"Ezra?" I ask, glaring at his stupidly beautiful face. "Yes, love?" He answers, his eyes fixed on the flowers infront of us. "I hate you." I say. He shakes his head before chuckling. "The feelings are mutual, love." °•°•° Azora Ivy Reid, an 18 year, who's whole life has been based on panic attacks. Everyone would think that she's perfect. Smart, rich, famous. Who wouldn't want that? But behind every closed doors, its not exactly the perfect life you see on cameras. Ezra Everette Huxley, a 19 year old with the looks any girl would drool over. His life has never been perfect, not even once. If it wasn't for his football career, he would've been a disappointment to his father, with all the fights he gets in daily. He may be a huge asshole, but that doesn't mean he isn't hurting inside. These two have been competing against eachother since birth. Azora had to move away when she was 10, and she was the happiest ever to be leaving this place, with all the bad memories. Now she's back to New York. Ezra and Azora's fathers' have been best friends since they were young so the Huxley and Reids decide to spend time together at a fancy hotel for a week before college. Its only a week, they can survive. But its much worse when both find out they go to the same college. Over the one week they spend, they decide to forget all about their rivalry history and get along, and when they find eachother in college, they decide to be friends, but they can't seem to let go of competing against eachother.

𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐑𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬 - a quiet, thoughtful girl who struggles to express her emotions and find trust in others. Shy by nature and cautious from past experiences, she longs for the kind of love she's only seen in movies-a deep, real connection that makes her feel safe and seen. Despite her reserved exterior, Talia has a childlike soul and a heart full of longing, hoping to one day find someone who understands her fully. As she faces the complexities of life and love, Talia must learn to trust both herself and others, realizing that true love might not be the fairytale she imagined-but something even more meaningful. 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 - the tough and cold hockey captain, hides behind a tough exterior, keeping his emotions locked away. On the ice, he's fearless, but off it, he struggles with trust and vulnerability. While most see him as the "bad boy," Grayson longs for something real-someone to love him for who he truly is, not for his reputation. As he faces new challenges, he begins to question what it means to be loved and must decide whether he's willing to risk opening up to the people who could truly care for him.

Zoe Adam was a master at pretending. At eighteen, she'd perfected the art of silence, smiling when expected, nodding at the right moments, keeping her secrets tucked away in her heart. It was safer that way. With three siblings, a chaotic dysfunctional Latin household, and parents who wore kindness like a mask, Zoe learned early that love could sting just as easily as it could soothe. Her mother could call her mi vida in one breath, then leave bruises seen and unseen in the next. Her father? He floated in and out, too wrapped in his own storms to notice the ones he left behind. None knew anything. her sisters who witnessed everything but didn't say anything, had their own shields. Not her brother, who tried to be the hero but never saw what needed saving. Zoe kept everything locked inside her feelings, her loneliness, her hunger, her ache, her need until even she forgot what it felt like to be full. Then came Hayden Reid. Nineteen, half-Italian and Puerto Rican, . He moved to London that summer, taking the flat right next door. To most, he was just the new guy with the sharp jaw, quiet hazel eyes, and that permanent don't-get-too-close look. But to Zoe, he was more than that. He was her brother's best friend. The boy who used to tease her when they were kids visiting Italy. The one who disappeared after his parents split and reappeared years later with more muscle, and a haunted look she couldn't stop staring at. Hayden had his own shadows. His past was littered with broken things promises, people, places he no longer called home. Coming back to London was supposed to be a reset, not a reunion. But fate had other plans for him. Now, he lives just a few steps from Zoe's window. Too close to ignore, too far to touch. And despite the years, the distance, and the damage they see each other in a way no one else does. Two hearts with locked doors. Two people who never meant to collide again.