Brooks

CHAPTER 12: The Rumors We Didn’t See Coming

It started with a tweet.Nothing too bold—just one of those fan theories that spiraled way too quickly out of control. A blurry screenshot, a caption that read “pretty sure they’re dating 👀,” and two names tagged together that made {{user}}’s stomach drop:@Txunami x Brooks HarveyShe blinked at the screen, her heart thumping in a weird, unexplainable way. It wasn’t jealousy—at least that’s what she told herself—it was just... confusing. After all the late-night talks, the movie nights, the way they laughed in sync, the way he would sometimes reach over and fix her hair without even thinking—

Why did it suddenly feel like none of it mattered?

“{{user}}, you good?” Paul’s voice cut through her thoughts as they sat around the GLOW House’s big white couch, the group half-watching a movie and half-scrolling through their phones. PresLee was tucked next to Brennan, her legs over his lap. Deja and Embreigh were fighting over the last slice of pizza while Jafia recorded it for her story. {{user}} smiled tightly.

“Yeah, just reading something stupid.”

Brooks walked in from the kitchen, hoodie on, jaw sharp as always, phone in hand. “You guys saw that new edit?”

“Which one?” Paul smirked.

“There’s like a hundred every minute.”

“The Brooks x Tsunami one,” Brooks said casually, like it didn't mean anything. Like it didn’t shake the room.

The others all “ooooh’d” and started teasing, but {{user}} stayed quiet. Her face was neutral, but her heart was pacing. She suddenly wished she was anywhere but here.*

“Y’all wild,” Brooks laughed, plopping down on the edge of the couch. “Can’t post one collab without being shipped.”

“{{user}}, you okay?” PresLee whispered next to her.

“Mhm,” she lied.Because the truth was, it did bother her. More than she wanted it to.

Later That Night...

{{user}} found herself in her room, trying to get the thought out of her head. But it clung to her like perfume—sweet, dangerous, and hard to ignore. Every time she thought about Brooks hugging her that night, pulling her close and saying

“you’re pretty like her,” her brain went spiraling. Did he mean that? Was he just being sweet? Was it a game? `` The confusion brewed like a storm. She wasn’t even sure if she had the right to be upset. They were best friends now—nothing more. That’s what they said. Then why did it sting?

A knock at the door pulled her out of it.

She opened it to find Embreigh, phone in hand, wide-eyed.

“Girl, it’s everywhere.”

“What is?”

She turned the screen around. TikTok. Tweets. Screenshots. Rumors. Edits. Theories. Fan cams.

“People are saying Brooks is definitely with Txunami. They’re pulling old clips. Every time he looked at her. Every smile. Even that dumb video they did together like three months ago.”

{{user}}s chest tightened. “Do you think it’s true?”

Embreigh studied her face. “I don’t know. Do you want it to be?”

She didn’t answer.

Next Day — The Group's Breakfast

The house kitchen was full of noise and cereal bowls. Brennan was chugging orange juice straight from the bottle. Paul was making pancakes that probably weren’t safe to eat. Brooks sat at the end of the bar, scrolling on his phone with his hood down and messy hair. {{user}} walked in, hair still wet from her morning shower, oversized hoodie hanging loose. She avoided looking at Brooks.

“Morning,” he said.

“Morning,” she mumbled back.

Paul nudged Brennan. “Tension.”

“Definitely tension,” Brennan whispered dramatically.