Lost But Found | ✔️ - Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Friday Night Lights
The stadium lights blazed against the darkening sky, illuminating the field as the crowd erupted in a deafening roar. Ava Carter stood at the edge of the cheerleading formation, her pom-poms clutched tightly in her hands. From the outside, she was just another high school cheerleader—smiling, confident, and full of spirit. But inside, her stomach twisted into knots, the echoes of a past she could never quite escape pressing down on her chest.
She took a deep breath, forcing a bright smile onto her face as the Wildcats charged onto the field. The star quarterback, Jaxon Reed, led the team with his usual effortless confidence, his helmet tucked under one arm as he jogged to the sidelines. Even from a distance, Ava could see the cocky smirk that had made half the school swoon.
Jaxon was everything she wasn't—fearless, untouchable, and completely unaware of the kind of darkness that shadowed her life.
"Ava! Ready?" Claire, her co-captain, nudged her.
She shook off the weight of her thoughts and nodded. "Yeah. Let's do this."
As the music blared through the stadium speakers, Ava moved through the routine with practiced ease. Cheers, flips, and high-energy chants filled the air, but her gaze kept drifting toward Jaxon. It wasn't that she had a crush on him—at least that's what she told herself. He was just hard to ignore. The way he commanded attention, the way he played like he had something to prove. He was the golden boy of Westwood High, and she was the girl who spent her nights sneaking out to avoid her father's drunken rage.
She was so lost in thought that she almost missed the cue for their pyramid. Shaking herself, she climbed onto Claire's shoulders, balancing as they held the pose. The crowd cheered, the school's colors flashing beneath the bright lights.
Then it happened.
The ball snapped, Jaxon took off, and in an instant, everything shifted. The opposing team's linebacker broke through the line, slamming into Jaxon with brutal force. He hit the ground hard, and the stadium went silent.
Ava barely registered the gasp that escaped her lips as she leaped down from the pyramid. The cheer squad faltered, but she was already moving, pushing through the crowd of players gathering around Jaxon.
She didn't know what possessed her to rush to his side. Maybe it was the way he wasn't moving. Maybe it was the way fear clawed at her chest, reminding her too much of the nights when her mother didn't move fast enough to dodge her father's fists.
Kneeling beside him, she hesitated. "Jaxon?"
A groan. His eyelids fluttered open, and for the briefest moment, those stormy blue eyes locked onto hers.
"Well, this is embarrassing," he muttered, his voice rough.
Ava let out a shaky breath, relief flooding her. "You're an idiot," she blurted before she could stop herself.
His lips quirked. "You were that worried about me, huh?"
She rolled her eyes, pushing back the warmth creeping into her cheeks. "Not really. I just didn't want to have to cheer for the backup quarterback."
Jaxon chuckled, wincing as he tried to sit up. The athletic trainer rushed in, and Ava stepped back, suddenly feeling self-conscious. What was she doing? He wasn't her problem. He wasn't supposed to be anyone's problem.
But as she walked back to the sideline, something about the way he looked at her—like she was more than just a face in the crowd—unsettled her. Because if there was one thing she knew for sure, it was that getting close to someone like Jaxon Reed was dangerous.