chapter 4
648 Words
Zack couldn’t shake her.
It wasn’t like him to dwell. Girls came and went, sometimes literally in the same day. He was used to easy attention, flirty laughs, the kind of validation that came as naturally to him as skating. But today…?
Today, all he could think about was her.
The girl from class.
The one who didn’t give him the time of day. Didn’t blush. Didn’t bat her lashes. Didn’t ask if he was that Zack Dalton. She just looked at him, flat and unimpressed, like he was a billboard for something she wasn’t buying.
And the worst part?
He still didn’t know her damn name.
He’d scanned the roster after class, of course. He wasn’t subtle about it. There were a couple names he didn’t recognize, and he didn’t have a face to go with any of them. No i********: tags. No mutuals. Nothing. Which only made him more curious.
The rest of the day dragged. His second class was a blur. He couldn't even remember what building it was in. He showed up late and left early. The few girls who tried to flirt with him got half-hearted smirks in return.
His mind was elsewhere.
By the time evening practice rolled around, he was already irritated and restless. He snapped at Deeks for borrowing his tape, nearly lost it when his visor fogged up mid-drill, and didn’t even bother to shoot back when Cole chirped him during scrimmage.
Coach noticed. Of course he did.
“Dalton! Maybe stop dreaming about whatever sorority chick is stuck in your head and move your feet!”
Zack gritted his teeth and pushed harder, lungs burning as he chased down the puck.
Except it wasn’t some sorority chick.
She wasn’t in his world. That much was obvious. She carried herself differently. Moved through campus like she had somewhere to be and didn’t care who noticed her. No designer bag. No overdone makeup. No phone glued to her hand.
Just that unreadable stare. That calm, cool whatever in her expression when she looked right at him and dismissed him like it was easy.
It hadn’t been.
Not for him.
Back in the locker room, Zack slumped onto the bench, towel over his head. His gear was half-off, his body still humming with adrenaline, but his thoughts weren’t on the game. They hadn’t been all night.
“What’s up with you?” Cole asked, nudging him with his knee. “You’re skating like you’ve got lead in your pants.”
Zack didn’t answer right away. He stared at the floor.
“There was this girl in class.”
Cole barked a laugh. “There’s always a girl.”
“No, man. This one was different.”
That earned a pause.
“She didn’t even look at me twice. Just... shut me down.”
Cole blinked. “You know her name?”
“No.” Zack’s jaw tightened. “I didn’t catch it.”
“Damn,” Deeks chimed in from across the room. “She must be magic if you’re thinking about her and forgot to flirt.”
Zack didn’t respond. He just stared ahead, like maybe the wall held answers.
He didn’t like mysteries. He didn’t like being ignored. And he sure as hell didn’t like feeling like he was the one chasing.
But something about her… the way she didn’t fall for his charm, the way she looked at him like she saw right through all of it—him—that stuck.
And it was driving him nuts.
As he left the rink that night, hoodie damp and hair still wet, he looked up at the stars peeking through the clouds above campus.
“Who are you?” he muttered to no one.
No answer, of course.
But Zack had a feeling he’d find out soon enough.
And when he did?
He wouldn’t be walking away so easily.
- Writer
