Chapter 23: Conditions Apply
812 Words
By Friday afternoon, Ava had accepted two facts.
The first was that she was stuck with Ethan Blackwood.
The second was that she hated the first fact.
Unfortunately, reality didn't care about her feelings.
Which was why she found herself sitting alone in the library after school, waiting for the most annoying person at Kingsley Academy.
Three minutes passed.
Then five.
Then—
"You're late."
Ethan dropped into the chair opposite her.
"I'm thirty seconds late."
"That's still late."
Ethan placed his bag on the table.
"You timed me?"
"I had nothing else to do."
"That's sad."
Ava narrowed her eyes.
The meeting had started less than a minute ago.
They were already arguing.
Wonderful.
---
For a few seconds, neither spoke.
The project file sat between them like a bomb waiting to explode.
Finally, Ethan opened it.
"We need a plan."
"We need rules."
Ethan paused.
"Rules?"
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
Ethan sighed.
"We're working on a project, not signing a peace treaty."
Ava pointed at him.
"Exactly why we need rules."
---
Ten minutes later, they were writing rules.
Against Ethan's will.
Mostly.
Ava wrote the title at the top of a notebook page.
PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
Ethan stared.
"You made it sound legal."
"It is legal."
"It isn't."
"It should be."
---
Ava uncapped her pen.
"Rule number one."
Ethan already looked exhausted.
"No personal questions."
"Agreed."
The answer came so quickly that Ava blinked.
Apparently they both liked that rule.
A lot.
She wrote it down.
---
"Rule number two."
Ethan folded his arms.
"No unnecessary conversations."
Ava nodded immediately.
"Excellent."
"No random discussions."
"Perfect."
"No annoying comments."
Ava pointed at him.
"Especially from you."
Ethan looked offended.
"From me?"
"Yes."
"You started a pen war."
"You deserved it."
"There you go again."
---
Ava ignored him and continued writing.
"Rule number three."
"No interference in each other's lives."
"Agreed."
"No opinions."
"Agreed."
"No advice."
"Agreed."
"No showing up where you're not invited."
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds very specific."
"It isn't."
"It definitely is."
---
The list continued growing.
Rule four.
Rule five.
Rule six.
Each one somehow more ridiculous than the last.
At one point Noah walked past their table.
Read the page.
And almost collapsed laughing.
"What is this?"
"A contract."
"It looks like a hostage negotiation."
Ava and Ethan spoke simultaneously.
"Leave."
Noah laughed even harder.
---
A few minutes later, Liam arrived.
Unfortunately.
He read the list.
Then looked at them.
"Rule seven: No friendship."
Ava nodded.
"Good addition."
Ethan nodded too.
"Very important."
Liam stared.
"You two are unbelievable."
"Thank you."
"We weren't complimenting you."
Liam walked away shaking his head.
---
Eventually even Jace appeared.
He scanned the page silently.
Then looked up.
"You know normal partners usually just... work together."
Ava frowned.
"We are working together."
"You wrote twelve rules."
"Thirteen."
Jace looked at Ethan.
"You wrote some of them too."
"I know."
Jace sighed.
"There's no saving either of you."
---
Once their friends finally disappeared, silence returned.
For the first time all afternoon, they actually discussed the project.
Research topics.
Deadlines.
Presentation ideas.
Responsibilities.
Surprisingly...
It wasn't terrible.
Still annoying.
Still awkward.
But not terrible.
Ava hated admitting that.
---
An hour later, they had accomplished more than expected.
The project outline was complete.
Tasks had been divided.
Future meetings were scheduled.
Everything was organized.
Ava closed her notebook.
"That went better than I expected."
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Immediately, she regretted it.
Ethan looked up.
"So you expected disaster?"
"Obviously."
"Fair."
---
For a moment, neither spoke.
The late afternoon sunlight filtered through the library windows.
Most students had already gone home.
The room felt unusually quiet.
Peaceful, even.
Then something happened.
Something strange.
Something Ava wasn't prepared for.
Ethan laughed.
Not his usual sarcastic laugh.
Not the one he used when teasing people.
A real laugh.
Genuine.
Unfiltered.
The kind that appeared before he could stop it.
And with it came a smile.
A real one.
For just a second.
---
Ava froze.
Because she'd never seen it before.
Not properly.
The confident grin?
Yes.
The smug smile?
Constantly.
But this?
This was different.
Warmer.
More human.
Less Ethan Blackwood, Kingsley's Golden Boy.
More Ethan.
Just Ethan.
The realization caught her completely off guard.
---
Ethan noticed her staring.
Immediately, the smile disappeared.
"What?"
Ava looked away so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash.
"Nothing."
"You're staring."
"I wasn't."
"You were."
"I wasn't."
"You definitely were."
Ava grabbed her bag.
"I'm leaving."
Ethan looked suspicious.
"Why?"
"No reason."
"Ava."
"Nope."
---
She stood and headed for the exit before he could ask another question.
Her heart felt strangely unsettled.
Which made absolutely no sense.
It was just a smile.
A normal smile.
People smiled every day.
There was nothing special about it.
Nothing at all.
So why couldn't she stop thinking about it?
- Writer
