Against The Alpha's Rules

Chp 7

Willow POV

“This is not happening.”

“It’s absolutely happening.”

“I refuse.”

“You don’t get a vote.” I say with a worried look on my face.

I stare at both of them through the mirror, arms crossed, expression flat.

Stef grins like she just discovered a new hobby. Sarah looks calmer but that’s worse because when she agrees with Stef, it means I’m doomed.

“You said you wanted to test the disguise,” Stef adds, already pushing a pile of clothes into my arms. “So we’re testing it.”

“On Ethan?” I deadpan. “The same Ethan who has known me my entire life?”

“Exactly,” Sarah nods. “If he doesn’t recognize you, no one will.” I open my mouth to say something but then realize it's useless arguing so then I close my mouth but it we see they actually have a point. “I hate both of you,” I mutter, grabbing the clothes anyway.

Stef beams. “Love you too.” The dressing room is small, warm, and smells faintly like new fabric and bad decisions, mostly bad decisions. “Okay,” Stef claps once, pacing like she’s directing a crime scene. “Step one: lose the Willow energy.”

“I don’t have Willow energy.”

Sarah raises an eyebrow. “…Okay, rude.” I say. “Step two,” Stef continues, ignoring me completely, “posture.” She walks over, grabs my shoulders, and physically pushes them back.

“Stand straight. Less… soft.”

“I am not soft.”

“You literally apologize to furniture when you bump into it.”

“That was one time.”

“It was a table, Willow.”

“…It came out of nowhere.”

Sarah snorts, covering her mouth to hide a smile.

“Focus,” Stef says, turning me toward the mirror again. “Less expression. Boys don’t overreact.”

“I don’t overreact.”

Both of them just stare at me.

“…Fine,” I sigh.

“Good,” Stef nods. “Now voice.”

“No.”

“Lower it.”

“No.”

“Willow.”

I glare at her reflection.

“…Hi,” I say flatly, forcing my voice slightly deeper.

Stef squints. “You sound like you swallowed a cold.”

Sarah laughs while holding her stomach. She is the one having the most fun here.

“Try again,” Stef insists.

I inhale slowly and then try it again.

“Hey.”

Lower. Shorter.

They both pause.

“…Okay,” Sarah nods slowly. “That’s actually not bad.”

Stef grins. “Progress.”

I roll my eyes, adjusting the hoodie over my head.

“Can we be done now?”

Stef’s smile turns dangerous, “Oh, we’re just getting started.”

Five minutes later, I regret everything. “Wait—wait—why are we hiding?,“Because it’s fun,” Stef whispers, crouched behind a rack of jackets like we’re about to commit a felony.

“This is a felony,” I whisper back. “I’m pretty sure this is how crimes start.”

“Shh,” Sarah hisses softly, peeking out. “He’s here.”

My stomach drops.

“You called him already?” I whisper, horrified. While trying to cover my face.

“Of course,” Stef says proudly. “Told him to come pick you up.”

“You’re insane.”

“I know.” she said with a smile.

I press a hand to my face.

“This is a terrible idea.”

“Too late,” Sarah murmurs. “He’s coming in.”

I hear footsteps, familiar ones, I freeze.

“Act natural,” Stef whispers.

“I don’t know how to do that!”

“Exactly,” she mutters. “Just don’t speak too much”, rude but that's Stef and I love when she dominates over me.

I straighten, pulling my hood lower as I step out from behind the rack.

And then I heard a familiar voice, “There you are!” Ethan’s voice cuts through the store. I turn, very slowly and there he is.

Same messy hair. Same slightly annoyed expression. Same presence that somehow fills the entire space even when he’s doing absolutely nothing.

His gaze lands on me and it stays there.

A second passes and then another.

“…Who are you?”

Silence.

Stef chokes and Sarah turns away, our shoulders shaking. First they were so confident but now they are nervous.

And I….I blink.

Ethan frowns, looking at me up and down. “Where’s Willow?”

I bite the inside of my cheek, really hard.

“She said she’d be here,” he continues, glancing around like I might magically appear from behind a shelf. “Did she send you or something?”

Oh my God.

“I—” I start, then stop myself, lowering my voice. “She’ll be here.”

Ethan squints at me.

“…Why do you sound weird?”

“I don’t,” I replied quickly, my hands shaky.

Too quickly he tilts his head, he is suspicious and behind him, Stef is literally turning red trying not to laugh.

“Are you sick?” Ethan asks.

“No.”

“…Did you swallow a frog?”

That’s it.

I’m done.

“Seriously?” I snap before I can stop myself.

And the moment the words leave my mouth—

I freeze.

Ethan freezes and slowly…very slowly

his eyes narrow.

“…Willow?”

Behind him Stef and Sarah burst, full-on laughter, no control and no shame.

I close my eyes, of course I do because i and ashamed and the other reason is because I got caught.

Ethan stares at me and then at them, then back at me.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.” I pull my hood down slightly, glaring at all of them.

“It was their idea,” I say flatly.

“Liar,” Stef manages between laughs.

“I hate you,” I mutter.

Ethan walks closer, circling me once like I’m some kind of experiment.

“…I didn’t recognize you,” he admits slowly.

That makes all three of us pause.

“…Wait, really?” Sarah asks.

He shrugs. “I mean, she looked weird but I thought it was just some random guy.”

“Excuse me?” I deadpan.

“You do look like a random guy,” he says honestly.

Stef loses it again.

I stare at him.

“…I’m leaving.”

“No, wait,” Ethan grabs my arm lightly, still staring at me with something between disbelief and amusement. “Turn around.”

I don’t.

“Willow.” he says, trying to stop me.

I sigh and turn, he studies me again, longer this time.

“…Okay,” he nods slowly. “This might actually work.”

Something shifts, just slightly.

Stef claps. “See? Genius.”

Sarah grins. “You’re officially unrecognizable.”

I glance at my reflection again.

It's the same face and same eyes but somehow.

Not the same person and for the first time

that doesn’t scare me.

“Alright,” Ethan says, stepping back. “Let’s go. We’ve got work to do.”

I pull my hood back up and adjust my sleeves and follow the because this…..this is where it starts.