Chapter 5

The School Project

Ava woke up to the sound of her alarm blaring, dragging her out of the restless sleep she’d finally managed to get. She groaned, turning it off and burying her face into the pillow. She was still at Mark’s house. Still stuck in this unfamiliar place.

After last night’s disaster of a dinner, she hadn’t bothered speaking to anyone. She stayed in her room, only coming out after she was sure everyone had gone to bed. The house had been dark and silent, the perfect time to move unnoticed. She wasn’t in the mood for another argument, another reminder that her life had been turned upside down without her consent.

Now, she had to face the day.

With a deep sigh, she rolled out of bed, got dressed, and grabbed her bag. She made sure to keep her steps light as she headed downstairs, hoping to grab something quick and leave before running into anyone. No such luck.

Natasha was already in the kitchen, sipping on her coffee, her eyes flickering with cautious hope when she saw Ava. “Good morning, sweetheart,” she greeted gently, as if testing the waters.

Ava didn’t return the warmth. She simply nodded, reaching for an apple.

Mark was at the dining table, reading the newspaper like a scene from some perfect, peaceful family morning. It was all fake. Just like this house, just like this life she was expected to accept without question.

And then there was Ethan.

He leaned lazily against the counter, coffee in hand, his ever-present smirk in place. “Morning, baby sister,” he drawled, clearly enjoying himself.

Ava shot him a glare, grip tightening around the apple. “Don’t start.”

Ethan chuckled, taking a slow sip of his coffee as if this was all a game to him. It probably was.

Ignoring him, she turned on her heel and left without another word.

---

School was supposed to be her escape, but even that was failing her.

For the past two weeks, she’d done her best to avoid Ethan as much as possible. But it was impossible when they shared classes, when he made it his personal mission to get under her skin at every opportunity. He acted like this was all some joke, like none of it mattered.

The only person who understood was Freya.

Ava’s best friend since middle school, Freya had been her anchor through everything. She was the one person Ava could vent to without being judged, the one who knew exactly how much she hated this whole situation.

“I don’t know how you’re surviving,” Freya said one afternoon as they sat outside, eating lunch. “Living with Ethan? He’s so… ugh.”

Ava sighed, poking at her salad with little interest. “It’s hell. He acts like this is some big joke.”

Freya rolled her eyes. “Typical. The guy thinks he owns the world.”

Before Ava could respond, their English teacher walked up to their table, holding a clipboard.

“Ladies, I have your new project assignments,” the teacher announced, offering a warm but firm smile.

Ava frowned. “Project?”

“Yes,” the teacher confirmed. “It’s a month-long assignment on Shakespeare. You’ll be analyzing one of his plays and performing a scene. I’ve already paired everyone up.”

She handed Ava a paper.

Ava scanned it, and her stomach dropped.

Ethan Davis

Her head snapped up. “You paired me with Ethan?”

The teacher nodded. “Yes. I think it’ll be a great learning experience.”

Ava groaned.

“Good luck!” the teacher said before walking off.

Freya leaned over to peek at the list, then let out a sharp laugh. “Oh my God.”

Ava clenched the paper. “This cannot be happening.”

Unfortunately, it was.

---

Ethan was by his locker after school, casually chatting with his friends when Ava marched up to him. She didn’t care about making a scene. This was a crisis.

She shoved the paper against his chest. “We’re partners.”

Ethan glanced down at it, then smirked. “Lucky me.”

Ava scowled. “We need to figure out when to work on this.”

Ethan shrugged, stuffing the paper into his pocket like it was no big deal. “We live together, don’t we? We can do it anytime.”

“That’s not happening,” Ava snapped. “We’re meeting at the library.”

Ethan raised a brow, his smirk deepening. “Aw, afraid you’ll fall for my charm if we work at home?”

Ava rolled her eyes. “In your dreams.”

Before Ethan could say anything else, a voice interrupted them.

“What’s going on?”

Freya.

She stood next to Ava, arms crossed, looking between them suspiciously.

Ethan, ever the opportunist, leaned back against his locker, smiling. “Ava and I have a project together.”

Freya’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

Ava sighed. “It’s just a school thing.”

Freya didn’t look convinced. Her expression darkened, and Ava suddenly felt uneasy.

“Right,” Freya muttered. “Just school.”

Ava frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Freya said quickly. “I have to go.”

She turned and walked away before Ava could question her further.

Ethan watched her go and smirked. “Jealousy looks cute on her.”

Ava shot him a glare. “Shut up.”

But deep down, she had a bad feeling.

Something about the way Freya acted…

It wasn’t nothing.

Freya had started acting strangely, distant and quiet whenever Ava brought up Ethan or the project. At first, Ava thought it was just her usual disdain for him, but this felt different.

“Are you mad at me?” Ava asked one afternoon as they sat outside after class.

Freya hesitated. “Why would I be mad?”

Ava sighed. “I don’t know. You’ve been weird since I got paired with Ethan.”

Freya shook her head quickly. “I don’t care about that.”

But the way her hands tightened around her bag said otherwise.

Ava narrowed her eyes. “Freya…”

“I said it’s nothing.” Freya stood up abruptly. “I have to go.”

She left before Ava could say another word.

Something wasn’t right.

That evening, Ava sat in her room, staring at her phone. She wanted to text Freya, ask her again what was wrong, but something held her back. Maybe she was overthinking. Maybe Freya just hated Ethan that much.

Or maybe… it was something else.

The thought nagged at her, but she shook it off.

She had bigger problems.

Like the fact that she had to spend the next month working on a Shakespeare project with Ethan Sinclair.

The universe really did hate her.