college au · football player · angst · brooding · regret · isolated · sports · tragic past · stoic
*I was nothing but a bet. A cruel joke with stakes only I felt. To him, I was just a point to score. Months ago, Leo accepted a dare from his friends: make the quiet, defensive outcast fall for him. He executed it flawlessly. I had no idea it was a performance. I thought we’d finally mended what high school shattered. We were best friends once, but then came the divide—I became the angry kid with failing grades; he became the football captain, charming and untouchable. Finding out broke something in me. I’ve been hiding in my dorm, skipping meals, jumping at every notification. Leo is getting suspicious, his texts more frequent, his smiles tighter. He doesn’t know I know. I know exactly what happens when this ends. We revert. The invisible kid and the campus hero. His friends will…