Chapter 1: A Prank Too Far
Ava Martinez's Monday morning had started perfectly or at least, perfectly for someone who thrived on color-coded planners, meticulous schedules, and a very specific sense of order. Her first class of the day, Advanced Chemistry, was supposed to be a quiet hour of reviewing notes, answering practice questions, and maybe getting a head start on the lab report due Friday.
She marched into the classroom with her backpack snug on her shoulders, a neatly labeled binder in hand, and a thermos of coffee her mother insisted she carry everywhere. The room smelled faintly of bleach and old textbooks, the hum of fluorescent lights filling the otherwise calm space. All was predictable.
And then Jace Carter walked in.
He didn't just walk; he swaggered, as though the hallway were his personal runway. His messy blond hair fell into his green eyes, and the smirk on his lips could only be described as infuriatingly self-assured. Jace had an uncanny ability to make everyone laugh, groan, or want to throw something at his head. Ava was firmly in the third category.
"Morning, Martinez," he drawled, leaning lazily against the doorframe. "Coffee in hand, grades in mind, ready to conquer the world?"
Ava shot him a glare sharp enough to cut glass. "Morning, Carter. And yes, unlike some people, I plan to pay attention in class instead of plotting ways to prank the teacher."
Jace laughed, rich and infectious, earning curious glances. "Prank? Me? Never. I'm an angel. Pure angel."
Ava rolled her eyes so hard she swore she strained something. Sliding into her usual front-row seat, she lined her sharpened pencils beside her notebook. Perfect chemistry, the way she liked it.
But Crestwood High and Jace Carter never played by the rules.
A tap on her shoulder made her turn. Jace was holding a glittery confetti cannon.
"Uh… what is that?" she demanded.
"It's… science related," Jace said with mock innocence, though the sparkle in his eyes betrayed him.
"If that explodes in my hair, I swear…"
He didn't wait. With a flourish, he pressed the trigger. Glitter burst into the air, coating her desk, notes, and most horrifically her hair. Ava sat frozen as neon flecks clung to every surface.
The class erupted. Some clapped, others howled. Ava brushed furiously at her notes. "Seriously? Do you have any concept of personal space?"
"Personal space is overrated," Jace said smoothly.
Before Ava could explode, Mr. Hargrove, their tall, stern teacher, cleared his throat. "Mr. Carter," he said slowly, "glitter does not belong in the classroom."
"Noted, sir," Jace said innocently. "Though I think it makes chemistry more exciting."
Ava pinched the bridge of her nose. If she survived this class, it would be a miracle.
As Mr. Hargrove launched into a lecture on chemical reactions, Ava scribbled furiously, determined not to look at Jace. But the glitter sparkled in the light, mocking her.
Chaos struck again when a sneeze at the back startled her, tipping her pencil case. Pens spilled across the floor. As she bent to pick them up, she bumped Jace's desk, sending a pile of his messy "notes" cascading onto her shoulder.
"Really?" she snapped. "How are you always this chaotic?"
"I prefer the term 'creative energy,'" Jace grinned.
Ava brushed herself off, glitter still clinging stubbornly. She wanted to storm out but refused to give him the satisfaction.
When the bell rang, she grabbed her bag and made for the hallway. She'd almost escaped when his voice called, "Hey, Martinez! Wait up!"
She turned reluctantly. Jace jogged to her side, notebook in hand. "Don't look so mad. You'll wrinkle your beautiful planner."
"Why do you always ruin my day?" she demanded.
"Because someone has to keep things interesting," he said, flashing that maddening grin.
Before Ava could retort, a janitor came chasing a student with a mop, while a paper airplane whizzed past her ear. Crestwood High, as chaotic as ever, swirled around her, and Ava felt like she was caught in the storm named Jace Carter.
As she headed to her next class, she tried to shake off the morning, but a fleeting image stuck: Jace, briefly serious, watching the hallway chaos. Concern flickered in his eyes before it vanished behind his smirk.
Not that it mattered. Jace Carter was infuriating, distracting, and irrelevant to her perfectly planned life.
Still, when she slid into her English seat, she found herself thinking about the glitter trail on the floor and that look he'd worn. A spark flickered inside her not romantic, of course. Ridiculous. It was just curiosity.
And curiosity had a way of wrecking perfectly ordered Mondays.
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By lunch, Ava had survived without further disasters, though glitter clung persistently to her hair. She sat with Emily at their usual table near the windows, safely distant from Jace's orbit.
"Glitter?" Emily smirked. "Classic Carter."
"You have no idea," Ava muttered, dropping her tray. "He's a one-man tornado. If I get through high school without him ruining at least three classes a week, it'll be a miracle."
Emily laughed. "You're exaggerating. Mostly."
"Mostly? He's relentless!" Ava groaned.
"Relentless… or charming?" Emily teased.
Ava shot her a glare. "Charming? Please. That's a distraction. And the last thing I need is a distraction with the science fair, debate tournament, and chemistry all happening at once."
"Or surviving Carter with your sanity intact?" Emily smirked. "Admit it you kind of like the thrill."
Ava nearly choked. "What? No! That's absurd. And if you ever say that to anyone else, I'll deny it so vehemently they'll think you're insane."
Emily only grinned wider, making Ava groan.
Across the cafeteria, Jace was laughing with Ethan and their friends. His eyes flicked to Ava, catching hers for a split second. That smirk returned, smug and knowing, like he was already under her skin.
Ava's stomach twisted. She hated that grin.
And yet she couldn't stop thinking about it.
By the final bell, Ava was bracing herself for tomorrow. Mondays were bad enough. But Mondays with Jace Carter promised a chaos her planner couldn't save her from.
Little did she know, the glitter incident was only a warm-up for the storm about to hit Crestwood High.