Downfall of the nation's hero

Chapter 15

When I put on my clothes and leave Ren's place with Sophie, I feel like a whole different person—much calmer and more confident. Ren wanted to be with me; she called me beautiful. I'm her favorite person. I swear I'm screaming internally at the thought of that.

"Look at you being so cute when you're falling for someone." Sophie pokes me when we get to our room. I appreciate her waiting for us to have some privacy before starting to interrogate me.

I roll my eyes at her. "Yeah, and you just had to ruin our moment. What a great friend you are."

I'm not mad at her, but I still need her to know that I didn't enjoy her doing that, even if it resolved into us being official. I can't give her too much credit for that; otherwise, today's scenario is going to repeat.

"Aw, sorry for cock-blocking you, Mattie." She says sarcastically. "At least next time, she'll make sure to lock the door."

I match her tone. "You're a real lifesaver, Soph. What would I do without you?"

Sophie chuckles. "You'd probably get laid more, but you'd also get caught more. No need to thank me, Princess."

That nickname makes my eye twitch. I'm going to make Ren pay for it.

"Not you too." The embarrassment starts catching up to me. Sophie was still present in the room when Ren said what she said. It means I'm not getting rid of the teasing anytime soon.

She shrugs. "Thought you liked it when she was..."

"Don't you fucking dare finish that sentence!" I blur out.

Sophie arches her eyebrow at me. "Or what? You're going to make me shut up?" She laughs. "What are you going to do, Mattie? You have a fucking broken arm. You don't scare me."

She's right, but I don't want to give her the satisfaction of winning the argument. So I just turn around and pretend to intend to leave the room. Sophie falls for it and grabs my healthy left arm to stop me. I pretend it makes me twitch and hiss in fake pain. She immediately lets my arm go.

"Fuck, Soph." I continue with the act. "I know you're jealous because you weren't the first person I saw when I came back to campus, but there's no need to fucking hurt me."

Sophie's eyes are wide from embarrassment. She genuinely thinks she caused me pain.

"I'm sorry, Mattie, I didn't mean to." She apologizes. "I'm really sorry."

I contemplate going on with the show, but the look on Sophie's face makes me change my mind. It would be too cruel to keep on playing with her like that. After all, she's Canadian; my Canadian.

"I'm kidding, Soph. Didn't hurt at all." I tell her the truth.

She almost throws a tantrum but composes herself. "What the fuck, Mattie?"

I shrug. "You deserved it. Don't ever make fun of me again."

Sophie gets over her anger quickly and smiles. "Sure thing, Auds. But I really want you to spill the tea, tell me everything."

So I go over the whole thing, describing everything, even the tiniest details. How she kissed me immediately after we entered her room, how she had my first-ever autograph sitting on her nightstand, how she called me her favorite person, and most importantly, how careful and gentle she was. I get a bit sad when I'm reliving the whole moment in my mind. Thinking about what could have happened if it wasn't for Sophie. How perfect it could have been. I sense my cheeks turning red from the warm feeling in my stomach. I'm falling, and I'm falling hard for Ren Martin. The same Ren Martin I have disliked most of my childhood. The same Ren Martin my family hates. The same girl who sent me to the hospital just this summer. But also the same girl who I have been secretly looking forward to playing against every time we were about to face each other. The same girl whose plays I had been studying restlessly almost every evening. The same girl who made me want to get better and work on myself. The same girl who made me who I am today.