard of.

Her first stop was her locker, where she met Mia and Ryan, her two out of three lifelines in this chaotic teenage wasteland. Madison was probably with the cheer group somewhere.

Mia Delgado, in ripped jeans and a paint-stained hoodie, was already ranting about how her art teacher “didn’t understand creative freedom.”

Ryan Patel, effortlessly stylish in his designer sneakers, was more interested in debating whether today was the day he finally hacked the school’s WiFi.

“Lex, remind me again why we come here?” Mia groaned, shoving a sketchbook into her backpack.

“Because education is the foundation of our future?” Lexi replied with a smirk.

Ryan snorted. “More like a never-ending reality show where we’re just background extras.”

And that was how their day began—blending into the background, unseen, unheard, and totally fine with it.

But this was the last normal morning Lexi would have for a long time.

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Jace Callahan: The Bad Boy Quarterback

Jace Callahan strolled into school late, as usual. His leather jacket slung over his football jersey, his backpack hanging lazily off one shoulder.

He didn’t care about the stares. He didn’t care about the whispers.

He was Jace Callahan—quarterback, rule breaker, and the guy teachers tolerated because he won games.

“Dude, Coach is pissed,” his teammate, Blake, muttered as they walked toward the locker room.

Jace smirked. “When isn’t he?”

Skipping practice, talking back to teachers, getting into fights—trouble followed Jace like a shadow. He wasn’t trying to be a rebel. He just didn’t care enough to follow the rules.

The only thing he cared about? Football. It was the one thing he was actually good at. Everything else—grades, authority, expectations—was just noise.

Well, football and—

“Jace!”

He barely had time to react before Savannah Monroe wrapped her arms around him, smiling like she owned him.

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Savannah Monroe: The Cheer Captain

Savannah Monroe was Ridgewood High royalty. Perfect hair, perfect nails, perfect reputation—at least on the surface.

Being cheer captain wasn’t just a title, it was a throne. And Savannah knew how to keep her crown.

She smiled in public, ruled in private, and made sure everyone knew exactly where they stood in the social hierarchy.

And Jace?

Jace was hers. Whether he liked it or not.

“Miss me?” she purred, clinging to his arm.

He sighed. “Savannah, we’re not—”

“We’re not what?” Her nails dug into his sleeve. “Together? Oh, babe. We both know that doesn’t mean a thing.”

Jace rolled his eyes, but he didn’t push her away. He never did. Savannah always got what she wanted—and she wasn’t about to lose her star quarterback to some nobody.

Jace Callahan: The Bad Boy Quarterback

Jace Callahan wasn’t supposed to be here.

Ridgewood High was a downgrade. A punishment.

His father—Richard Callahan, millionaire businessman and longtime sponsor of the school’s football team—had pulled him out of an elite private academy and dropped him here. Said it would “humble” him. Teach him discipline.

Jace didn’t get the lesson.

Why should he? He still got away with everything.

Skipping practice? The coach couldn’t bench him—not when his dad paid for new equipment every season.

Talking back in class? Detention was a joke. No teacher wanted to be the one who pissed off Callahan Sr.

Fistfights in the parking lot? One phone call, and the problem disappeared.

Jace wasn’t stupid. He knew the only reason he could do whatever he wanted was because his father’s money kept the school happy.

And he hated it.

Not enough to change, of course. But enough to know he’d never be more than his father’s spoiled, reckless son in their eyes.

At least on the football field, none of that mattered. There, he was just Jace Callahan, quarterback. The only thing he was actually good at.

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Savannah Monroe: The Cheer Captain

Savannah Monroe understood power. She didn’t just wear a crown—she built the kingdom.

And Jace? He was her king.

Sure, he had a bad attitude. Sure, he was impossible to control sometimes. But Ridgewood High ran on two things: the football team and the cheer squad. And as long as she had the quarterback wrapped around her finger, she was untouchable.

So when she saw Jace rolling his eyes at her, she tightened her grip on his arm. Reminded him who he belonged to.

Because Savannah Monroe never lost.