Pucking Obsessed

POV : Tessa

I stared at the notice board until my eyes burned.

Tessa Sinclair – 98.7%

Rank 1

A rush of warmth spread through my chest.

All those nights I chose textbooks over sleep, all the parties I was never invited to… it was worth it. In this moment, I wasn’t the invisible girl with thick glasses and baggy sweaters. I was first. Smart. Valuable. Maybe even enough.

Then the dream shattered.

“Move aside, loser. Some of us actually want to see the board.”

A hard shove sent me stumbling into the wall. Brittany Matthews and her two clones stepped in front of me like I was garbage on the floor. Brittany tilted her head, scanning the rankings with a cruel little smirk.

“Wow. Still number one.” She let out a fake laugh. “What’s the point though? You’re top of the class and bottom of the food chain. Who’s going to date a girl who looks like a walking library?”

Her friends snickered.

“Yeah, like… congrats on the grades, Tessa, but no amount of A’s is going to fix that.” One of them gestured at my oversized cardigan and thick glasses. “Undatable af.”

The warmth in my chest turned to ice. I blinked hard, refusing to let them see the sting behind my eyes. The words I wanted to say, stuck in my throat like always.

I turned away quickly, cheeks burning, desperate to escape before the tears came.

Thud.

My forehead slammed straight into a hard, warm wall of muscle. The impact rattled my glasses and knocked the books from my arms. I stumbled back, mortified, one hand flying up to rub my forehead as I grimaced in pain.

“Ow…” I muttered, crouching down to gather my scattered books. My fingers trembled slightly as I picked them up, cheeks flaming hotter than before. Could this day get any worse?

Slowly, I raised my head.

Black shirt stretched tight across a broad chest. Sharp jawline. Perfectly messy dark hair that looked like it had been styled by the wind itself. And those stormy gray eyes that always seemed bored with the entire world.

Tyler Reed. Captain of the Falcons. The untouchable king of Eastwood High.

His eyes weren’t on me. They were glued to the notice board, jaw tight. A flicker of annoyance crossed his handsome face before the arrogant mask slid back into place.

I followed his gaze.

Tyler Reed – 67.4%

Rank 28

Second to last.

A small, petty spark of satisfaction lit in my chest. Even the golden boy has to struggle sometimes.

His gaze finally flickered down to me, as if he’d just noticed the obstacle he’d run into. For half a second our eyes met. Then, without a word, he turned and walked away.

I stared after him, irritation flaring. “Don’t they teach you how to apologize?” I shouted before I could stop myself.

Gasps rippled behind me.

“Oh my God,” Brittany breathed, sounding exactly like the shocked mean girls in every K-drama. “Did she really just say that to Tyler Reed?”

Her clones gawked at me like I’d grown a second head.

“How dare you talk to him like that?” one of them hissed. “Do you have a death wish? That’s Tyler Reed!”

I adjusted my glasses, heart hammering but refusing to back down. “So what? ” I said, voice steadier than I felt. “Even someone like Tyler Reed still has to struggle for his grades.”

The looks on their faces—priceless mixture of shock and outrage, were almost worth the inevitable social suicide. I lifted my chin, turned on my heel, and walked away before they could respond. I wouldn’t let anyone humiliate me today. Not completely.

Sarah was waiting for me by the lockers, her bright smile the only reliable thing in my chaotic life. She was the only real friend I had at Eastwood. Even when everyone mocked my fashion choices, Sarah never made me feel small.

We headed toward the hockey rink together for the Falcons vs. Ice Wolves game. I kept glancing at my phone, sighing heavily at the new text from Mom.

Sarah noticed immediately. “Still about your stepbrother?”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “I heard he’s already back. He’s moving in with us this weekend.”

Sarah giggled, linking her arm with mine. “Wouldn’t that be kind of cute though? I heard stepbrothers are always—”

“Hey!” I snapped, elbowing her.

She laughed harder, not even pretending to be sorry. “Well… you have to admit, stepbrothers are usually hot. You’re basically living the trope.”

In my head, the real reason for my nerves wasn’t even the moving-in part. It was that he was attending Eastwood now too. I was sure that arrogant idiot had already seen me around campus. The question that kept circling my mind was simple and terrifying: What does he look like now?

We reached the rink just as the match was heating up. The cold air hit us the moment we stepped inside, carrying the sharp scent of ice and adrenaline. I sat beside Sarah, pulling my cardigan tighter.

The Falcons were playing aggressively against the Ice Wolves. On defense, dominating the ice like he owned it, was Daniel Ashford—six feet of pure athletic grace. Even from the stands he looked like a god walking among mortals: powerful strides, focused expression, muscles flexing under his jersey with every move.

My eyes shifted to the other end of the rink.

Tyler Reed was there too—handsome, fast, commanding. But he wasn’t the one who made my stomach flip with possibility.

It was Daniel Ashford.

He had just rolled up the bottom of his jersey to wipe sweat from his face, revealing a flash of perfectly sculpted abs. Even from the stands, I could see the defined ridges of his six-pack glistening under the bright arena lights.

My throat went dry. A strange heat crawled up my neck as I wondered what it would feel like to run my fingers over them. God, Tessa, get a grip.

Before I could look away, the crowd suddenly exploded.

A thunderous roar shook the entire rink as the Falcons scored again. I whipped my head toward the scoreboard just in time to see it flip.

Falcons 2 – Ice Wolves 0

Daniel lifted his stick high in celebration, helmet still on, but that confident smirk was visible even from here.

Untouchable. Magnetic. The kind of guy who could change your entire life with one smile.

Sarah leaned close, practically yelling over the deafening cheers. “Did you see that?! Those two are always the hottest rated guys in school! Rumors have it that if one gets to date either of them, you automatically become the campus hottest queen!”