Who Breaks First (Clearwater University)

The three of us are used to owning whatever school we’re in. It was the case in high school, and it’s still the case at Clearwater U. That’s why it seems sort of odd when I see people staring at Trent and whispering to themselves as we pass. I even see some girls laughing at him, and all the other guys are shaking their heads and grinning.

What the fuck is going on?

“What’s up?” Reese mutters, just as we catch up to Trent.

“I dunno,” Trent replies, obviously picking up on the same thing I am.

“Something is definitely going down,” Reese says.

“It’s probably not a big deal,” Trent shoots back, but I can tell he doesn’t quite believe that.

We keep moving, and the whispers and stares only get more pronounced. Finally, Trent stops. We’re standing near the entrance to Frances Hall, and we can hear a group of girls talking just inside the building. It doesn’t seem strange at first, until we hear them say Trent?

??s name.

“Oh my God, did you watch the video? With Trent Cooper?” one girl asks.

“Seriously? I watched it, like, three times. It’s so insane,” another girl replies.

“Jen texted me in the middle of the night. She told me to check out the online student portal immediately. Oh my God, I just about died.”

“Me too!” a third girl pipes in. “I mean, he’s hot, but how embarrassing is that? Didn’t anyone ever warn him about the sex tape rule?”

“What rule?”

The first girl laughs. “If you make a sex tape, it will get out. It’s like some kind of law of nature of something.”

The three of us are frozen. What the fuck is she talking about? Trent? Sex tape?

But Trent’s expression has gone stiff. His jaw clenches as he yanks out his phone, typing furiously. A second later, his nostrils flare as he stares at the screen.

Reese and I step up beside him, and my head jerks back. Motherfucker. Not only is it a video of Trent jerking off, but there are, like, six hundred comments below it.

“What. The. Fuck?” Trent grates out, his voice hoarse.

“Jesus,” I breathe.

I watch Trent’s face turn red with anger, and Reese and I share a look.

Emma.

“Did you know about this?” Reese asks Trent.

“Of course, I didn’t fucking know about this.” Trent’s hand tightens on the phone. I looked away a long time ago, because I don’t really need to see one of my best friends abusing himself on camera, but he’s still staring at the screen, like if he just looks at it hard enough, he’ll be able to make it disappear.

“I didn’t think she’d stoop so low,” Reese mutters.

“That fucking bitch.” Trent curses. “If she had any guts, she could have at least kept herself in the video. But she’s too much of a coward.”

“Dude, did you know she was making a video?”

“No, I didn’t. Of course I fucking didn’t. This was weeks ago. She’s been planning this all along.”

“What are we going to do?” Reese asks.

Trent shakes his head, finally cutting off the video. “I have no idea.”

That’s literally the first time Trent has admitted to not having an idea. He’s always the guy with a plan—and now, he’s blank.