HAYDEN BROOKS X BECCA COLLINS

Chapter One

She slowly walked into the common room after a long day of training. She saw him sitting in the chair by the fireplace cleaning a cut on his face with an old mirror and bandages. She immediately walked over to the chair with shock and asked him what had happened. He hesitated to answer her question for fear that she would make fun of him. "The dog got me." he finally answered. "Did you tell headmaster?" She asked almost teasingly. "No, you know I wasn't supposed to be there in the first place." "That's what you get for sneaking around and breaking rules." She walked over to him to get a better look at his injury. He flinched away when she reached for the mirror to set it aside. She stepped closer until he parted his legs and she was standing almost against him. He handed her the bandage roll and she carefully placed a cover on his cut. They made eye contact for a brief moment. Her mind raced at the connection of their eyes but she did not tell him that for fear of humiliating herself. She collected her thoughts and quickly turned away from him to go in the other room. "Not so fast Collins." The boy stated. He grabbed her arm and pointed to a small scratch on her arm. "The least I can do is bandage the cut on your arm. What is it from anyways?" She sighed and reluctantly told him the origin of the injury "Suzy Greene. We were practice fighting and she brought out her weapon too quick. It doesn't hurt so there's no point in bandaging it." "Yes there is, I can't have you getting some infection and dying on me." He half-jokingly said. He stood up from his chair next to the fire and offered it to her. She took it and sighed deeply. He carefully grabbed her arm and she winced in pain. "I knew it was hurting you." he stated very obviously annoyed. "You shouldn't downplay things like that Collins, you're gonna get yourself in trouble if you do." She mocked him with a prideful scorn on her face. He finished wrapping her arm and she stood up. The tension in the room quickly became too much for her to handle so she said her goodbyes and went upstairs into her dorm. The next day she could hardly stop thinking about him. She resented herself for these emotions because she knew that if anyone ever found out about her feelings it would make her seem weak. Their brief conversations and passing glances wasn't enough to satisfy her but she got relief out of knowing that she would be paired up with him for the upcoming dueling championship. They have always been rivals in basically every way possible since she can remember. Grades, sports, popularity, and everything else. She grew up hating him so why now is she feeling so different? She absentmindedly walked from one class to the other throughout the day with this question on her mind.
The next week she prepared for the dueling championship. She trained everyday after class for hours on end not going back to her dorm until well after midnight just to wake up the next day and do it all again. The day finally came for the competition and she was nervous but confident that she could beat him. The audience gathered in the giant hall to watch the duel. Everyone waited anxiously for the duel to begin and the room was totally quiet. The teacher gave the go ahead for the two to step up onto the platform. The crowd roared with applause and encouragement. Finally, the time had come for her to show her skills and to prove she could beat him in more than just academics. They stood on the platform across from each other and the headmaster commenced the duel. As they were fighting, he looked her in the eyes and hoarsely said "Not so fast Collins." Her mind flashed back to the night in the common room and how close she was to him. She was close to him now as well but it was different, much different. "I'm not giving up that easy Brooks." She responded sharply. She turned around quickly and lifted her sword up fast and to the side just fast enough to catch him off guard and knock his weapon from his hands. The audience hollered congratulations to her as the headmaster presented her with her trophy. That feeling was unmatched in her mind. She knew it was great to win but this, this was incredible. She finally won a duel against him. She looked over to see his face red with anger and embarrassment that he had lost. He kept his composure long enough to get back to the common room of the dorms. As she was walking back to the dorms from her various conversations with friends and supporters in the hall, she felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach for pulling such a devious move to win the duel. She knew it wasn't a fair move but in all respects it wasn't against the rules. She tiredly walked into the common room of the dorms to find him sitting in the same chair he had been sitting in during the encounter several days ago. Her heartbeat got rapid and anxiety riddled her mind over what he was going to say. He spitefully looked her up and down. "That was a dirty move you pulled back there Collins." "Why do you always call me by my last name?" She questioned ignoring his statement. "Because if I call you Becca, you might think I like you and trust me, that is not the case." He answered bluntly. She scoffed at him in disbelief that he would let such a small loss affect him so much. "I see how it is then." She left the room exasperated at his response and went to her dorm.

Thank you for reading the first chapter of this story. I'll try to have another part in a few days but no promises  <3