Chapter 28: Questions
848 Words
The problem with curiosity was that once it started, it didn't know when to stop.
Ethan discovered this the hard way.
For three days, he'd been trying not to think about Ava's two-hour commute.
For three days, he'd failed.
Spectacularly.
It was becoming ridiculous.
He'd be doing homework.
Then suddenly—
Two hours.
He'd be eating dinner.
Two hours.
Trying to sleep?
Two hours.
At this point, Ava Williams was personally attacking his peace of mind.
"You look distracted."
Ethan looked up from his lunch.
Across the table, Noah was studying him suspiciously.
"I'm not."
"You are."
"He is," Liam added.
Jace didn't even look up from his book.
"Definitely."
Ethan sighed.
Why did he have friends?
---
"What are we overthinking today?" Noah asked.
"I'm not overthinking anything."
Liam gasped dramatically.
"He's lying."
"Badly."
"Painfully badly."
Ethan grabbed a french fry and threw it at him.
Liam dodged.
Unfortunately.
Noah leaned forward.
"Is it the project?"
"No."
"School?"
"No."
"Ava?"
Ethan nearly choked.
The table exploded.
"Oh my God."
"I knew it."
"No way."
Even Jace looked mildly interested.
A rare event.
"It's not Ava."
Noah laughed.
"You reacted before I finished the question."
"I didn't."
"You did."
"I didn't."
"You absolutely did."
For the rest of lunch, Ethan regretted every decision that had led him to that table.
---
Meanwhile, Ava's day wasn't much better.
A girl from her class had spent ten whole minutes asking if she and Ethan were secretly becoming friends.
Ten minutes.
Ten.
---
"We're not friends."
"Then why do you spend so much time together?"
"The project."
"Sure."
"The project."
The girl smiled.
Ava wanted to throw something.
By the time project period arrived after school, both Ava and Ethan were already annoyed.
Which meant things felt normal again.
The library was unusually busy.
Several students were preparing for upcoming tests.
Others were pretending to study while gossiping.
Kingsley students were talented like that.
Ava sat down first.
A few minutes later, Ethan arrived.
For a while, they worked in silence.
Research.
Notes.
Typing.
The usual.
Then Ethan looked up.
And made a terrible decision.
---
"So."
Ava didn't even glance up.
"No."
"I haven't said anything."
"You started with 'so.'"
"And?"
"Nothing good ever follows."
Ethan ignored her.
Mostly because she wasn't entirely wrong.
A few minutes passed.
Then—
"What time do you leave home?"
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
Immediately, he regretted it.
Ava looked up.
Slowly.
Suspiciously.
Dangerously.
---
"What?"
Ethan suddenly felt like he was being interrogated.
Which was impressive considering he was the one asking questions.
"What time do you leave home?"
Ava blinked.
Then blinked again.
"Why?"
Good question.
One Ethan wasn't prepared to answer.
"No reason."
"That's a lie."
"It isn't."
"It is."
The conversation ended there.
At least, it should have.
Ethan tried focusing on his notes.
He really did.
For approximately six minutes.
Then—
"You spend almost four hours commuting every day."
Ava froze.
---
Silence.
---
"You've been asking people about me?"
Ethan immediately knew he'd made a mistake.
A huge one.
Possibly a fatal one.
---
"No."
Ava raised an eyebrow.
"Ethan."
"Not intentionally."
"That's somehow worse."
The library suddenly felt very interesting.
A few nearby students were clearly listening.
Shamelessly.
Ava closed her notebook.
"Why do you care?"
The question came out sharper than expected.
Not angry.
Just guarded.
Very guarded.
---
Ethan hesitated.
Because honestly?
He wasn't sure.
A week ago he wouldn't have cared.
A month ago he definitely wouldn't have cared.
But now...
Now he found himself noticing things.
Wondering things.
Questioning things.
And that was becoming a problem.
"I was curious."
The answer was honest.
Unfortunately.
Ava looked at him for several seconds.
Long enough to make him uncomfortable.
Then she looked away.
"I'm not answering."
Simple.
Direct.
Final.
"Why not?"
Ava laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because she couldn't believe he was asking.
"We literally made rules."
"Oh."
"Rule number one."
Ethan groaned.
"No personal questions."
"Exactly."
For some reason, that disappointed him.
More than it should have.
The conversation moved on.
Or at least pretended to.
Both returned to work.
Neither mentioned it again.
But the atmosphere had changed.
Slightly.
Subtly.
Because for the first time, Ethan had tried looking beyond the rivalry.
Beyond the rankings.
Beyond the arguments.
And Ava had immediately shut the door.
Not because she hated him.
Not because she wanted to be rude.
Because some walls didn't come down that easily.
As they packed up later that evening, Ava left first.
Like always.
"See you tomorrow."
"Yeah."
Then she was gone.
Ethan watched her disappear through the library doors.
Thinking.
Again.
A habit he was starting to blame on her.
He still didn't know much about Ava Williams.
Not really.
Just fragments.
Bits and pieces.
A scholarship.
A long commute.
Good grades.
A stubborn personality.
But somehow that only made him more curious.
Because the more he learned...
The more he realized how much he didn't know.
And for the first time since meeting her...
He wanted to know more.
- Writer
