Done Being Her Dirty Secret Chapter 1

The dance showcase had just wrapped up. Both Damon, our campus golden boy, and I stepped forward at the exact same time to hand Zoe something to drink.

I had brought her favorite electrolyte water—the specific brand she always drank after grueling routines.

Damon had just grabbed a lukewarm bottle of water from the folding table.

Zoe looked right past me, reached for the bottle in Damon’s hand, and drank it down without blinking.

Bridget, the team captain, saw me standing there alone, head down, picking awkwardly at my cuticles. She reached out and took the sports drink from my fingers to save me from the humiliation.

"If Zoe doesn't want it, give it to me," Bridget said with an easy laugh. "I just sweated through three routines. I’m dying of thirst."

I let her take it.

But the second it left my hands, Zoe lunged forward, snatched the bottle right out of Bridget’s grip, and slammed it straight into the trash can.

That was Zoe. She operated purely on impulse, utterly unchecked.

Never caring about my dignity.

Never sparing a thought for how it looked to the rest of the team.

She didn't even bother to glance up and see the quiet devastation on my face.

Right then, something clicked shut inside me.

A love kept in the shadows wasn't love at all. It was just a slow execution.

* * *

The lightheartedness dropped from Bridget’s face instantly. Her expression hardened.

"You crossed a line, Zoe."

"Ian handed that to me. What right do you have to throw it in the garbage?"

Bridget turned to me, lowering her voice. "Ignore her, Ian. You know how volatile she gets."

She apologized, then bent down without a shred of hesitation and fished the bottle out of the trash.

I caught her wrist. "It touched the trash can. It’s dirty now. Don't drink it."

Bridget twisted the cap off and took a long gulp. "It’s fine. The seal wasn't broken. It’s clean."

From her bench, Zoe let out a cold, sharp scoff.

"And how do you know the seal wasn't broken?"

"You trust him that easily?"

"Aren't you worried he slipped something strange in there just to mess with you?"

She left the accusation deliberately vague, but the poison spread through the locker room instantly. The team erupted in whispers.

"Wait, did Ian try pulling something like that on Zoe before?"

"No wonder Zoe’s always had an attitude toward him."

"Zoe usually keeps it polite even when she can't stand someone. She never embarrasses people in public."

"Except with Ian. She’s never given him a single warm look."

"She won't even drink the water he buys, and she freaks out if he touches her gear."

I stood frozen in the middle of the studio, the words catching in my throat. I couldn't even mount a defense.

Because on the surface, everything they said was true.

Zoe had insisted she didn't want people whispering that I’d gotten the student manager position through favoritism. So whenever anyone else was around during rehearsals, she acted as though we were complete strangers.

To the outside world, we didn't know each other.

And now, they assumed she simply despised me.

"If someone like him is running logistics for our squad, doesn't that put all of us at risk?" someone muttered.

A suffocating silence fell over the room.

Bridget’s hand stilled. She cut a razor-sharp glare across the studio, and the dancers who had been whispering quickly clamped their mouths shut.

Damon, on the other hand, loved the spectacle. He arched an eyebrow at me, wearing a smirk designed to bait me.

"Captain, you really ought to watch your back," he said smoothly. "Regionals are right around the corner. If something happens to you, where does that leave the rest of the team?"

Blood rushed to my ears. Dizzy with fury, I forced myself to defend my name.

"I bought that drink five minutes ago at the convenience store across the street! If you don't believe me, we can pull the store’s security footage right now. I didn't tamper with anything."

Damon's expression didn't waver.

"Hey, I was just looking out for Bridget. If your conscience is so clean, why are you getting so defensive?"

A rumor takes three seconds to start and a lifetime to bury.

I stepped forward to confront him, but Bridget caught my arm, pulling me back.

"I believe you," she said firmly.

She turned to Damon, her eyes chilled. "Without proof, that’s slander. And this is a closed team rehearsal. Guests weren't invited. I’m going to ask you to leave."

Zoe stood up, letting out an irritated click of her tongue.

"It was just a joke, Bridget. Do you really have to blow everything out of proportion?"

"Besides, Damon is here because I invited him."

"I talked to Coach Warren a few days ago about adding another student assistant. Coach approved it."

"As of today, Damon is an official part of the dance team."