Beneath the Same Sky

Chapter 3

The cafeteria buzzed like a swarm of angry bees. Ethan Blackwell hadn’t even made it to the lunch line before his presence set off a ripple effect of whispers, stares, and not-so-subtle phone pictures.

“Is that Ethan Blackwell?”

“No way. What’s he doing here?”

“Did he get expelled from that fancy prep school?”

Ava sat frozen at her table, her half-eaten peanut butter sandwich forgotten. Jules, of course, was reveling in the chaos, leaning across the table to whisper conspiratorially.

“This is gold. Actual, real-life gold,” Jules said, her voice practically vibrating with excitement. “He’s like a Kardashian. Rich, dramatic, and completely out of place here. Do you know what this means?”

“That my week is officially ruined?” Ava muttered, staring daggers at Ethan as he sauntered toward the lunch line like he owned the place.

“No,” Jules said, grinning. “It means we just became part of his next scandal.”

“I’m not part of anything,” Ava snapped, lowering her voice as Ethan glanced her way. His eyes met hers for a fraction of a second—dark, amused, and maddeningly self-assured—before he turned back to the unimpressed lunch lady holding a ladle full of questionable mashed potatoes.

“Let’s see how long that lasts,” Jules said with a wink.

***

By the time Ava made it to her next class, the rumors had already mutated into full-blown theories.

“He cheated on his girlfriend, and his dad sent him here to punish him,” one girl whispered as Ava walked past.

“No, he got caught drag racing in his Lamborghini,” another boy added, shoving a phone in his friend’s face.

It didn’t take long for Ava to find herself roped into the chaos.

“Ava,” a girl from her chemistry class whispered as they took their seats. “You talked to him, didn’t you? What’s he like? Is he as awful as he seems, or is that just his reputation?”

Ava sighed. “He’s…exactly what you’d expect.”

That much was true. Ethan Blackwell was the living embodiment of every entitled rich boy stereotype ever written. Except, Ava had to admit, there was something unsettling about the way he carried himself—like he didn’t care what anyone thought, but also like he was hiding something.

Not that she cared.

As the teacher started droning on about the periodic table, Ava tried to focus on her notebook. But her attention kept drifting to the whispers behind her.

“I heard his dad’s company is worth, like, a billion dollars.”

“More like fifty billion. Blackwell Enterprises owns half the city.”

“Then why’s he here? Shouldn’t he be at some fancy rehab center or something?”

Ava rolled her eyes. She could feel Ethan’s presence like a storm cloud hovering at the back of the room, but she refused to look.

***

By the time the final bell rang, Ava had had enough. She headed straight for her locker, determined to grab her sketchbook and avoid any more drama.

But, of course, the universe had other plans.

“Fancy seeing you again,” Ethan said, leaning casually against the lockers as Ava approached.

She stopped in her tracks, narrowing her eyes at him. “Do you ever stop smirking, or is that your default setting?”

He grinned, clearly enjoying her irritation. “It’s called charm. You should try it sometime.”

“What do you want, Ethan?” Ava said, slamming her locker open and shoving books inside.

“Relax,” he said, holding up his hands. “I just thought we should get to know each other. Seeing as how I’ll be stuck here for a while.”

“Let me save you the trouble,” Ava said, not bothering to look at him. “I’m not interested in whatever game you’re playing.”

“Game?” Ethan repeated, feigning innocence. “You think I want something from you?”

Ava shut her locker and turned to face him, her arms crossed. “Don’t you? Isn’t that how people like you operate? Use people, toss them aside, move on to the next?”

For a moment, something flickered across Ethan’s face—an emotion Ava couldn’t quite place. But it disappeared as quickly as it came, replaced by his signature smirk.

“You’ve got me all figured out, huh?” he said, his tone light but his eyes darker than before. “Tell me, Ava. What’s it like being so sure of yourself?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” she shot back, her voice sharper than she intended.

Ethan held her gaze for a long moment before stepping back. “You’re fun, Ava. I think I’m going to like it here.”

And with that, he walked away, leaving Ava standing in the hallway, her heart racing for reasons she refused to examine.

***

Later that night, as Ava sat in her room sketching, her phone buzzed with a notification.

She picked it up absentmindedly, her stomach flipping when she saw the headline:

“Ethan Blackwell: Billionaire Heir Forced to Attend Public School After Latest Scandal.”

Beneath the headline was a grainy photo of Ethan leaning against a car—no, not just any car. A sleek, custom-made Aston Martin that probably cost more than her mom’s café made in a year.

Ava groaned, tossing the phone onto her bed.

“Great,” she muttered, dragging her pencil across the page in frustration. “Just great.”

Little did she know, her life was about to get a whole lot more complicated.