CHAPTER TEN
1421 Words
(Ava’s POV)
The laughter around the bonfire rose higher as the night deepened. Students traded stories, locals sang, the professor pretended not to notice the beer bottles changing hands. It was chaos, but warm chaos.
Ava should’ve felt comfortable, tucked in the circle with everyone else, sipping cider and jotting down observations for her midterm notes.
But she wasn’t comfortable.
Because across the fire, Kara was still attached to Ethan like a second skin.
She laughed too loud at everything he said, leaned into him until their shoulders pressed, fingers trailing casually down his arm as if she owned it. Ethan, of course, didn’t shake her off. No he just sat there with his signature lazy smirk, sipping from his cup, watching Kara’s performance with clear amusement.
And Ava hated it.
God, why do I care so much?
Her fox plush the stupid fox he’d won her sat in her lap like a reminder. Every time Kara leaned closer, every time Ethan’s smirk widened, Ava’s fingers dug into the toy’s fur.
Maya, sitting beside her, was eating the scene up like popcorn.
“You’re gonna break that thing in half,” Maya whispered.
Ava scowled. “I’m fine.”
“You’re glaring daggers at Kara like you’re about to duel her under the moonlight.”
“I am not!”
“You totally are. Ooooh, look she’s touching his hair now. Juicy.”
Ava’s stomach knotted. Sure enough, Kara had leaned in to tuck a strand of Ethan’s hair back like she had any right to. He chuckled at something she whispered, head tilted toward her, lips curved.
Ava’s chest squeezed so hard it almost hurt.
She wanted to scream. To throw something. To.....
And that’s when Ethan looked across the fire.
Their eyes met, for just a second. His smirk flickered wider, deliberate, like he knew exactly what she was feeling. Like he was waiting for her to break.
Her pulse roared in her ears.
Without thinking, without breathing, Ava snatched the fox plush from her lap and hurled it straight into the flames.
The toy hit the fire with a soft thud, flames licking up its cheap fur instantly. The circle gasped, several students laughing at the sudden outburst.
Maya’s jaw dropped then she burst into hysterical laughter. “Oh. My. GOD. You just committed plushie homicide!”
Ava’s face burned hotter than the bonfire itself. “I...he...it’s stupid, I don’t care...”
Across the flames, Ethan had gone still. Kara leaned back, blinking at the sudden drama, but Ethan’s smirk returned slow and sharp.
He raised his cup in her direction, a mock salute, like she’d just entertained him more than Kara ever could. His eyes never left hers, glinting with heat and something far more dangerous.
Ava’s breath hitched.
Oh no.
She’d given him exactly what he wanted.
“What the hell was that?” Maya wheezed, clutching her stomach from laughing so hard. “You didn’t just throw the fox. You yeeted it into the fire like it owed you money!”
Ava buried her face in her hands. “I panicked!”
“You panicked and COMMITTED ARSON!”
“It’s not arson if it’s a plush....” Ava started, then stopped, because Ethan was moving.
He stood, brushing off his jacket, Kara’s hand sliding reluctantly from his arm. For a moment, Ava thought he was just going to leave with Kara. Her stomach plummeted.
But no he walked around the fire. Straight toward her.
Ava froze, still half-hiding behind her hands.
He crouched down until his face was inches from hers, his shadow cast long by the flames. His voice was low, velvet smooth, meant only for her.
“Jealousy looks good on you, princess.”
Her head snapped up, eyes blazing. “I’m not....”
“You are,” he interrupted softly, smirking again. “You can deny it all night, but I saw the way you looked at her. And then…” He tilted his head toward the fire, where the last scraps of burnt fabric curled to ash. “…you proved it.”
Her cheeks burned. “You’re insufferable.”
“And yet…” His voice dipped lower, his eyes glinting. “…you can’t stop thinking about me.”
Ava’s heart stumbled so violently she almost forgot how to breathe.
Maya leaned between them suddenly, camera flashing. “Perfect. That’s going in the dramatic lovers’ quarrel section of my scrapbook.”
“MAYA!” Ava yelped, shoving her back, but the moment was already ruined.
Ethan straightened up, smirk never fading, before strolling back to his seat. Kara immediately tried to reclaim his attention, but his gaze flicked across the fire toward Ava one last time.
Like he’d already won.
And Ava wanted to scream, cry, and strangle him all at once.
Later, when the bonfire burned lower and the students began drifting off to their rooms, Maya slung an arm over Ava’s shoulders, still chuckling.
“You’re doomed, girl. Doomed.”
“I hate him,” Ava muttered, though her chest still raced.
Maya smirked knowingly. “Yeah. That’s the problem.”
By the time the bonfire dimmed to glowing embers, most of the students had already stumbled back to their rooms. The professor left hours ago, muttering something about grading and “pretending not to see underage drinking.” Even Maya finally grew tired, yawning dramatically before disappearing with her camera bag, but not without one last parting shot:
“Don’t set any more plushies on fire, Ava. There’s only so much the poor fox population can take.”
“Goodnight, Maya,” Ava hissed through gritted teeth.
And then, suddenly, she was alone.
Or… she thought she was.
Because when she turned, there he was.
Ethan. Leaning casually against the wooden fence, hands in his pockets, firelight licking across his jaw like the flames themselves were drawn to him.
Her pulse jumped.
“You should be with your fan club,” she muttered, hugging her arms across her chest.
His smirk curved. “Kara?”
“Don’t say her name.” The words shot out before she could stop them. Ava’s face heated instantly. “I mean...I don’t care. I just don’t need to hear it.”
Ethan pushed off the fence and strolled closer, every step deliberate. His shadow stretched long across the dirt, merging with hers near the fire.
“You really threw it in.” His voice was low, teasing, but softer than it had been earlier when the whole circle was watching. “The fox. My gift.”
“It wasn’t a gift,” Ava snapped, cheeks burning hotter. “It was… it was a trap. A bribe. Whatever.”
He chuckled, circling the fire until he stood right across from her. “You could’ve just left it in your room. But no… you had to make a statement. Right in front of me.”
She glared at him, clutching her arms tighter. “I wasn’t making a statement.”
“Oh, princess…” He tilted his head, smirk deepening. “You made one loud and clear.”
Her chest tightened. His eyes God, those eyes caught the dying flames and glowed like they carried the fire inside them. She hated the way they pinned her in place, the way he made her feel like she couldn’t move, couldn’t think.
“You’re so full of yourself,” she whispered, though her voice wavered.
“And you’re terrible at lying,” he countered smoothly.
Ava swallowed hard. The silence stretched between them, only broken by the crackle of the fire. The air felt charged, heavy, like one wrong word could set the whole night ablaze.
Finally, Ethan sighed and shook his head, almost amused. “You’re not ready for this.”
Her brow furrowed. “Not ready for what?”
He stepped closer, the fire crackling louder as if in warning. His voice dropped, velvet soft:
“For me.”
Her breath caught. For a split second, she forgot how to stand, how to breathe, how to exist.
And then he smirked again, turning away before she could even form a response.
“Goodnight, Ava.”
He walked off, his shadow vanishing into the dark, leaving her alone with the embers and the ash of the fox she’d burned.
Her heart pounded in her ears, her fists clenched at her sides. She wanted to hate him.
But all she could do was whisper to the empty night:
“…I don’t need to be ready.”
- Writer
