Author note: Hellloooooo. I will be pumping out chapters as often as I can, but I'm setting them up on a timer hopefully, so they'll be coming out a week apart or so. Anywhozit, chap 2, enjoy so much. Pic above is Milo

Class stretches on for what may be eternity, the clock's hands barely moving each time I check on them. Mr. Warren drones on about algebraic principles that seem to drift right through me, gone as soon as they came. It's the one class without Lexi, the only period where I wish I could eat a bullet.

Just as I'm about to lose all hope of surviving this lesson, the door swings open with a creak, and in walks Milo, his posture hunched and eyes cast down. The room goes silent, and all heads turn as he stumbles in, mumbling an apology to Mr. Warren. "Sorry," he murmurs, his voice barely audible. "I couldn't find the room..."

Mr. Warren offers Milo a smile. "No problem at all. Welcome to Algebra 2. Class, this is Milo. He just switched into this class." The class offers a collective murmur of acknowledgment, but Milo's gaze remains fixated on the floor. "You can sit next to Ava."

My head jerks up at the mention of my name, meeting Milo's eyes. There's a flicker of recognition- or maybe annoyance -before he scans the room, only to realize that the empty seat next to me is one of the last available. "Can I sit there?" He asks, his voice strained as he points to the only other empty seat.

"That's Gabe's seat, but he's absent today," Mr. Warren explains, giving Milo a friendly pat on the shoulder. Milo stiffens at the contact. "I promise, Ava won't bite. Right, Ava?"

I force a weak chuckle, nodding in agreement. "Of course not," I say, cursing my bad luck under my breath. This is it- my cosmic punishment for the misdeeds of the past. I'm now destined to sit beside the kid whose notebook I went through, the one explicitly marked "keep out." This is my karma.

Milo slinks into the seat with a subtle air of discomfort, deliberately turning his body away from me as if trying to put as much distance between us as possible. I snort in amusement, which earns me a sharp glare from him. I don't push it further, though; the last thing I need is to make things worse for myself.

As the lesson drags on, I pull out my phone and text Lexi, "SOS. Milo switched to my class. Sitting next to me. KMS."

Her response is nearly instantaneous. "LMFAO. That's what you get. Careful, you're the first to get shot if something goes down now."

I snicker, earning a disapproving look from Mr. Warren, who promptly scolds me. I wave it off and continue texting beneath the desk, Lexi's jokes a much-needed distraction.

When Mr. Warren announces we'll be working on worksheets, hands them out. When I pass a stack of papers to Milo, he looks at me as if I've handed him a live grenade. "I don't bite," I remind him with a raised eyebrow.

He ignores me, his body recoiling back into itself once he's done passing the papers. Our teacher tells us it's time to pair up. People start to make pairings, pointing to each other from across the room and calling dibs, but Mr. Warren holds up his hand. "It is your senior year," he says, smiling at us. "Branch out. Don't stick to the norm. You're going to partner up with the person next to you."

The class groans, and I look towards Milo, who looks like he's seen a ghost. His already pale skin is practically translucent as he looks over at me, the fringe of his hair nearly covering his eyes. "I'll do all the work if you leave me alone," he mumbles, his fingers twisting uncomfortably in his lap.

"I know you think I'm just this dumb, pretty cheerleader, but I actually enjoy learning," I say with a grin. I falter, tapping my finger to my chin. "I mean, not this class specifically, but... That's besides the point. I'm not dumb, okay? I can help."

Milo grimaces, shaking his head. "I don't care if you're Einstein, I don't want to work with you," he says firmly, and it feels like a shot to my ego.

"If this is about the drawing, it's fine," I promise, and it's as if my words physically sting him. He remains stoic, but I catch his ears turning red. "I'm sorry for looking. I was just... You're really good at drawing, by the way."

Without saying a word, he starts working on the worksheet we're supposed to be doing together by himself. I don't push it further, rather looking down and just starting my own work. After a few minutes, I look back at Milo. "We should double check to make sure we have the same answers." He looks up for a second, before looking back down and shrugging. "So Mr. Warren thinks we worked together. Like we're supposed to be."

Milo stays frozen for a second, thinking, before sliding his paper towards me. He's already finished, and a small doodle at the bottom is currently in progress. It's much more mild than the ones in his personal notebook, a simple rose that's wilting, petals around the drooping stem.

"That's really pretty," I say quietly, going over the stuff that I already did.

He lays forward on the desk, burying his head in his folded arms. I hear him mumble something, but can't make it out. I place his paper on the back of his head, grinning softly as I go back to working on my paper.

Milo leaves the paper there for a second, before snatching it off his head and sitting up. He puts the paper back down, going back to meticulously scribbling on it, his cheeks flushed.

When I've finished the whole exercise, I look towards Milo again. "Compare one last time, and then I'll leave you alone. Pinky swear." I hold out my pinky to him, but he disregards it as he hands me his paper once more.

I look down, noticing he scribbled out the rose, and frown slightly. "Why'd you do that?" I ask him, running my finger over the groves of the scribbles.

He shrugs, pulling his hood over his hair again, trying to subtly hide his face in it. "It was ugly," he says quietly, looking anywhere but at me.

"I liked it," I admit, shrugging. After I compare the questions, I hand it back to him. "Was... Was that me? In the back of your notebook?"

Milo tenses up, like if he doesn't move, I can't see him. "No," he says shortly, grabbing his paper back. "It was no one."

"Really? It looked so much-"

"No," he snaps, quickly collecting himself. He lets out a shaky sigh, trying to steady himself. "No, it wasn't. I know you're used to men being obsessed with you, but the world doesn't revolve around you." His tone is icy cold, his gaze sharp; Clearly, I touched some type of nerve.

I let out a low whistle, my ego taking a little bit of a blow. "Damn," I say with a humorless chuckle. "Got it."

Mr. Warren comes by and collects our papers, thanking us. He tells us what the homework is going to be, before releasing us to lunch early. Milo leaves as quickly as he can, making sure he has all his stuff this time, before disappearing into the crowd.

I wait outside the cafeteria door for Lexi, aimlessly scrolling on my phone. She shows up a second later, grinning at me. "How was class?" She asks teasingly, poking my side.

Slapping her hand away, I scowl. "How do you think it went?" I ask, walking into the cafeteria with her. "Let me show you just about how it went." I push my hair in front of my eyes like Milo, putting on my moodiest face. "Leave me alone, the whole world isn't obsessed with you, blah blah blah."

Lexi giggles, clapping her hands. "Ten out of ten impression," she proclaims, taking a seat at our normal table. I say hi to my cheer friends, before turning back to Lexi. "Did he talk about the drawing of you?"

"Said it wasn't me." I scoff, reaching into my bag and pulling out a granola bar. I open it, chewing on it thoughtfully. "That's when he told me the world didn't revolve around me. But it was definitely me right?"

My best friend laughs, nodding. "If that wasn't you, then you have a doppelganger out there, my love." Lexi slings an arm around your shoulder. "I think he's secretly obsessed."

I snort, rolling my eyes. "If he's obsessed, he's terrible at showing it."

"And that's why I said secretly obsessed." Lexi giggles pulling me closer. "If you start seeing a car follow you, you let me know. I'll have my dad check it out for you."

We finish lunch, and go to our history class. Milo is already there, looking like he's been there for some time. The girls and I take our normal seats, and they point at Milo, then me, then blow kisses.

Lexi huffs, slinking down in her seat, clearly wanting no part of this. I grin, but shake my head at the girls. "We got paired up for algebra," I say quietly to them. "I don't think I can handle anymore of him today."

"Yikes," Kaylee says with a giggle. "You've got a whooole year with him, good luck. Maybe he'll confess his undying love during quadratic equations."

I roll my eyes, trying not to let the idea bother me. "If he loves anything, it's glaring at me like I've personally ruined his life."

The teacher walks in before anyone can respond, and the class quiets down. I feel Milo's presence a few seats away, his usual cold aura settling in. The girls behind me exchange glances, clearly entertained by the whole situation.

The lesson drags on, but it's hard to focus with the weight of Milo's occasional glances. His aura usually feels like a heavy cloud, but today it seems even more intense. I don't need Lexi's theories running through my head to remind me just how strained things are between us. Every time I catch the edge of his gaze, my stomach tightens.

When the bell rings, I pack up quickly, eager to avoid the awkwardness of leaving at the same time as Milo. As Lexi and I head for the door, Milo brushes past me, his shoulder grazing mine. The contact is brief but electrifying, and I can't shake the feeling of unease it leaves behind.

I exhale, shoulders tense, and follow the crowd out, trying to shake off the weird energy that lingers in the air between us. Lexi whistles lowly, cringing at that interaction. "Oof, I felt that," she says. "That boy fucking hates you."

Rolling my eyes, I make my way towards the locker, ignoring Lexi. When I get there, I open it up and fix my lip gloss, noticing my hands shaking. What the fuck. There's no way this situation has got me so upset. I mean, he's just... Some weird new kid. Who cares what he thinks about me?

"Are you upset because a boy isn't fighting for your attention?" Lexi asks, breaking my trance of applying and reapplying my lip gloss. "I know it's a tough adjustment."

Smacking Lexi's arm, I scowl at her. She rubs her arm, fake pouting as I respond, "I don't care about if a guy wants me or not, especially someone who probably runs a Reddit account dedicated to hating women."

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that," Lex sings, opening her own locker and putting her books away. "Forget about him, aren't you and Jake supposed to be hanging out soon?"

I nod, relieved at the switch of conversation. "Yeah," I say happily. "We're going to the football game together on Friday. Probably fuck behind the bleachers, and then I'll move on to one of his friends."

My therapist calls it "commitment issues" but I like to think about it as keeping my options open. Plus, my track record of being broken up with/breaking up with is zero to... Well, I've lost track of how many guys I've been with at this point. Which is why one guy like Milo isn't going to ruin my ego permanently.

"How wonderful, Ava," she jokes, shaking her head in disappointment. She reaches over and fixes my hair, the blonde strands frizzy and dry from the fall weather. I thank her quietly. "Do you want to come by tonight? Mom and Dad are making burgers."

Smiling, I give Lexi a hug. Despite my not having the best home life, Lexi and her family have always welcomed me as one of their own, giving me the stability I've always craved. I've been on countless vacations with them, spent holidays around their dinner table, and in many ways, I've become their second daughter. Lexi's an only child, so Mr. and Mrs. Grayson are always thrilled when I come by. They've always treated me like family, and their home feels like a safe haven compared to the chaos I usually face.

"Thanks," I say, linking arms with Lexi as we leave school. As she fills me in on her drama class, thoughts of Milo fade, replaced by the comforting familiarity of my best friend's chatter.