Step brothers

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Vivian stretched lazily in bed, her entire body still aching from the excitement of yesterday. Representing her grade as the First-Year Muse had been exhausting, and the adrenaline rush of cheering for Oliver's team until they won had taken everything out of her.

Still, she had to admit it had been an amazing experience.

She rolled over and reached for her phone, expecting maybe a text or two from Kelvin, but instead, her screen was filled with Instagram notifications. Her heart skipped a beat as she unlocked it and scrolled through the alerts.

Her post from last night had blown up.

Vivian's eyes widened as she went through the comments. Most of them weren't even about the tournament or her role as the muse—they were about Oliver.

@randomuser1: Omg, Oliver sleeping on your shoulder is the cutest thing ever!

@randomuser2: Y'all are such a couple goals!!

@randomuser3: Wait, are they dating??

@randomuser4: Little Ms. Perfect AND her star player?? We see you, Viv!

Vivian's face turned bright red. Couple goals?! Dating?! What were these people even talking about? She had only posted it because she thought it was funny Oliver knocked out after an intense game.

Now random people were speculating about them?

Shaking her head, she locked her phone and tossed it onto her bed. It's just Instagram. Don't overthink it.

Still, she couldn't shake the weird feeling in her chest as she got up to get ready for the day.

—

When Vivian came downstairs, the usual chaos of the Sinclair and Gray household was already in full swing.

The kitchen smelled like coffee and toast, and the voices of her stepbrothers filled the air.

Mason stood by the counter, sipping black coffee like he was an exhausted parent. Cayden and Caleb were huddled together, laughing over something on Cayden's phone. Aiden was listening as Ivan and Oliver talked animatedly about yesterday's game.

"Morning, princess," the twins greeted in unison, smirking at her.

Vivian rolled her eyes but laughed. "Morning, idiots."

Cayden grinned. "Aw, someone's cranky. Let me guess you woke up to your notifications blowing up?"

Vivian froze. "...What?"

Aiden smirked. "Yeah, your post is kinda viral. People are shipping you and Oliver."

Oliver, who had just taken a sip of juice, nearly choked. "What?!" He coughed, turning red. "Are you serious?"

Aiden shrugged. "Yeah, dude. You haven't seen the comments?"

Oliver quickly pulled out his phone, scrolling through his Instagram. His eyebrows furrowed at first, but then his eyes went wide.

"What the hell?" he muttered.

Vivian groaned. "It's stupid. People are just reading too much into it."

Mason, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke up. "I saw it too," he said, taking another sip of his coffee. "It's weird. You two are basically like twins."

Oliver stiffened for a split second, but before he could say anything, Ivan smirked knowingly. His gaze flickered toward Oliver, amusement dancing in his eyes.