Chapter 321 - Golden Couple

Chapter 321: Chapter 321 - Golden Couple

By the time Noah announced that Golden Couple voting was closing soon, Roxie had almost forgotten Bianca was still somewhere in the room.

She was sitting beside Zac with one leg crossed over the other, half listening to Angela while watching people crowd around the refreshments. The music had gotten louder again after the mess at their table, and everyone had gone back to dancing so quickly that Roxie wondered how many people farther away had even noticed the argument.

Noah’s voice came through the microphone. "If you still have your Golden Couple ballot, voting closes in ten minutes. There are pens at the table near the entrance."

Karen looked toward the entrance. "I forgot about that."

Mason immediately stood.

Karen looked at him. "Why are you moving so fast?"

"I’m voting."

"For who?"

Mason looked at her.

Karen stared back for a second before shaking her head. "You’re so fucking stupid."

Roxie laughed as everyone started moving toward the voting table.

There was already a small line when they got there. Student Council had left a stack of cards beside several pens and a clear plastic box filled with folded ballots. Zac grabbed a card first and turned slightly away from Roxie while he wrote.

That alone made her suspicious.

"What are you writing?"

"Nothing."

"You’re literally writing something."

Zac covered the card with his hand, so Roxie leaned around him. "Move."

"No."

She grabbed his wrist and pulled it aside.

Roxxane Jones and Zachary Prescott.

Roxie looked at him.

He looked back like voting for himself was the most normal thing in the world.

"You’re serious?"

"We’re a couple."

"You voted for yourself. Conceited much?"

Zac smirked. "I don’t know. My girlfriend likes winning too much."

Roxie rolled her eyes. "Winning or not, I know we’re the best couple."

Zac started folding the card. "Conceited much?"

Roxie laughed and punched his arm.

He dropped the ballot into the box before she could grab it.

"You have no shame."

"It’s a vote."

Roxie picked up her own ballot and looked toward Karen.

Mason was standing beside her trying to see what she was writing while Karen kept turning the card away from him.

"Who are you voting for?"

"Someone."

"Who?"

"Someone else."

"Why are you hiding it?"

"Because you’re annoying."

Roxie looked down at her own ballot and started writing Karen and Mason.

Karen somehow noticed from several feet away.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Roxie."

Roxie looked up innocently. "What?"

Karen walked over, took the ballot straight out of Roxie’s hand, read it, tore it once and put the pieces back into Roxie’s palm.

Then she walked away.

Roxie stared after her.

Mason looked delighted. "Write it again."

Karen turned around. "Try her."

Roxie started laughing. "Fine."

She grabbed another card.

Zac was watching her now with his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised.

Roxie sighed, wrote both of their names and folded the ballot.

"Happy?"

"Very."

She shoved it into the box. "Loser."

Someone behind Roxie said her name.

She turned automatically.

Two girls were standing a few feet away. Roxie recognized both from school but couldn’t remember their names.

One of them held up her phone. "You’re going viral."

Roxie’s stomach dropped immediately. Her mind went straight to Claire, the pictures and that fucking video of her standing there when she realized what was falling around her.

"For what?"

The girl’s expression changed. "Oh." She looked embarrassed. "Your performance. Sorry. I meant your performance."

Roxie blinked.

The girl stepped closer and turned the phone toward her. "I posted this."

It was Roxie’s routine.

The clip started during one of her earlier passes and ended after her finish, before any of the photographs came down. Roxie took the phone and looked at the number beneath it.

Then looked again.

"That’s a lot."

The girl laughed nervously. "Yeah."

Her friend leaned in. "She’s been staring at the views all night."

"Shut up."

"You refresh it every two minutes."

"I do not."

"You did it while we were walking over here."

The girl looked at her. "Can you stop talking?"

Roxie laughed and scrolled through the comments.

People were talking about her layout, her aerial and the landing she had recovered from. Someone thought the recovery was intentional while somebody else was arguing that it definitely wasn’t. Other people were asking what school this was, who Roxie was and where they could see the full performance.

One comment just said she was hot.

Roxie scrolled past it.

The girl shifted beside her. "I should’ve asked before posting it."

Roxie looked up.

"I just thought it was really good, so I posted it. Then it started getting views and I kind of freaked out."

Her friend laughed. "She called me when it hit ten thousand."

"Stop."

Roxie smiled. "It’s fine."

The girl looked at her. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Roxie looked at the video again. She actually liked watching this one. It ended with her finishing the routine and smiling, before the morning went to shit.

"Keep it up."

"Okay."

"Just tag me."

The girl nodded quickly. "Yeah. Definitely."

Then she looked at the views again. "If this keeps going, you might actually make me money."

Her face immediately changed.

"Oh fuck. That sounded horrible."

Roxie laughed.

"I meant the performance. My account is monetized."

"I know."

"This is the first thing I’ve posted that actually got this many views."

Her friend was already laughing again.

The girl shoved her shoulder.

Roxie handed the phone back. "Keep your money."

"Thank you."

"For posting me?"

"For getting views."

The girl groaned. "I’m leaving."

Roxie laughed.

Before they walked away, the girl turned back. "Seriously though. You were really fucking good."

Roxie paused.

"Thanks."

For a second she had thought they were coming over because of Claire.

They hadn’t even been thinking about that.

Zac came back beside her after dropping something into the trash. "What happened?"

"She posted my routine and apparently I made her account famous."

Zac looked at her. "Oooh. This is bad."

Roxie frowned. "What?"

"You’re flying too close to the sun."

"Shut up."

She was still grinning when Zac put his hand against her cheek. His thumb moved over her skin, and Roxie leaned into his palm before she could think about it.

She closed her eyes.

The whole day had been fucking awful, but somehow she was standing here happy anyway. Karen and Angela were around, the dance was still going, and Zac was touching her so softly that her stomach started doing stupid things again.

"Stop that," he muttered.

"Why?" Roxie opened her eyes.

"You know why."

Zac looked at her for another second. "I’m gonna get hard."

Roxie slapped his hand away as he burst out laughing.

"You always ruin things when you open your mouth."

"That’s not what you said last time."

Roxie narrowed her eyes.

Zac pitched his voice higher. "Zac, your mouth is amazing."

"Shut up!"

Roxie laughed and covered his mouth with her hand.

Zac kissed her palm.

She yanked it away. "You’re disgusting."

He was still laughing when he took her hand and looked toward the dance floor. "Come on."

"Where?"

"Dance."

"That sounded like an order."

"Then stay here."

He started letting go.

Roxie grabbed his hand again. "Asshole."

Zac smiled and pulled her toward the floor.

The dance floor was more crowded now, but they found a space near Angela and Caleb. Zac put his hands around Roxie’s waist while she rested hers against his shoulders.

It was still weird being this close to him at school without either of them checking who was around first. Earlier that week they would have pulled apart the second somebody came near them.

Now everybody knew.

Roxie caught someone looking from the edge of the floor, and her brain immediately started wondering whether it was Claire, the performance or Zac.

She stopped herself.

She had no fucking idea, and she was tired of trying to figure it out.

Roxie looked at Zac instead. He was saying something, but the music swallowed half of it.

"What?"

"I said your heel is on my foot."

Roxie looked down.

It was.

"Oops."

"Move."

She moved her foot and started laughing.

"That fucking hurt."

"Stop being a baby. You get tackled by grown ass guys. You’ll survive."

"I wear pads when they do that."

Roxie laughed and moved closer again.

She could spend the whole night looking around and trying to guess what everybody thought, but she was sick of doing that to herself.

The music lowered before she could think about it any longer.

Noah stepped back onto the platform with the microphone. "Relax. Voting is closed."

Zac looked at Roxie.

She immediately pointed at him. "Don’t start."

"I didn’t say anything."

"You’re thinking it."

"I think we have a shot."

"We voted for ourselves."

"That’s two votes."

"There are hundreds of people here."

"Maybe everybody voted for themselves."

Roxie laughed. "Then everybody wins?"

"Sounds fair."

Zac guided her back toward the table while Student Council counted the ballots.

Mason was leaning over Karen again.

"Who did you vote for?"

Karen ignored him.

"Was it us?"

Still nothing.

Mason looked toward Roxie. "She voted for us."

Karen slowly turned her head. "I voted for a couple I actually like."

Mason looked offended. "Who?"

Karen took a drink.

Mason kept staring at her.

Roxie looked away before she laughed again.

A few minutes later Noah got back onto the microphone with several cards in his hand.

"Okay. We have results."

People near the dance floor started turning toward him.

Noah looked down at one of the cards.

"Before that, whoever voted for Coach Miller and Coach Hayes, I need context."

The gym erupted.

Roxie’s head snapped toward Coach Miller.

He looked horrified.

Coach Hayes looked even worse.

Mason bent over the table laughing.

Noah looked at another card. "Also, some of you only wrote your own name. I have questions."

Someone shouted from the crowd.

Noah shook his head. "Anyway."

The room started settling.

Noah looked down at the result card.

"Your 2026 Sweetheart Golden Couple is..."

He stopped.

Then turned toward the side of the platform.

"To be announced by our principal, Mrs. Gonzalez."

Several people groaned.

Roxie stared at him. "You asshole."

Zac laughed beside her as Mrs. Gonzalez walked up and took the microphone.