The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback (Astra and Zayne) novel Chapter 121

Chapter 121

Chapter 121

ASTRA

The restroom door creaked open. Voices drifted in, light and carefree.

“Do you hear that?”

“Yeah… someone’s crying.”

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My body locked up, breath trapped behind my teeth. I pressed my fist harder against my mouth, muffling the next broken sound before it could slip out.

Footsteps clicked across the tiles, stopping just outside my stall.

“Oh my God,” one girl whispered. “Do you think she’s okay?”

“Should we check?”

*Please. God, please don’t.*

I squeezed my eyes shut, shoulders shaking with the effort to stay silent. The fluorescent hum overhead felt deafening.

A pause stretched, thick and awkward.

“She probably just wants to be alone.”

“Yeah. First period’s about to start anyway.”

Their footsteps retreated and the door swung shut with a heavy thud.

Silence swallowed the room again.

I stayed curled on the toilet lid for another full minute, heart pounding, before I dared unlock the stall. The lights stabbed my swollen eyes.

I looked like a wreck-red-rimmed, blotchy, lashes clumped with tears. I cranked the cold water on full blast and splashed my face again and again until my skin stung. Paper towels came away damp and streaked.

It wasn’t enough. Anyone who really looked would know.

I gripped the sink edge, staring at my reflection.

Pull it together, Astra. Just get through the day.”

The bell ripped through the halls and I squared my shoulders, adjusted my backpack strap like armor, and stepped out.

Keep your head down. Avoid him. Go home. Work. Repeat.

I wove through the crowd with my gaze glued to the scuffed floor tiles, shoulders brushing past backpacks and elbows. Just as I rounded the corner near the science wing…

I stopped dead.

Jason stood only a few feet away.

For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. His violet eyes lifted, locked on mine. They traced the redness I hadn’t quite hidden. Something raw flickered across his face, pain, maybe, or the ghost of regret-before he looked away.

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12:12 Fri, Jul 3.

Chapter 121

“Jason…” My voice cracked on his name.

He brushed past without a word. His shoulder grazed mine, warm and familiar, then gone. He didn’t look back.

I stood frozen in the flow of students, throat tight, staring after him until the crowd swallowed him whole.

He really was done.

I swallowed the ache, forced one foot in front of the other, and kept moving.

The closer I got to my classroom, the heavier my steps became.

Then his scent hit me first-that clean, woodsy trace drifting through the open doorway like a hook in my ribs and my pulse stuttered.

I looked up before I could stop myself.

Zane lounged in the seat behind mine, one long leg stretched into the aisle, laughing at something Tyler said. That lazy, effortless confidence rolled off him in waves.

As if he felt me there, his head turned.

Our eyes nearly caught.

I spun so fast I nearly collided with a freshman juggling a tower of textbooks.

“Sorry…” I mumbled, already retreating down the hall, heart slamming against my ribs.

I couldn’t do it.

Not today but I needed an excuse.

Any excuse.

Then it hit me.

Sports Committee.

As student sports committee president, I still had a storage room full of Homecoming banners, field signs, and equipment that needed to be inventoried and packed away before the maintenance staff’ reclaimed the space. Coach Benson had also asked the committee to submit a proposal for the fall athletics fundraiser before the end of the week, and Halloween decorations for the gymnasium and the charity volleyball match still had to be planned.

Perfect.

I pulled out my phone and quickly sent a message to the Coach.

Good morning, Coach. First period has started, mind if I use the time to finish the Homecoming inventory and organize the athletics storage room? I’ll start on the Halloween fundraiser plans too. I’ll make up the work after.

The reply came almost instantly.

Coach Benson: Go ahead, I appreciate the initiative and drop the inventory list by my office before lunch.

Relief loosened something in my chest. “Thank you,” I whispered to no one.

I turned on my heel and headed for the athletics wing.

If I stayed busy enough, maybe I could outrun him for one damn day.

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Chapter 121

It worked. For a while.

I lost myself in the dim storage room, hauling dusty boxes, sorting faded Homecoming banners that still smelled like popcorn and grass, counting pom-poms until my fingers ached, folding team flags, labeling bins, updating the inventory sheet until my wrist burned. Sweat clung to the back of my neck. The work was mindless, grounding.

Coach Benson poked his head in once, eyebrows lifting at the half-cleared chaos.

“You’ve already done this much?”

I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and nodded. “Figured I might as well finish it.”

He scanned the room, visibly impressed. “You’re making the rest of the committee look bad.”

A small, tired smile tugged at my lips. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should.” He gave a thumbs-up and disappeared back toward the gym.

For the first time all morning, my mind quieted. No Jason. No Mr. Ashton. No Zane. Just the satisfying thud of boxes and the scratch of pen on paper.

When I finally stacked the last bin on the shelf, nearly two hours had slipped by. I glanced down at the completed inventory sheet, a flicker of real pride warming my chest.

*Done.*

I tucked the clipboard under my arm and headed for Coach’s office. Lunch was minutes away, hallways already filling with the rumble of released students.

Footballs. Basketballs. Nets. Scoreboards. Keys. Everything checked.

I smiled to myself.

Then…..out of nowhere, thud.

I slammed into something solid.

The clipboard flew from my hands, papers scattering like startled birds.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so…”

But strong hands caught me. One at my waist. The other wrapped firm around my forearm.

I knew that scent before I even looked up.

My stomach dropped.

Slowly, I lifted my head.

Green eyes.

Watching me.

Zane.

He held my gaze for another second before the corner of his mouth lifted.

“Found you.”

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Chapter 121

My pulse stumbled.

I tried to step back.

His fingers tightened around my wrist-not enough to hurt. Just enough to stop me.

“I have to go.”

“Do you?”

“I don’t want to talk.”

“No?” His eyes skimmed over my face, lingering for a beat too long. “Could’ve fooled me.”

I frowned.

“I’ve been busy.”

His gaze drifted to the clipboard scattered across the floor.

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