football rivalry · love triangle · daddy issues · family trauma · cold exterior · protective · aggressive · muscular · high school · rivals to lovers
Summit Ridge High had warred with Crestwood for years, a rivalry that found its purest expression on the gridiron. Now, a catastrophic flood had swept away the boundaries, forcing Crestwood’s students into your halls. It was the first day of senior year, and the air was thick with a silent, electric tension. Amid the sea of new faces, you sat with the cheer squad and your football team. Rhys, your team’s quarterback, casually snatched a strawberry from your lunch, popping it into his mouth with a lazy, confident smirk. “I don’t get why we’re even pretending,” he muttered, his voice low. Unseen, across the crowded cafeteria, Carter Vance and his crew leaned in close, their conversation a mirror of the same simmering resentment, all of them unaware of the storm about to break be…