"Alright class," Ms. Carter said, clapping her hands once. "We're starting a new project today. You'll be working in pairs."
A collective groan filled the room.
I sat up a little straighter.
Pairs weren't that bad… unless—
"Partners will be assigned," she added.
Oh no.
I glanced around the room, silently praying. Anyone normal. Anyone quiet. Literally anyone who wasn't—
"Ethan Cole and—"
No.
"—you."
I dropped my head onto my desk.
You have got to be kidding me.
A few people snickered again (why did this keep happening to me??), and I slowly lifted my head, staring straight ahead like if I didn't move, maybe it wasn't real.
"Guess we're meant to be," Ethan's voice came from behind me.
"I'm going to fail on purpose," I muttered.
He laughed. "Relax, I'll carry you."
I turned around so fast my chair squeaked. "I don't need you to carry me."
"Good," he said. "Because I wasn't planning to."
I narrowed my eyes. "You're actually unbearable."
"And yet, here I am. Your partner." He gave me a mock smile. "Try not to cry about it."
"I'm not crying," I snapped.
"Not yet."
I faced forward again, gripping my pencil like it had personally betrayed me.
This was going to be a disaster.
Ten minutes later, we were sitting across from each other with a worksheet between us.
Neither of us had written anything.
"This is your fault," I said.
"How??" Ethan leaned back in his chair. "You're the one not talking."
"Because every time I talk, you say something annoying."
"That's not true."
I gave him a look.
"…Okay, that's a little true," he admitted.
I sighed. "Can we just do the project?"
"Fine," he said, leaning forward again. "What's the topic?"
I blinked. "You didn't listen?"
"I was busy."
"Doing what??"
He held up his phone slightly. "Important things."
"You mean nothing."
"Wow, you really know me."
I closed my eyes for a second. "We're doing it on ecosystems."
"Boring."
"Then you should've paid attention."
He smirked. "I like watching you get mad. It's more interesting."
I stared at him.
Why was he like this??
"Okay," I said slowly. "New rule."
"Oh, I love rules."
"You don't talk unless it's about the project."
He pretended to think about it. "Hmm… no."
"Ethan."
"What?"
"I'm serious."
"So am I," he said, smiling.
I pushed the worksheet toward him. "Then you do it yourself."
He looked down at it… then back up at me.
"You'd really let us fail?"
"No," I said. "But I will make this as painful as possible for you."
He laughed under his breath. "You already are."
A few minutes passed.
Somehow—somehow—we actually started working.
I wrote notes. He… surprisingly contributed.
"Producers are plants," he said, tapping the paper. "They make their own food."
"I know that."
"Just making sure."
I rolled my eyes but wrote it down anyway.
There was a weird moment of silence after that.
Not awkward exactly… just quiet.
"You're not as dumb as you act," he said suddenly.
I paused. "Excuse me?"
"I'm serious," he said, shrugging. "You actually know stuff."
I stared at him.
"…Was that a compliment?"
He made a face. "Don't make it weird."
"You literally just said something nice."
"I take it back."
"No, you don't."
"I do."
"You don't."
He smiled a little. "Okay… maybe I don't."
My stomach did that stupid flip again.
I hated that.
"Ethan."
We both looked up.
It was her.
Of course.
Kayla.
Perfect hair, perfect makeup, perfect everything.
She leaned against his desk like she belonged there. "Are you coming to practice later?"
He leaned back in his chair again, way more relaxed than he'd been with me. "Yeah, probably."
She smiled at him. "Good."
Then her eyes flicked to me.
Just for a second.
But it was enough.
"Oh," she said lightly. "You're his partner?"
I forced a smile. "Unfortunately."
Ethan snorted.
Kayla laughed softly, but it didn't feel friendly. "Good luck with that."
"I'll need it," I said.
She turned back to Ethan. "Don't let her boss you around too much."
My grip tightened on my pencil.
Excuse me??
"I don't boss people around," I said.
Ethan glanced between us, clearly enjoying this way too much.
Kayla just smiled again. "Sure."
Something about the way she said it—
Ugh.
"I don't," I repeated.
"Mhm."
"Okay, you don't even know me—"
"Alright," Ethan cut in, laughing a little. "Relax. It's not that serious."
I froze.
Relax?
Seriously?
I looked at him, waiting for him to say something else.
He didn't.
He just leaned back, like this was all a joke.
Like I was a joke.
Something in my chest tightened.
"Yeah," I said quietly, looking back down at the paper. "Not that serious."
The rest of the period felt… off.
We still worked. Sort of.
But it wasn't the same.
Every time I glanced up, Ethan was on his phone again. Or laughing at something. Or just not looking at me.
And I told myself I didn't care.
Obviously I didn't care.
Why would I care??
The bell rang.
I packed my stuff quickly, not even waiting this time.
"Hey," Ethan said as I stood up.
I didn't look at him. "What?"
"You're leaving already?"
"Yeah."
"We didn't finish."
"We will tomorrow."
There was a pause.
"…You're mad," he said.
I let out a small laugh. "I'm not mad."
"You sound mad."
"I'm not."
"Okay," he said slowly. "Then what are you?"
I finally looked at him.
"I just remembered why I don't like you," I said.
His expression shifted.
Not joking this time.
Not smiling.
Just… surprised.
"Oh," he said.
For a second, I almost felt bad.
Almost.
Then I walked away.
But the whole time, one thought wouldn't leave my head—
Why did it bother me…
That he didn't try to stop me?