[Ridgemont University 04] • Rewriting Destiny

Standalone entry set in the fictional Ridgemont University. MM gay sweet college romance. No cliffhangers, HEA

Kyle Abrahams has just started doing his masters in engineering, well ahead of his fellow students. He graduated high school at only 15-years-old and finished his undergraduate degree at the age when most other students were only starting theirs. In his research as a student at the Ridgemont University Academy for Experimental Science and Technology, Kyle has developed something that many thought to be impossible: he has perfected his professor's algorithm for developing a window into the future, a device capable of calculating all probabilities in order to predict events up to a week in advance with startling accuracy. He realizes the dangerous implications of the device and questions whether to go public with it, but in the meanwhile he uses it for his own benefit: to profit from the stock market, to apply for research grants and to finally impress people at parties with his new 'psychic' abilities.

Unfortunately, the device predicts something terrible will happen in the near future with 92.3 percent confidence, the highest level of confidence Kyle has ever seen. A student, Marshall de Villiers, the local rugby champion and high-school friend of Kyle’s, will suffer a devastating accident during the championship rugby match. Kyle decides that it's his ethical obligation to save Marshall; besides, maybe for once the geek can be the hero. It's up to Kyle to get close to Marshall, not giving away too much about his device but somehow making Marshall trust him, and to convince him to drop out of the match.

Marshall de Villiers is the overconfident, charming captain of the Ridgemont University rugby team. Marshall is loved by everyone, and he is always the center of attention, but there is a side to Marshall that no one knows. Deep down, Marshall is wondering whether being the “rugby legend” is all that he is, and whether fulfilling his father’s dreams is all that he’s destined for. His father had mapped out Marshall’s life since the day he was born: Marshall would be everything that his father never could, and fulfill the dream that was snatched away from his father - becoming a professional rugby player. But Marshall wonders if he can change his destiny and pursue his hidden passion of being a songwriter. Of course, no one will even entertain the thought of Marshall ever doing anything other than rugby.

When Marshall runs into Kyle Abrahams again, the guy who was such a genius that he skipped two grades in high school, Marshall is intrigued by someone who is so fearlessly himself. Marshall finds himself drawn to Kyle; maybe this is finally someone he can show all of the parts of himself to, someone he can trust fully to accept him for who he is. But when Kyle starts talking crazy, telling Marshall to drop out of the championship game because something terrible is about to happen, the trust between them is tested. Marshall wants to believe that he is in charge of his own destiny, and nothing is meant to be, no matter how sure Kyle is that his computer program's prediction is right. Will Marshall listen to Kyle’s ramblings and trust the program that Kyle seems to place all of his faith in? Or will he follow his father’s wishes and be the man his father believes he was meant to become?

Kyle and Marshall soon start to realize that their destinies are intertwined, and that the feelings that are starting to develop between them might be written in the stars. But if Marshall goes through with the rugby match and the program's prediction is right, their journey might just be cut short. It’s a conflict of science and faith, brain and brawn, self-determination and predestination in this tale of love, trust, and being who you truly are.

Contains medium heat and medium angst. Emphasis on sweet romantic moments and character-driven, slow burn true love.