Chapter Five: Fire Meets Ice
801 Words
The next morning, Scarlett woke up with one mission:
Avoid Blake.
Simple.
Or at least… it should have been.
She got dressed, grabbed her bag, and stepped onto campus like nothing happened. Head high. Confidence on full display. Like she hadn’t passed out in front of half the football team… and woken up to him in her room.
“Not thinking about him,” she muttered under her breath.
“Thinking about who?” one of her friends asked as they fell into step beside her.
“No one,” Scarlett replied quickly. “Just… people I don’t like.”
They exchanged looks but didn’t push.
Good.
Everything was going fine—
Until she heard it.
Laughter.
Deep. Familiar.
Annoying.
Scarlett’s steps slowed.
Her eyes lifted—
And there he was.
Blake.
Leaning casually against a wall, surrounded by his teammates like usual. But this time… there was a girl next to him.
The same girl from the library.
She was laughing, her hand resting a little too comfortably on his arm.
Scarlett’s jaw tightened instantly.
Seriously? Again?
“Scarlett?” her friend nudged her. “You good?”
“Perfect,” she said flatly.
But her eyes didn’t move.
And then—
Blake looked up.
Their gazes locked.
Just like that.
The noise around them faded.
For a second, neither of them looked away.
Then his lips curved—
That same slow, knowing smirk.
Scarlett felt her chest tighten.
“Oh, no,” she muttered.
“What?” her friend asked.
“Nothing.”
Before she could stop herself, her feet were already moving.
Straight toward him.
Why am I doing this?
Too late now.
She stopped right in front of him, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
The girl beside him looked between them, confused.
Blake straightened slightly, his gaze dropping to Scarlett with calm interest.
“Well,” he said smoothly, “if it isn’t the princess.”
Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Don’t call me that.”
“Why?” he asked, tilting his head. “It suits you.”
“I said don’t.”
A pause.
Then his smirk deepened.
“Touchy.”
Scarlett leaned in slightly, lowering her voice.
“You hit me with a ball, showed up in my house uninvited, and now you’re out here acting like nothing happened?”
Blake didn’t even flinch.
“I said it was an accident.”
“And I said I don’t care.”
The air between them tightened.
Behind him, one of his teammates whispered, “Yo… this is getting interesting.”
Scarlett ignored it.
“So what?” she continued, voice sharp. “You just go around knocking people out and then flirting like it fixes everything?”
Blake’s eyes flickered—amusement mixed with something deeper.
“Flirting?” he repeated.
“Don’t play dumb.”
He stepped closer. Not too much. Just enough.
“I don’t play,” he said quietly.
Scarlett’s breath caught—just for a second.
She hated that.
“Right,” she scoffed, stepping back slightly. “You don’t play. You just go around with random girls like it’s some kind of hobby.”
The girl beside him stiffened.
Blake’s gaze sharpened.
“Jealous?”
The word hit like a spark.
Scarlett let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
“Of her?” she said, glancing at the girl briefly before looking back at him. “Please. I have standards.”
A few of the guys behind him reacted with quiet “damn”s.
The girl looked offended and quickly stepped away.
Blake, however—
Didn’t look bothered.
If anything…
He looked impressed.
“You’ve got quite the mouth,” he said.
“And you’ve got quite the ego,” Scarlett shot back instantly.
Another pause.
This one heavier.
Charged.
Then Blake leaned in slightly, his voice lower now—only for her.
“And yet,” he murmured, “you keep coming back to talk to me.”
Scarlett froze.
Just for a second.
Then her eyes narrowed.
“Don’t get it twisted,” she said quietly. “I didn’t come here for you.”
“Sure you didn’t.”
God—he was infuriating.
Scarlett straightened, forcing her composure back into place.
“This?” she gestured between them. “Whatever this is? It’s not happening.”
Blake held her gaze, unreadable.
“We’ll see.”
Two simple words.
But something about the way he said them—
Confident. Certain.
Like he already knew something she didn’t—
It sent a strange feeling through her chest.
Scarlett scoffed, turning on her heel.
“Keep dreaming,” she threw over her shoulder as she walked away.
But even as she left—
She could still feel his eyes on her.
And for some reason…
That bothered her more than anything.
- Writer
