Rumor Has It I'm Dating the Football Captain

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: No More Running

The campus, Audrey soon discovered, was a living, breathing creature that fed on rumors.

By the time she reached the main quad, her phone was vibrating so hard it felt like it might melt. The Westbridge Anonymous Confession page had been updated. The photo this time was high-resolution, taken from a second-floor window of the science building. It showed Elena and Audrey sitting at the glass table, deep in conversation.

The caption was a masterclass in chaos: "Calloway’s ex seen deep in conversation with his current girlfriend. Does the Captain have a type, or is he just collecting them?"

Audrey shoved her phone into her pocket, ignoring a text from Zoya that simply read: "Are you currently in a duel? Send location."

She didn’t have time for this. She had to find Mason. She needed to apologize for yesterday, and she needed to tell him that she was done with the "fake dating" excuse. She was done with the running.

She marched toward the athletic complex, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs. She felt like she was chasing a ghost.

Film him, she thought. He’s always in the film room after training.

She bypassed the main entrance, cutting through the side alley to reach the basement level where the team reviewed match tapes. She reached the door, breathless, and knocked firmly.

The door swung open, revealing the assistant coach, Davies. He looked at Audrey with the same disdain he’d shown on the pitch.

"What do you want, Ellis?" he snapped.

"Is Mason in there?" she asked, trying to peek over his shoulder.

"He left twenty minutes ago for a sponsorship meeting at the alumni center," Davies said, not bothering to hide his annoyance. "And he’s not taking interruptions. Get lost."

The door clicked shut in her face.

Audrey stood in the dim basement hallway, staring at the painted metal door. Okay. Alumni center.

She turned and sprinted back out into the sunlight. She crossed the quad, her bag thumping against her hip, dodging students and cyclists. She ignored the way people whispered as she passed, some pointing at her, some whispering about the confession page. She didn’t care. She just kept moving.

She reached the alumni center, panting, and pushed through the heavy revolving doors. The lobby was grand, silent, and intimidating. She approached the front desk, where a receptionist was busy filing paperwork.

"Excuse me," Audrey said, leaning over the desk. "I’m looking for the football team’s sponsorship meeting. Did Mason Calloway just leave?"

The receptionist looked at her over the top of her glasses. "You’re about five minutes late, dear. The group just left for the gym. The captain and the sponsors are doing a photoshoot for the new training equipment."

The gym.

Audrey felt like she was chasing a mirage. She turned around and bolted back out, her legs starting to ache.

The athletic center was on the other side of campus. She ran until her lungs burned, her mind racing. Why was it so hard to just talk to him? Every time she got close, the university seemed to throw another obstacle in her path.

She reached the gym, pushed through the heavy double doors, and immediately felt the heat of the facility. The hum of machines and the sound of weights clanking filled the air.

She scanned the room.

She saw Jackson lifting near the squat racks. She saw Leo on a rowing machine.

But no Mason.

She walked up to Leo, trying to catch her breath. "Leo. Where’s Mason?"

Leo looked up, sweat dripping down his forehead. He wiped his face with a towel and looked at Audrey with a smirk. "Captain? He finished the photoshoot and headed to the showers. Then he said he was going to his dorm to catch up on some management reading."

Audrey slumped. "Seriously?"

Leo laughed, continuing his row. "He’s been acting weird all day, Audrey. Honestly, he’s been harder to pin down than a striker in the box. Why the rush? You guys having a spat?"

"Something like that," Audrey muttered, turning away.

She walked out of the gym, feeling defeated. The sky was turning a bruised purple, signaling the end of the day. She had spent hours chasing him across campus, and she was no closer to him than she had been that morning.

She walked slowly toward the athletic dorms. The streetlights flickered on, casting long, lonely shadows on the pavement.

Maybe he doesn’t want to talk to me, she thought.

The thought was a cold, sharp pain. Maybe she had pushed him too far yesterday. Maybe he was tired of her back-and-forth, her running, her excuses. Maybe Mason Calloway was finally done playing the game.

She reached the dorm building and looked up at the windows. She saw the light on in his room. He was there. He was so close.

She stood on the sidewalk for a long time, watching the silhouette of someone pacing back and forth past the window.

She raised her hand to pull out her phone, to text him, to just ask him to come down.

Then she saw the shadow stop. The figure turned toward the window.

Audrey froze, hiding behind the trunk of a massive oak tree.

He looked tired. Even from here, she could see the way he rubbed his temples, the way he seemed to be talking to himself.

She suddenly felt like an intruder.

She had spent the last twenty-four hours in a state of frantic, impulsive energy, sure that if she just reached him, everything would be solved. But looking at him now, seeing him in his own space, she realized that she was still holding onto that same fear. She wanted to fix everything right now because she was scared of what would happen if she waited until tomorrow.

She couldn’t just barge into his life again, not after she had run away.

Audrey lowered her hand. She stared at the window one last time, her throat tight with a mix of frustration and longing.

"I’ll see you tomorrow," she whispered to the empty air.

She turned around and began the long walk back to the girls’ dorm.

The night was quiet. For the first time, she wasn’t running. She was just walking. She thought about Elena. She thought about the "real" relationship Elena had described, one where they were honest about their futures, honest about their feelings, and honest about when things needed to end.

If she was going to talk to Mason, she couldn’t do it while breathless, sweaty, and panicked. She needed to be calm. She needed to be ready.

When she reached her room, Chloe and Zoya were waiting.

"Well?" Chloe asked, looking up from her book. "Did you slay the Captain? Did you confess your undying love?"

Audrey dropped her bag and collapsed onto her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"I didn’t find him," Audrey said, her voice quiet.

Zoya raised an eyebrow. "You didn’t find him? You’re Audrey Ellis. You have the tracking skills of a bloodhound."

"I found him," Audrey corrected, closing her eyes. "I just... I didn’t say anything."

"Why?"

Audrey thought about the way Mason had looked in the window, pacing and alone.

"Because I think I need to figure out what I’m actually feeling before I try to talk to him," Audrey said. "I’ve been playing a character for so long, I don’t know what it’s like to just be me around him."

Chloe stayed silent for a moment, then shut her book with a soft thud.

"Good," Chloe said. "Because from what I’ve seen, that fake character is starting to crack anyway."

Audrey didn’t answer. She drifted into a light, restless sleep, dreaming of football pitches, blue hair clips, and the feeling of someone waiting for her to catch up.

She woke up on Friday morning to the sound of rain drumming against the window. It was a cold, steady downpour.

She got ready in silence. She dressed in her favorite, most comfortable sweater. She brushed her hair until it was perfectly smooth. She felt different. The frantic need to chase him was gone, replaced by a quiet, steady resolve.

She walked to the athletic complex, not running, just walking.

She entered the locker room hallway just as the team was coming out for the morning warmup.

There he was.

Mason was walking with his head down, listening to something Jackson was saying. He looked just as tired as he had last night.

Audrey stood against the wall, watching him. She didn’t march up to him. She didn’t snap at him.

She just waited.

Mason stopped mid-sentence. He looked up, his eyes scanning the hallway, and they locked onto hers.

He didn’t smile. He didn’t look entertained. He just looked at her, his expression unreadable, and then he broke away from his teammates.

He walked over to where she stood.

The hallway hummed with the sound of cleats and voices, but as Mason stopped in front of her, the world seemed to narrow down to just the two of them.

"You missed training yesterday," Mason said. His voice was rough.

"I didn’t miss it," Audrey said, her voice steady. "I was looking for you."

Mason’s eyes darkened. "You were?"

"I was," she said. She looked at him, really looked at him, not as the captain, not as her fake boyfriend, not as the boy who broke Elena’s heart, but as the guy who noticed she skipped lunch. "And I think I’m done running around campus chasing you."

Mason went perfectly still. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Audrey said. She took a step closer, closing the distance he had been so carefully keeping between them for the last two days. "I have something to tell you. And I think we both deserve to do it when we’re actually standing still."

Mason didn’t smile. He didn’t pull away. He just looked at her, and for the first time, Audrey saw the same quiet, steady resolve reflecting back in his eyes.

"Okay," Mason whispered. "Tell me."

"Not here," she said, nodding toward the empty training office down the hall.

Mason nodded, his gaze never leaving hers. "Okay."

He reached out, not to touch her, but to gently guide her toward the office, and Audrey felt the air shift.

Mason held the office door open for her.

Audrey stepped inside.

He followed.

The door clicked softly shut behind them.

For the first time since this ridiculous fake relationship had begun...

There was no audience.

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