CHAPTER 10The Girlfriend Games
POV: Aiden Hart
The hallways buzzed with Friday energy, lockers slamming, sneakers squeaking, and plans for the weekend already flying. I leaned against the cool metal of my locker, textbooks clutched to my chest, pretending to study my schedule while my thoughts spun like cleats on wet turf.
Football. Kieran. School. Kieran. My dad. Kieran again.
"Aiden."
I looked up. Maddie stood in front of me, arms crossed, lip gloss perfect, but her expression... not so much. She looked tired. Or maybe tired of me.
"You forgot we were supposed to meet before lunch," she said, voice low but edged with steel.
Shit.
"I'm sorry, Mads. Things have been crazy with practice and—"
"And Monroe?" she snapped.
My stomach dropped. I glanced around, but no one seemed to be listening.
"Is that what this is now?" she continued. "Some sick rivalry game between you two? Because I didn't sign up to be third place to your obsession with him."
"It's not like that," I said quickly. "I swear."
She stared at me for a beat, then looked away. "You haven't touched me in weeks, Aiden. I feel like a prop in your perfect-boy campaign."
That stung. Because maybe she wasn't wrong.
"I'll make it up to you," I said. "Dinner tonight. Just us. No football, no Monroe, no drama. I promise."
Her shoulders softened slightly. "Where?"
"River Bend Grill. Seven."
"Fine," she said. "But if you bail again..."
"I won't."
She gave me a half-smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, then walked off, leaving a trail of perfume and doubt behind.
—
Later that day, Tyler pulled me aside behind the gym, his face unusually serious.
"You hear what people are saying?" he asked.
"About what?"
"Monroe. He's got Vanessa giggling, and Brandon's guys hanging out with him now. Even Coach said he 'seems more disciplined than expected.' You see the problem?"
I sighed. "Ty, c'mon—"
"He's not one of us, Aiden. You know it. He's a vulture in a leather jacket. And if we don't remind people who runs this school, we're screwed."
Tyler leaned in, eyes sharp.
"I've got a plan. Tonight. You in?"
"I've got dinner with Maddie—"
"You'll still make it. Just meet us in front of the school. Ten minutes, tops. You want that captain's letter, right?"
My chest tightened.
"Yeah. Fine. Ten minutes."
—
Evening fell in a wash of orange and violet, the kind of pretty sky that made Kingswood look like a postcard. I pulled into the school lot, headlights cutting through the empty field.
Tyler was already there, with a few guys, all huddled around his beat-up truck.
"Finally," Ty said, grinning. He unzipped his backpack and pulled out a stack of papers.
I froze.
Kieran's mugshots.
"Where the hell did you get these?"
Tyler shrugged. "Internet. Public records. Doesn't matter. What matters is people remember who he is."
I looked at the faces around me. Excited. Hungry. To them, this was a prank, not a person.
"Guys, maybe we shouldn't—"
But they were already moving.
Locker doors. Bulletin boards. Bathroom mirrors. It happened fast. Too fast.
Then flashlights.
"Run!"
We scattered into the woods behind the school, laughter and panic tangling in the dark. My phone buzzed, and I ignored it.
Later, when I finally stopped running and caught my breath, I pulled out my phone.
Seven missed calls.
Three texts.
Maddie.
Dinner.
I cursed and called her.
No answer.
—
The next morning, the hallways were wallpapered with Kieran's past. Students stopped and stared. Phones clicked. Whispered jokes and wide eyes followed every corner.
Then he walked in.
Kieran didn't flinch at first. His jaw was locked, his eyes forward. But when he got to his locker, the one that used to be mine, and saw the word **MURDERER** painted in thick red letters, I saw something shift.
He didn't break. But he bent. Just a little.
And something in me bent, too.
This wasn't what I signed up for.
—
Lunch was quiet.
Maddie walked past me like I didn't exist. She sat with Vanessa. Never looked my way.
I tried to apologize after class, but she pulled back.
"You don't get to ghost me and then act sorry, I'm not one to be ignored Aiden," she said.
"I didn't mean to—"
"You didn't even *text.* Do you know how that made me look?"
"Maddie—"
"Save it."
She walked away.
Tyler found me outside the auditorium, watching the janitors rip down mugshots.
"You're moping?" he asked. "Dude, they're paid to clean this crap. Don't catch feelings now."
I didn't answer.
"Let's ditch. Clear your head."
He tugged my sleeve. I let him.
But my head stayed full.
—
The next day. Cafeteria. I walked in, hoping for normal.
Instead, I saw Maddie at *his* table. Laughing. Hand on Kieran's arm.
The table went silent.
Brandon strolled by, smug.
"Damn, how's it feel to be replaced?"
The guys at my table chuckled, but no one met my eyes.
I sat, stared at my tray, and my appetite was gone.
And then I realized I wasn't heartbroken.
I was angry.
Not at Maddie.
At Kieran.
At how he kept taking what was mine.
Or maybe… what I thought was mine.
And if he wanted a war, then I'd stop holding back.