JACE
I always thought I was protecting my friendship with Liam.
Turns out, I was only making it easier for someone else to take my place.
Every single time I closed my eyes, my brain violently looped the casual, devastating audio from the dining hall. The cheerful clatter of plastic trays, the echo of my teammates' voices, and then Ethan Blake—completely unbothered, totally out in the open—asking for my best friend’s permission to take Violet out on a real date.
What hurt wasn't just Ethan’s blatant interest. I already knew the track sophomore was aggressively pursuing her. What actually ripped the remaining fabric of my discipline to absolute shreds was Liam’s immediate, unhesitating approval.
"Man, Blake is exactly the kind of guy I’d trust with Vi," Liam had laughed later that afte
