Chapter 1

Ava Miller stared at the University of California, Westwood application on her laptop screen.

Her cursor hovered over the "Submit" button.

UCW. The dream. Their dream.

Hers, Ethan's, and Jax's.

A knot tightened in her stomach.

She closed the UCW tab.

A new tab opened. Yale University.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard, filling in the fields she' d already memorized.

This felt different. Right.

But a deep ache settled in her chest, a mourning for something not yet officially lost but already gone.

She was choosing a different path, alone.

A small, silver-framed photo sat on her desk.

Ava, Ethan, and Jax, grinning, arms slung around each other at the Northwood High homecoming game two years ago.

Ethan, already looking like a future senator, handsome and composed even in a ridiculous oversized foam finger.

Jax, ever the golden boy quarterback, his smile easy and captivating.

And her, Ava, beaming between them, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.

They had made a pact that night, under the stadium lights, high on cheap soda and victory.

"UCW together, always," Jax had declared.

Ethan had nodded, his serious gaze meeting hers. "Always."

A bitter taste filled her mouth now. Always felt like a lie.

This Yale application wasn't just about a different school.

It was a declaration.

A quiet, secret severing of ties that had once defined her.

She was drawing a line.

"I have to," she whispered to the empty room.

Her resolve hardened. They had left her no choice.

The group chat, "Northwood Legends," used to be their private space.

Lately, it felt like the Chloe Evans fan club.

Ethan: Chloe, your insights on the socio-economic impact were brilliant today!

Jax: Totally! Chloe, you' re a rockstar for handling that with such grace.

Ava scrolled through weeks of messages.

Her own comments, her jokes, her shared news – mostly met with silence or a cursory thumbs-up emoji.

Chloe' s every minor achievement, however, was lauded.

Chloe' s "resilience." Chloe' s "fresh perspective."

It made Ava feel like an outsider in her own life.

The History Honors project was supposed to be Ava' s moment.

She' d spent weeks researching, outlining the presentation on women' s suffrage.

Then Chloe, new to the group, had offered to "help."

"Ava, you look so stressed. Let me take some of this off your plate," Chloe had said, her voice dripping with false sweetness.

Chloe had "helped" by redoing Ava's slides, adding her own "unique" spin, and then delivering most of the presentation herself.

"Chloe really stepped up," Ethan had told their teacher, Mrs. Davison.

"Yeah, she' s got a lot of initiative," Jax had added, beaming at Chloe.

Ava had stood by, feeling her work, her voice, erased. Undermined.

Last week, Chloe had worn a new silk scarf to school, a beautiful emerald green.

"Oh, this old thing?" Chloe had trilled when complimented. "Ethan just thought I looked a little cold yesterday, so he picked it up for me. So thoughtful, right?"

Ava' s breath had caught. Ethan had been looking at a similar scarf for Ava' s birthday last month, then decided against it, saying it was "a bit much."

Chloe flaunted it, a small, silken banner of her triumph.

It made Ava' s stomach churn.

The pre-prom party at Sarah Chen's house was the real turning point.

Ava had spent months saving for her dress, a pale blue, off-the-shoulder gown that made her feel like a princess.

Her grandmother' s sapphire necklace, a family heirloom, completed the look.

She' d felt beautiful, excited.

Then Chloe had walked in.

Wearing Ava' s dress.

Wearing Ava' s grandmother' s necklace.

Ava' s blood ran cold.

"Chloe! What are you doing?"

Chloe had feigned surprise, her eyes wide and innocent. "Oh, Ava! I am so, so sorry! I was at your house earlier, your mom let me in to wait for you, and I saw it hanging on your door. I just tried it on for a second, it was so beautiful, and then your mom said you were running late and I should just meet you here... I completely forgot I was still wearing it! And the necklace just matched so perfectly. I can take it off right now!"

Her voice was a masterpiece of panicked apology.

Ethan and Jax had rushed to Chloe' s side.

"Ava, calm down," Ethan had said, his tone sharp. "It was clearly a misunderstanding."

Jax put an arm around Chloe, who was starting to sniffle. "Yeah, Ava, don't be so dramatic. Chloe looks amazing, doesn't she?"

He' d actually winked at Chloe.

"She's not being generous, is she?" Chloe whispered, loud enough for Ava to hear.

"It' s just a dress," Ethan continued, his voice hardening. "We can Venmo you for it if it' s such a big deal. Don' t ruin the party."

Betrayal, sharp and cold, pierced Ava.

They didn't see it. Or they didn't want to.

They chose Chloe.

Ava looked back at the Yale application, the cursor blinking patiently.

The hurt from the prom dress incident, the project, the constant dismissal in their group chat – it all coalesced into a single, undeniable truth.

Ethan and Jax were no longer her Ethan and Jax.

Or maybe they never truly were.

She took a deep breath and clicked "Submit" on the Yale application.

A sense of resignation washed over her, a bitter acceptance.

But beneath it, a tiny spark of defiance, of liberation.

They had made their choice.

Now, she had made hers.