The gym was eerily quiet, save for the occasional hum of the overhead lights. His footsteps echoed faintly as he made his way down the main court, the sharp squeak of his shoes on the polished wood floor slicing through the silence. He glanced around, confusion knitting his brows. Sarah had promised to meet him here for their date, but she was nowhere in sight. A knot of unease began to form in his stomach.

Then he heard it—a muffled, rhythmic noise coming from the storage closet at the far end of the gym. At first, he dismissed it as his imagination, but as he drew closer, the sound grew clearer. Ragged breaths. A low, masculine groan. A woman's moan, unmistakably Sarah's voice.

His breath caught in his throat. He forced his legs to move, each step heavier than the last until he reached the slightly ajar door of the storage closet. With trembling hands, he pushed it open.

Inside, tangled in the dim glow of the small overhead light, Sarah was bent over a stack of gym mats, her brown hair spilling over her flushed face. Behind her, James gripped her hips, his movements rough and primal, his smirk visible even in the poor lighting.

"Fuck, Sarah," James grunted, his voice dripping with arrogance. "You like this, don’t you? Bet he can’t make you feel like this."

"James... shut up," Sarah panted, her cheeks red as she clung to the mat, avoiding looking at the door.

Time seemed to freeze. He stood there, motionless, his chest rising and falling as the weight of what he was seeing crushed him. He couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. His mind raced, but his body betrayed him, locked in place as if rooted to the spot.

"What the hell is this?" A sharp, familiar voice cut through the air. Victoria Blackwood strode into the gym, her cheer bag slung over one shoulder. She stopped in her tracks as her piercing green eyes took in the scene—the closet door ajar, his stricken expression, and the two figures tangled inside. Her lips twisted into a snarl.

"You’ve got to be fucking kidding me." Victoria dropped her bag and marched straight to the door, her movements purposeful and filled with fury. She shoved the door open wider, the loud creak breaking the rhythm of the scene inside.

"Alright, enough of this shit!" Victoria’s voice was like a whip crack. Sarah yelped, scrambling to cover herself with her hands while James stepped back, his smirk faltering into a scowl.

"Victoria, what the hell are you doing?" James barked, his hazel eyes narrowing. "This is none of your—"

"Shut the fuck up, James," Victoria snapped, her tone venomous. "You’re disgusting. And Sarah..." Her gaze shifted to the brunette, who was now clutching her clothes to her chest, trembling. Victoria’s voice dripped with disdain. "You’ve got some nerve doing this to him."

Victoria turned sharply on her heel, storming toward him. Her expression softened—just slightly—when she saw the stunned, broken look on his face. She stepped in front of him, blocking his view of the scene.

"Hey," she said firmly, her voice low but insistent. She reached out, her hand hovering near his arm, unsure if she should touch him. "Don’t stand here and let them do this to you. You don’t deserve this, alright?"