CHAPTER 10
1408 Words
Emily
“What the—?”
Before I could scream assault, Mary shoved a compact powder set into my face.
“Use it.”
I laughed. Because honestly, that felt like the only reasonable response to what Mary Saint Laurent was doing right now
“Looks like you know your mother very well,” I muttered, eyeing the powder.
“What did you expect?” she asked, like I was somehow the unreasonable one here. “You disobeyed her.”
“And you lied about being mated to Ethan Sparrow.” I smirked slightly. “You don’t even have your wolf yet.”
She rolled her eyes and snapped the powder open. “Sit still, Emily,” she ordered. “And for your own sake, start behaving.”
I frowned as she aggressively attacked my face with the makeup brush.
“Same to you, Mary.”
“Today’s rehearsal is after school,” she continued. “Try to act like me and don't f**k up.”
“Like you acted in chemistry yesterday?”
She paused and sighed heavily, like the burden of our ill fate rested entirely on her shoulders.
“We need a temporary solution,” she said. “Something that protects my image until we switch back.”
“Clearly your image requires military-level protection.”
She ignored that.
“I’ll learn chemistry, keep my head down, and act like you. Even though it’s exhausting.” She pointed the brush at me. “You need to learn cheerleading and stop Ethan from suspecting anything. He can't think that something is off. Do you understand?”
“We have until the weekend, by the way.”
Her brows pulled together. “Why? What's happening?”
“The Luna invited us for dinner.”
That got her attention instantly. Her eyes widened and she sat up straight.
“And your mother wants me to see a doctor too,” I added. “Which means we have exactly two days before my death becomes official.”
Mary groaned softly. “The Luna has never invited me over,” she muttered to herself, loud enough for me to hear. Then she looked up. “Did you find anything useful online?”
“No. Apparently supernatural body swapping isn’t common enough for detailed tutorials.”
“Great.”
She resumed blending powder over my cheek.
“We should meet after school,” she said. “You can arrive late to cheer practice. I’ll teach you privately and you'll introduce me as a new addition to the squad.”
“And chemistry?” I asked immediately. “It’s not just chemistry, Mary. It’s everything. I need straight A’s to get into the academy. I cannot afford to fail. I can't even get an A minus.”
She grew quiet for a moment.
“Tell my mother you’re studying with friends.”
“I’m grounded.”
“Then lie enough to convince her.” She leaned back finally, inspecting her work. “This is acceptable,” she declared. “Don’t ruin my life today, Emily.”
I folded my arms. “You too, Mary Saint Laurent.”
She sighed exhaustedly and stepped out of the car like it was that burdening to be me. She certainly wasn’t receiving slaps like it was on discount. And once again, I had a much more terrifying mission.
Pretend to be Mary Laurent. And somehow, survive Ethan Sparrow.
I stepped out of the car, instantly feeling the weight of attention shift toward me. Being Mary felt like existing under a spotlight twenty-four hours a day. And it was f*****g difficult because I've never been under a spotlight unless standing under the stage spotlight and lecturing about molecules counts.
I barely reached the locker before Joye and Clara appeared beside me. Joye immediately shoved her phone into my face.
I kept my head inside the locker, pretending to search for something important because I genuinely did not have the energy for rich girl gossip this early.
“You’re trending,” Joye announced anyway.
I sighed internally. That sounded dangerous. Trending was always bad for the rich kids. For paupers like us? We learn quickly that gossip doesn't kill you.
“Someone posted a video of your acne yesterday,” Clara added. “They called you the Acne Queen.”
I almost laughed.
Mary would probably have declared war by now. She would have been frothing in the mouth and marching towards Ethan Sparrow, demanding for justice.
People like me got insulted so often we eventually developed emotional armor. After enough years, your skin becomes thicker to care.
“Aren’t you going to do something?” Clara asked. “Tell Ethan to hunt the i***t down?”
Okay, now I had to look at them because imagining Ethan tracking down pimply-insult criminals sounded ridiculous. I leaned casually against the locker and crossed my arms.
“It’s just a pimple.”
Both girls looked horrified.
Joye blinked rapidly. “Mary… you’re dating the future Alpha.”
Technically she wasn’t even his mate. That relationship was basically built on lies, expensive clothing, and delusion.
“You know what they want?” I asked. They stared at me blankly. “My attention.” I shrugged. “And I’m not giving them that.”
The way they looked at me afterward made it painfully obvious Mary normally reacted with more violence.
“I haven’t finished Professor Wilson’s assignment,” I blurted quickly. “I have to go.”
I slammed the locker shut and escaped before they could ask further questions. Unfortunately, the universe hated me. Because I walked straight into someone solid.
A growl ripped through the air instantly, turning heads and silencing mouths. My heart nearly stopped. Ethan Sparrow turned sharply, claws already out, long, sharp, terrifying, and ready to be a terror.
I froze.
For one horrifying second, I forgot I wasn’t Emily anymore. Because if Emily Carter had accidentally bumped into Ethan Sparrow, there would have been public execution involved.
But then he saw my face and everything changed instantly. The claws disappeared and his expression softened so fast it almost gave me emotional whiplash.
“Mary,” he said quietly.
That voice again. That unfairly soft voice he apparently reserved for her.
“I’m sorry,” he added, stepping closer. “I thought it was some stupid Omega.”
My stomach tightened.
Stupid Omega.
Right. There it was.
That was the real Ethan. Six-foot-something, rich, dangerous, and raised to think people like me existed beneath him. And now he was standing way too close, looking at me kindly while my survival instincts screamed at me to run.
His friends stood behind him watching everything unfold like it was a public event. Somewhere nearby, Grace was probably already recording this disaster for her anonymous gossip blog.
And yeah, I knew she was the one who called Mary the Acne queen. Oopsie.
“Is something wrong?” Ethan asked.
I almost shook my head automatically. Then I stopped myself. Mary would never shake her head nervously like a frightened squirrel.
“No,” I said, straightening my shoulders slightly. “I’m annoyed.”
There.
Main character energy activated
“Someone uploaded a video of me and called me Acne Queen.”
One of Ethan’s friends burst out laughing.
Ethan snapped his head towards him and snarled immediately, his growl threatening enough. The laughter died instantly and an apology followed.
Then he looked back at me, concern softening his expression again. “I’ll find him—”
Technically, it was a her. But there was no way I was sacrificing Grace to Ethan Sparrow’s wrath.
“I want you to find him,” I said seriously, “and teach him a lesson.”
Then I became audacious and a new plan formed in my head. I stepped closer and poked him directly in the chest, frowning like some entitled kid.
“Until then,” I said firmly, “I’m being cold to you.”
Behind him, the boys exploded into shocked noises.
I ignored them even though my heart was trying to escape my body.
I held his gaze “Find him, Ethan.”
The silence behind him became louder somehow
Honestly, I knew he probably never would because Grace was too smart.
And now, I knew I had found the perfect excuse to avoid PDA-ing with my bully. And I had until weekend to return to my body.
- Writer
