CHAPTER SIX:Rumours on Thin Ice
817 Words
The rumors spread faster than Ariana could have imagined.
By lunchtime, almost everyone on campus had heard a different version of the same story.
"Liam Carter dumped Vanessa for the transfer student."
"The captain has already moved on."
"Coffee Girl is dating the hockey captain."
Ariana groaned the moment she opened the Northcrest student forum.
Her phone was flooded with notifications.
A photo of her and Liam sitting beneath the maple tree had already gone viral.
The comments were relentless.
They're actually cute together.
Poor Vanessa.
I thought Liam didn't like anyone.
That girl is brave.
She locked her phone and dropped it onto her bed.
"This is unbelievable."
Across the room, Chloe peeked over the top of her fashion magazine.
"What's wrong?"
Ariana tossed the phone onto Chloe's bed.
"Read the comments."
Chloe scrolled for a few seconds before letting out a dramatic gasp.
"Oh..."
"What?"
"I think you're famous."
"I don't want to be famous."
"I know."
"I just want people to leave me alone."
Chloe softened.
"They will."
"When?"
"...Eventually."
Ariana wasn't convinced.
At the hockey arena...
The Northcrest Wolves were in the middle of practice.
Pucks flew across the ice while Coach Foster barked instructions from the sidelines.
"Carter!"
Liam shot the puck.
It slammed into the top corner of the net.
"Again!"
Another perfect shot.
But his mind wasn't on hockey.
It was on the rumors.
"Captain!"
Noah skated over with a grin that promised trouble.
"You've become the hottest topic on campus."
Liam sighed.
"I've noticed."
"So..."
"What?"
"When's the wedding?"
Liam stopped skating.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You and Coffee Girl."
"There is no 'me and Coffee Girl.'"
Noah laughed.
"Keep telling yourself that."
"We're project partners."
"Mhm."
"That's it."
"Mhm."
Liam narrowed his eyes.
"You're incredibly annoying."
"And yet, I'm still your best friend."
Coach Foster blew his whistle.
"Enough talking!"
The players returned to practice.
But Noah couldn't resist shouting one last thing across the ice.
"Don't forget to invite me to the honeymoon!"
The entire team burst into laughter.
Even Coach Foster struggled to hide a smile.
Liam simply shook his head.
Later that afternoon...
Ariana sat alone in the library, surrounded by notebooks, research papers, and her laptop.
She had barely finished outlining their fundraising proposal when someone pulled out the chair opposite her.
She looked up.
Liam.
He placed two cups of coffee on the table.
"I wasn't sure what you liked."
She blinked.
"So I got hot chocolate instead."
Ariana stared at the steaming cup.
"You... bought this for me?"
"You skipped lunch."
"How do you know?"
"You've been here since noon."
"You noticed?"
He looked almost embarrassed.
"I came by earlier."
"Oh."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Ariana smiled.
"Thank you."
"It doesn't mean we're friends."
She laughed softly.
"You keep saying things like that."
"Because they're true."
"But your actions say something different."
Liam looked away.
Before he could answer, the library doors burst open.
Vanessa Sinclair walked in.
She wasn't alone.
Three girls followed behind her, all dressed as though they had stepped out of a fashion campaign.
The library grew unusually quiet.
Vanessa's eyes immediately found Liam.
Then Ariana.
A satisfied smile curved her lips.
"There you are."
She walked straight to their table.
"Liam."
"We need to talk."
"I'm busy."
"It'll only take a minute."
"I'm working."
Vanessa's smile tightened.
She finally looked at Ariana.
"I believe I asked to speak with Liam."
Ariana calmly closed her notebook.
"I'll leave."
"No."
Both women looked at Liam.
He met Vanessa's gaze without flinching.
"We're in the middle of something."
Vanessa's composure cracked for the first time.
"So... she's more important now?"
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to."
The tension between them was so thick it felt impossible to breathe.
Students nearby pretended to study while secretly watching every second.
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
"I never thought I'd lose to someone like her."
Ariana frowned.
"This isn't a competition."
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
"Oh, sweetheart..."
"It is now."
She turned on her heel and walked away, her friends following closely behind.
The moment the doors closed, the library erupted into whispers.
Ariana sighed.
"I think she hates me."
Liam looked at the untouched hot chocolate in front of her.
"No."
His voice was unusually quiet.
"She doesn't hate you."
Ariana looked at him.
"Then what?"
He hesitated.
"...She sees you as a threat."
Ariana let out a small, disbelieving laugh.
"I'm not interested in taking anyone's place."
Liam's blue eyes held hers for a heartbeat longer than either of them expected.
"You don't have to try."
The words hung between them.
Neither of them knew what to say next.
Outside the library, hidden behind the glass doors, Vanessa watched them from a distance.
Her perfectly manicured nails dug into the strap of her handbag.
"If Ariana Brooks wants a war..."
She smiled coldly.
"...I'll make sure she loses."
- Writer
