Chapter Text
Third person POV-
Nathaniel West, or Nate, is a bright second-year university student and a heartthrob. His fluffy, brindled hair and bright emerald eyes attract all of the girls—on and off the ice. This broad-shouldered, brawny 19-year-old is the definition of “playboy,” and he doesn't even try. I mean, he’s never focused on girls. As a young boy, he would often complain to his mother about the girls who teased him. Coming home from elementary, it was always, "The girls come up to me and yell, 'she likes you!' and it's SO annoying!!" Of course, as he'd approached middle school, he had taken notice of which girls were pretty, but he hadn’t been invested in dating. Even now, as an adult, he doesn't care for a relationship or even to look for an occasional hook-up. As the captain of Howard Middleton University’s ice hockey team (HMU), he sets his sights on playing well, guiding his team, and keeping his grades up. (He only really worries about his grades so he doesn’t get kicked from the team, not really because he cares about the academics portion of his university experience.)
Jaiden Laurence is quite the opposite of Nate. It could be due to his appearance—flaxen curls, caramel eyes, and a slim, sinewy build—or it could be his personality: Torpid and dispassionate for anything other than basketball. As the captain of HMU’s basketball team, Jaiden is a more laid-back 19-year-old and loves to “mess around” with girls. He’s never really cared about his grades. Jaiden pays other students to do the work for him, and when his professors catch him in the act, his parents will pay the bribe fees. (Really, I don’t know how he’s the captain of HMU's basketball team; it could be that the only thing the coaches see in him is dedication to basketball—but I digress. In summary, the only reason he’s still hanging on to his scholarship is because of his rich family.) University girls are generally attracted to him because of his good looks, but any guy—or any lesbian—could see that he’s a massive, humongous, giant red flag... Right?
So, go to, it's just as simple as this: These are two interesting characters that have nothing in common.
Except that's bullshit, and if anybody ever agreed with the statement, they'd be spewing lies.
I mean, these young men definitely have more in common than most would surmise, but that doesn’t stop them from constantly going head-to-head, verbal combat, fight to the death. The pair could find the most minor detail to bicker about, and a simple verbal disagreement could quickly end in a bloody fist fight broken up by sports coaches or HMU staff. It’s almost like bickering is the only thing that can keep them alive—besides food and water, obviously. This is more than a rivalry; it’s burning. Hot. Hatred.
And to add to the fact, Nate and Jaiden have almost all of their courses together. Go fucking figure; What is this, a wattpad fic? (😭)
•———•
Mrs. Hartwell, the freshman and sophomore English teacher, abruptly stops explaining the metaphorical meaning of an impromptu poem about Greek mythology. Her lecture had not been forgotten, just halted, as she pushed her glasses up her nose with her forefinger and pivoted to face the class. “Mr. West, Mr. Laurence.” She started, placing the dry-erase marker gently down on the marker tray.
Her tone was laced with something that could imply she’d done this many times before—the same students being the culprits. Her eyes shot directly to the back of the classroom, locking with Nate's and Jaiden's faces. The two were bickering over something trivial that had nothing to do with the lesson or, in fact, anything even remotely related to education at all.
The professor then spoke again, smoothing down the plaid pencil skirt from her repetitive wardrobe with the flats of her palms, as her voice hardened. “This is not the time, nor place, for your immature quarrels, young men. Cease them, and continue later when you are not actively distracting a full lecture class.”
The two both looked up at her, grumbled something quietly at her precise grammar and advanced hearing, and then begrudgingly slouched in their chairs, scribbling in their notebooks. It was obvious they were attempting to appear as if they were taking lecture notes; However, the act wasn't very convincing. Soon enough, the final bell rang, and all of the university students packed up their bookbags and stepped out of the classroom in a rushed single file, into the bustling halls of Howard Middleton University.
Nate practically stomped out of the lecture room, not uttering a single word to any of his peers. He shoved the doors of the school building open with both palms and walked across the campus to his navy blue Mazda Newsroom.
Jaiden snickered and felt his jaw muscles twitch in amusement as he watched Nate angrily leave the perimeters of HMU, a feeling of accomplishment bubbling up in his soul—He had successfully, once again, pissed off Nathan West.
Jaiden strides lazily to his own vehicle, crouching inside and shutting the door. He nods politely to the traffic conductors as he passes them, and once he’s pulled out of the campus threshold, he turns up the volume on his car radio. He totally forgets everything that had happened from his mind, just enjoying the car ride home.
Nate turns up his own music, but not to enjoy the ride—to drown out the bubbling irritation he feels every time he hears Jaiden’s stupid voice, or sees his stupid face. He hated that guy.
•———•
At 9:00 am, Jaiden wakes to the sound of his phone’s ringtone. 'God, who could be calling at this time? It’s way too early for this shit, on a Saturday no less.’ Jaiden thought, rolling over with a groan and clicking the green ‘answer’ button on the glass of his phone screen. “Hello?” He says in a sleep-rasped voiced.