Where stars collide

Bound by fate

Chapter 4: Bound by fate

Kiana's pov

Lisa drags me into the hallway, weaving through the crowd until we reach our usual group. Three guys in their football gear lean casually against the lockers, radiating that effortless confidence athletes always seem to have. Beside them stand two cheerleaders I don’t really recognize, their perfectly styled ponytails swaying as they whisper to each other.

As soon as we reach them, Lisa lets go of my arm and makes a beeline for one of the guys—a tall blond with broad shoulders. She throws her arms around him, and he hugs her back with an easy grin. He swats her ass. Of course, she giggles. Typical Lisa.

“Hey,” I said, interrupting their little moment as I walked up to the group.

It doesn’t take long to notice all three guys are football players—star athletes of the school, if their letterman jackets and the way they carry themselves didn’t give them away, My gaze finally lands on one of them, standing just slightly apart from the rest. Rush. My boyfriend.

“Hey”, walking to him, he drags me in for a tight hug and tries to grope my ass. I swat his arm away. I might be Lisa’s friend, but I’m nothing like her.

I missed you all summer, he says, burying his nose in my hair. I used to tolerate gestures like this in the past. Everyone says we’re the perfect couple. But right now, I don’t feel like it. I shrink away from his touch and I can feel his eyes on me, but I don’t dare to look back at him.

Rush looks at me, shocked by my behavior. I flipped my hair over my shoulder, and offered him a small smile.

”I need to get to class ”. Walking away, I turned around without waiting for a response. I hear Lisa giggle and the other guy say something, “she doesn’t love you, Rush”.

I don’t care though, I wasn’t in the mood and right now I didn't need a 150 pound horny high school male breathing down my neck.

I walk towards my locker, I get distracted from

my phone beeping, my mom texts me frantically. Trying to read her texts, I bump into something very hard and solid, my bag falls and the wall i bump into must be holding books, because books and papers fall and litter the hallway.

I muttered a curse under my breath, already irritated by the morning’s events. Dropping to my knees, I started gathering the spilled contents of my bag, not bothering to look up at whoever I had just collided with.

“Watch where you’re going,” I snapped, grabbing a loose notebook from the floor.

“Funny,” comes a calm, deep voice above me, “I was about to say the same to you.”

I froze for a second, my hand hovering over a stray pen. Slowly, I lift my gaze to see who I had just run into. It’s the black leather guy from the parking lot, and he’s looking right at me, smirking.

With a pleased smile plastered across his undeniably handsome face, he must have noticed me staring earlier.

“You look too pretty to be this clumsy,” he says, his voice laced with mockery.

Ignoring his words, I bend down to gather my things, deliberately leaving his scattered items untouched. If he finds this so amusing, he can pick up his own stuff. Grabbing the last piece of paper from the floor, I straightened up and glanced around, hoping no one else had witnessed the humiliating encounter.

That’s when I see her again—walking toward us.

“What’s going on?” the girl asks, not even sparing me a glance as her gaze fixed on the tall, smug guy beside me.

He shakes his head, still smiling that infuriatingly mocking smile, and I take it as my cue to leave. It’s the first day of school, and the last thing I need is an angry girlfriend, in my case all semester.

There’s something about her, though. She doesn’t seem fazed by him or his dominating presence. Maybe that’s what comes with being his girlfriend—if she is. She must be used to it by now.

I hurry down the hallway and up the stairs to my first class—biology. The familiar scent of the science lab hits me before I even step inside. The room is already buzzing with students, some of whom I recognize from last semester. Mrs. Hall, in her infinite wisdom, seems to have mixed us up with kids from other homerooms.

Great. Just great. I’d finally gotten used to my lab partner, and now she’s switching everything around.

Spotting an empty table, I make my way over, avoiding eye contact with familiar faces. My boyfriend and best friend are seated together across the room. Of course, they’d sit together. They’re the last people I want to see right now.

Lisa would demand an explanation for why I disappeared earlier, and Rush… Rush would know something was up. He’s always been good at sensing when I’m off. He’d want to talk about it, and I’m not sure if I even have answers.

Rush and I had a normal relationship—if you could call it that. He adored me, and I liked him enough. But was I in love with him? Not really.

Love is… something deeper. It’s letting down your guard, making yourself vulnerable. It’s loving someone almost as much as—or more than—you love yourself. And that wasn’t something I was ready for.

Did Rush love me? He said it often enough, but I doubted it. Most kids at this school were shallow and vain. I didn’t think any of us were capable of loving anyone more than we loved ourselves.

Sliding into my seat near the back, I set my bag down and tried to blend into the background. The chatter around me fades as Mrs. Hall begins her usual first-day speech about lab safety and responsibilities, but I can’t focus. My eyes flicker at Rush and Lisa.

Lisa is leaning over to whisper something to him, her blonde curls bouncing as she laughs at whatever joke she just made. Rush’s easy smile—one I’d usually find comforting—feels out of place now. A pit forms in my stomach, but I push the feeling aside.

What’s wrong with me?

“Hey, is this seat taken?”

The deep voice pulls me from my thoughts. I looked up to find him standing there. The guy from earlier. The one who thought my clumsiness was comedy gold.

I freeze. Of all the empty seats in the room, he chose this one?

“No,” I managed, my voice quieter than I’d intended.

He smirks, dropping his bag onto the chair beside me. “Lucky me.”

I turn my attention to the front of the room, determined not to engage. But I can feel his presence, the way he seems completely at ease in a way that’s almost maddening.

“You’re not very talkative, are you?” he says after a moment, leaning back in his chair like he has all the time in the world.

“I don’t have much to say,” I reply curtly, still not looking at him.

“Interesting,” he murmurs, like I’ve said something profound.

I sneak a glance at him. Up close, he’s even more striking—sharp jawline, piercing eyes, and that infuriating smirk that seems permanently etched on his face.

Before I can say anything else—or figure out why he’s sitting here—Mrs. Hall claps her hands to get our attention.

“Alright, everyone. "Talk to your lab partners,” she says, glancing down at her clipboard.

My stomach sinks. Please don’t let it be him.

“Kiana and… Damian.” Never heard of any Damian

My head snaps toward him. His smirk widens.

“Looks like we’re stuck together,” he says, his tone almost gleeful.

Great. Of course, the universe would do this to me.

As Mrs. Hall continues reading off the pairings, I silently curse my luck. Rush turns around, catching my eye. He frowns slightly, but I shake my head before he can say anything. I don’t need him getting involved right now.

Jason leans closer, his voice low. “So, do you always look like you want to bolt, or is that just when I’m around?”

I glare at him. “Do you always enjoy making people uncomfortable?”

His smirk falters for the briefest moment, replaced by something unreadable. But just as quickly, it’s back.

“Only when they make it so easy.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from snapping at him. The last thing I need is more attention, especially from Lisa or Rush.

Mrs. Hall’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “Alright, everyone. You’ll be working with your partner for the rest of the semester, so get to know each other. Start by reviewing today’s lab procedure.”

Jason turns to me, his expression suddenly serious. “Looks like we’re a team now, Kiana.”

The way he says my name sends a strange shiver down my spine, but I force myself to focus on the task in front of us.

This is going to be a long semester.

i