Chapter Two: The Wrong Number
1511 Words
Lena Carter had a rule.
She did not get attached to strangers on the internet.
It was a very reasonable rule.
A smart rule.
It was a rule she'd picked up after binge-watching enough documentaries to know that trusting strangers online was often the first step towards a terrible mistake.
Unfortunately, making rules was much easier than sticking to them.
Especially when the stranger was funny.
Lena stared at her phone the next morning as another message appeared.
Unknown:
Important question. How many chapters does the Ethan Brooks situation require?
Lena smiled despite herself.
She was sitting on her bed, still half asleep, with her history textbook open beside her.
She had not read a single page.
Not because she was distracted.
Because she was… gathering information.
That was different.
Completely different.
Lena:
Depends. Are we counting the chapters where he annoys me without speaking?
The reply came almost immediately.
Unknown:
That sounds impressive. Most people need words to be annoying.
Lena laughed quietly.
She hated that this person was good.
Lena:
Exactly. See? You understand.
Unknown:
I understand that you might have a personal vendetta against this guy.
Lena looked at the message.
A personal vendetta.
That was dramatic.
Accurate, maybe.
But dramatic.
Lena:
I don't have a vendetta.
Unknown:
You sent a stranger a message saying you might transfer schools because of him.
Lena paused.
Fair point.
Lena:
Okay. Maybe a small vendetta.
Unknown:
Good. I was worried you were going to say you were completely normal.
She smiled.
The odd part was that she usually couldn't stand conversation like this. Small talk always felt empty.
People asked questions out of habit, not genuine curiosity.
And most pretended to listen while waiting for a chance to speak.
But this was different.
The stranger didn't know her.
He didn't know she was the girl teachers praised for being responsible.
He didn't know she was the editor of the school newspaper.
He didn't know people called her intimidating.
With him, she wasn't "Lena Carter, the girl who argues too much."
She was just Lena.
She hadn't realized how exhausting it was to be everyone else's idea of her.
Her alarm went off.
She groaned.
Reality had returned.
School.
Fantastic.
The place where joy went to disappear.
---
By the time Lena reached Westbridge High, the halls were already crowded.
Someone was running toward class with a half-eaten sandwich.
Someone else was loudly explaining why homework should be considered a human rights violation.
And near the lockers stood Ethan Brooks, surrounded by half the football team.
Of course.
Ethan noticed her immediately.
She honestly found that annoying.
The school had hundreds of people, yet somehow he always noticed when she entered a room.
"You look disappointed to see me," Ethan said as she walked past.
"I'm disappointed the building is still standing."
A few football players laughed.
One of them, Jordan, shook his head.
"You two practice these conversations, right?"
"No," Lena and Ethan said at the same time.
They both stopped.
Lena narrowed her eyes.
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
Jordan looked between them.
"That was terrifyingly synchronized."
"Don't make it weird," Ethan said.
"You're the one who synchronized an answer."
"You're the one watching."
Jordan held up his hands.
"I'm leaving before I get dragged into whatever this is."
He walked away.
Lena adjusted the books in her arms.
"You know, some people actually enjoy mornings."
"Some people are suspicious."
"Some people are annoying."
"Some people are describing themselves without realizing it."
She looked at him.
He looked back.
There was always this strange moment between them.
Like neither of them knew whether they were arguing...
or simply looking for one more reason to keep talking.
Then the bell rang.
Saved by school.
Lena stepped backward.
"Try not to ruin anyone's day, Brooks."
Ethan smiled.
"No promises, Carter."
She walked away.
She told herself she didn't notice his smile.
She told herself she didn't care.
But later, when she opened her phone during history class and saw a new message from the stranger...
She smiled again.
And that bothered her more than Ethan ever did.
Ethan Brooks had a problem.
Actually, he had several.
His math grade was dangerously close to becoming a problem.
His coach had decided the team needed extra practice before Friday's game.
And his younger sister had somehow convinced him to help her build a presentation about a book he had never read.
But the biggest problem?
Lena Carter.
Not because she was annoying.
Although she was.
Not because she argued about everything.
Although she absolutely did.
The problem was that Ethan had started looking forward to it.
The arguments.
The sarcastic comments.
The way she walked into a room as if she had already prepared a speech against everyone inside it.
It was frustrating.
Mostly because Ethan knew something about her that nobody else did.
Online, Lena was different.
It was strange to think that the same girl who never let him win an argument in class was also the girl who stayed up past midnight, quietly trusting him with her deepest fears.
The same girl who admitted she worried she wasn't doing enough.
The same girl who confessed she sometimes felt invisible even when people noticed her.
He wished she could see herself the way everyone else did.
And Ethan couldn't stop thinking about it.
"You're staring at your phone as it owes you money."
Ethan looked up.
Jordan was sitting beside him in the locker room, tying his shoes.
"I'm not."
Jordan glanced at the phone in Ethan's hand.
"You literally smiled."
"I did not."
"You did."
"I was reading something funny."
Jordan nodded slowly.
"Interesting. Because the only things that make you smile are food, winning, and your little sister."
Ethan put his phone away.
"You analyze people too much."
"You're one to talk."
Ethan frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Jordan shrugged.
"It means you're usually annoying because you act like you know everything. But lately you've been distracted."
"I'm not distracted."
"You're distracted right now."
Ethan opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Jordan grinned.
"Exactly."
---
After practice, Ethan sat in his car longer than usual.
He opened his messages.
His fingers hovered over the screen.
One message.
That was all it would take.
Then he locked his phone instead.
But his phone buzzed.
A message.
From Lena.
Not from school.
From the number he wasn't supposed to have saved.
Lena:
I have decided something.
Ethan smiled.
He already knew this conversation would be dramatic.
Ethan:
Should I be concerned?
A few seconds passed.
Lena:
Probably.
He laughed.
Ethan:
That's not comforting.
Lena:
I have accepted that I may never understand why people like Ethan Brooks.
Ethan stared at the message.
There it was again.
His name.
He should tell her.
He knew he should.
Every time she complained about him, every time she described him as arrogant or impossible, he wanted to type: "You know you're talking to him, right?"
But then he imagined her reaction.
The disappointment.
The feeling that the one place she felt safe wasn't actually safe.
So instead...
He typed:
Ethan:
Maybe Ethan Brooks is misunderstood.
The response came instantly.
Lena:
Interesting theory.
Ethan:
You disagree?
Lena:
Strongly.
He laughed.
Ethan:
You haven't even considered my argument.
Lena:
I know enough.
Ethan leaned back.
That sentence bothered him more than it should have.
Because he knew the truth.
She didn't know enough.
Not about him.
Not really.
Ethan:
What if the person you think you know isn't actually who they are?
The typing bubble appeared.
Then it disappeared.
Then it appeared again.
Finally:
Lena:
Then they should probably stop pretending.
Ethan went quiet.
The words felt heavier than she intended.
Because he was pretending.
Not about everything.
But about the biggest thing.
---
The next morning, Lena walked into English class and immediately regretted arriving early.
Because Ethan Brooks was already there.
Sitting in her usual seat.
She stopped.
"Move."
Ethan looked up.
"No."
"You are sitting in my seat."
"It's a chair, Carter. Not a historical landmark."
"It becomes one when I sit there."
"That might be the most dramatic thing you've ever said."
"That's impressive considering you know me."
A few students nearby laughed.
Ethan moved his backpack slightly.
"Fine. Sit."
Lena narrowed her eyes.
"That was suspiciously easy."
"I can be reasonable."
"No, you can be confusing."
"Same thing."
"It really isn't."
She sat down.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Ethan said quietly:
"You know, maybe you should try getting to know someone before deciding you hate them."
Lena looked at him.
The comment was different.
Less teasing.
More serious.
She didn't know why that surprised her.
"You should try being someone worth knowing."
Ethan smiled slightly.
"Maybe I am."
For a second, she almost asked what he meant.
The bell cut the conversation short.
Neither of them recognized the quiet irony.
Lena was searching for someone she already trusted with her thoughts.
And Ethan longed for her to truly see him...
Even as he kept the truth of who he was hidden.
- Writer
