Lena's POV
I didn't expect a cake to be the thing that shattered my world.
My hands trembled as I stared at my phone, notifications exploding across the screen like digital fireworks. And there it was - the tweet that cracked my pride wide open:
> "When you try to adult but end up face-planting into a cake
#EpicFail #CakeDisaster"
The video was everywhere. Me - tangled hair, frosting-smeared dress, slipping in what was supposed to be a picture-perfect moment. I looked ridiculous. Broken. Humiliated.
I tried to laugh it off, but it stuck in my throat. I didn't even recognize the girl in the video anymore. She looked like a mess. And maybe... she was.
Max's POV
I was halfway through my morning coffee when I saw her.
Lena Thompson. Trending.
I blinked. Then laughed. Not at her - never at her - but because only Lena could trip, fall into a cake, and still go viral with more charm than any influencer out there. Her chaos had always been... magnetic.
But something in her eyes, even behind the frosting and embarrassment - it hit me. There was hurt there. Real hurt. And suddenly, it wasn't funny anymore.
My phone buzzed - her mom.
"Yeah, I saw the video," I said, trying to sound calm. "She'll be okay. I'll look out for her. Like always."
I meant it. I always had.
Lena's POV
The comments came in waves.
> "This is iconic!"
"Who let her plan an event?!"
"Someone give this girl a helmet next time."
I knew they were jokes. But they still cut.
I dropped my phone onto the couch and let myself fall beside it. The room felt heavy. Empty. My chest ached in that quiet, aching kind of way - the way it does when you're alone in your own disaster.
And then, in the middle of it all, a strange peace settled in. Maybe I needed to go back. Back to where it all started.
To Oakdale.
To quiet streets.
To people who remembered me before the pressure, before the spotlight.
To Max.
The drive home was a blur - just highway lines and too many thoughts. But as the town's welcome sign came into view, my heart whispered something I hadn't heard in a long time:
Maybe this fall... is the beginning of something real.