𝖢𝖧𝖠𝖯𝖳𝖤𝖱 𝖥𝖮𝖴𝖱
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𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙗 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩

𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝗚𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗗, 𝗛𝗜𝗦 head falling straight onto the desk with a loud thump that echoed through the library, startling Maxie. She jumped at the noise, her wide eyes snapping to him as he let out another muffled groan, face still pressed against the desk.

"Ethan," she hissed, her voice sharp but hushed as she glanced around at the few other people in the library. Several were glaring at them, one even shushing loudly. "Can you at least pretend to care about this?"

"I do care," he mumbled into the desk, lifting his head just enough to meet her glare. His dark hair was disheveled, his expression looked as if Maxie had just run over his cat. "I care that I'm missing Graham's party for this."

Graham Miller's back-to-school party was all anyone had been talking about for the past week. One of the many social events of the year and Ethan Marks was practically required to attend - the entire football team was. However, it happened to also be the same night Maxie had told Ethan was her only available time to study. Of course, it hadn't occurred to him until now that it meant he'd be missing the party entirely.

Maxie rolled her eyes, snapping the highlighter in her hand shut with a decisive click. "You missed the first session, so now you're stuck with this. If you'd shown up on time-"

"Yeah, yeah," Ethan interrupted, waving her off with a lazy hand. "I wouldn't be stuck in this hellhole with you." He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

Maxie didn't bother hiding her annoyance. "Exactly. So maybe stop whining for five minutes and learn something," Maxie snapped, flipping through her meticulously organized notebook. "Because Newsflash, Marks: Chemistry doesn't care about your social life."

Ethan smirked, leaning forward on his elbows. "Harsh, Maxine."

"Don't call me that."

His grin widened, clearly amused. "Alright, alright. Truce." He picked up his pen, twirling it lazily. "What's the next problem?"

Maxie eyed him skeptically but decided not to press her luck. "We're still on stoichiometry," she said, sliding her notebook across the table. "Here. Try solving this one."

Ethan stared at the problem as if it were written in ancient hieroglyphs. "Uh...yeah, no. This one's all you."

"You didn't even try!" Maxie groaned, pushing the notebook back toward him. "You've got to practice, Ethan, or you'll keep failing the quizzes."

"I am practicing," Ethan argued, spinning his pen like a basketball. "I'm practicing my patience with you."

Maxie shot him a deadpan look. "Wow, you're hilarious. Maybe if you spent half as much energy on this as you do on your one-liners, you'd actually pass a test."

Ethan sighed dramatically and sat up straighter. "Fine. Give me the steps again."

"Okay." Maxie softened slightly, pointing to the equation. "First, start by balancing the equation. Then figure out the mole ratio-"

"Maxieeee," Ethan interrupted. "You sound like one of those educational YouTube videos."

"Well, maybe if you watched one of those videos, I wouldn't have to explain it to you twenty times," she shot back, her patience wearing thin.

She didn't mean to be rude-her mother had always taught her to give people a chance. She understood that everyone learned differently, but the way he acted like none of this mattered to him seriously pissed her off.

Ethan chuckled, the sound warm despite her frustration. "Alright, alright. I get it. Balance the equation, mole ratios, and... uh, then what?"

Maxie's lips twitched, almost forming a smile. "And then we calculate how much product forms."

For the first time that evening, Ethan looked genuinely interested. He leaned closer, his brow furrowed as he attempted to solve the problem. "Okay...so, if I have two moles of this..."

Maxie watched him work. "You're getting it," she said, her tone softer now.

"Don't sound so surprised," Ethan quipped, a glimmer of pride in his voice. "I'm not completely useless."

"Debatable," Maxie muttered under her breath, but the corners of her lips tugged upward.

Ethan caught her almost smile and grinned. "Admit it, Maxie. You love this."

"What, watching you struggle?" she deadpanned. "Absolutely."

Ethan smiled softly at the blonde. He liked that he could joke around with her like this - he'd never had that kind of relationship with anyone before, especially not another girl.

Every other girl he'd been involved with had been his ex-girlfriends, who were all too focused on appearances, too caught up in drama, or just too shallow for his liking.

Maxie, on the other hand, was completely different. She wasn't playing any games, and she wasn't pretending to be someone she wasn't. She was sharp, quick-witted, and despite her obvious frustration with him, she cared enough to put in the effort to help him. It was refreshing, and honestly, a little unexpected.

He couldn't help but think of Rebecca, the girl he was always expected to date. The popular one. The one who seemed more concerned with how many followers she had than anything real. Rebecca always wore that perfect smile, flaunted the perfect clothes, and made sure everyone knew she was the center of attention. He rolled his eyes just thinking about her.

Maxie, however, was nothing like that, and in a weird way, that made her all the more intriguing.

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𝗠𝗔𝗫𝗜𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗘𝗗 into chemistry class with Maia and Kelsi by her side, the hum of students settling into their seats filling the room.

"So, what's the plan for the tonight?" Maia asked, glancing at the two girls as they made their way closer to their assigned seats, which were close enough but not beside each other. "Please tell me it's something fun because I need a break from all this homework."

Kelsi adjusted her bag on her shoulder, her pink hair catching the light as she spoke. "We could do a movie night? My moms have been baking like crazy, so I can bring snacks. They're testing new recipes for the shop, so I guarantee they'll be good."

Maxie grinned at the thought of Mrs. and Mrs. Williams' baking. Their downtown bakery was practically famous for its cookies and pastries, and anytime Kelsi brought leftovers, they never lasted long. "I'm in. I'm in desperate need of your moms' cookies. But can we not do horror movies this time?"

"Oh, come on," Maia teased, nudging Maxie's arm as they reached their seats. "You survived the last one."

"Barely," Maxie replied, dropping her bag onto the floor with a mock shudder. "I couldn't sleep for two nights, and every shadow in my room looked like it was out to get me."

"Fine, we'll do something lighter," Kelsi said with a laugh as she pulled out her notebook. "Rom-com?"

"We always do rom-coms," Maia complained, dropping into her seat with a dramatic groan. Her dark hair fell over her face as she leaned onto the desk. "Oh! Oh! What about Spider-Man?"

"Maia, I think we've watched Spider-Man over ten times in the past few months," Maxie pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Wyatt would like it," Maia shrugged innocently.

"That's because Wyatt likes to stare at Andrew Garfield's abs," Maxie shot back, shaking her head.

"They're great abs," Kelsi chimed in with a smirk, flipping through her chemistry notes.

"They are," Maia agreed with a wistful sigh.

Before the conversation could go any further, Mr. Abrams stood up at the front of the class, clearing his throat loudly to get everyone's attention. "Alright, everyone, settle down. Today, we're diving into one of my favorite labs-the flame test experiment!"

The room fell quiet as students began to take their seats, "We'll figure it out later." Maia whispered as the three made their way to their own desks.

Maxie stifled a laugh as she turned her attention to Mr. Abrams, who was now gesturing animatedly toward the setup of test tubes and Bunsen burners at the front of the room.

Once Mr. Abrams finished explaining the lab, Maxie turned her attention back to her work, only to feel a tap on her shoulder.

She glanced up and saw Ethan. "Can I see your pre-lab?" he asked.

Maxie raised an eyebrow, the hesitation clear in her voice. "Why?"

"I need the answers," Ethan replied, his tone almost too nonchalant, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Maxie groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Oh my god, Ethan, I told you-you need to actually do the work if you wanna do well! It's not just about the answers." She could already feel a headache coming on.

"I was busy!" he said, trying to throw together some excuse.

"It was two questions! You only needed to write three sentences each! Also, the answers were literally in the textbook!"

Ethan shrugged, flashing her that same lazy smile. "Come on, I'll do the work next time. I just need them for this one. Can't you just hook me up?"

Maxie smiled giving the boy false hope before shooting him down. "No. Now go get us goggles and test tube clamps while I grab the test tubes."

Ethan let out an exasperated groan but he did as he was told. Maxie laughed softly, shaking her head in disbelief.

She watched him go to the front of the class and start collecting the items he'd been asked for. He then began speaking to Lorelei and Benjamin, no doubt asking for the answers. It made her roll her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile.

As he made his way back to her, he had a goofy grin on his face.

"She give you the answers?"

"Yup!" he replied, clearly pleased with himself.

Maxie rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the amused smile tugging at her lips. "You really think this is gonna work long-term? Asking everyone for the answers?"

Ethan shrugged, not at all fazed by her comment. "Why not? It's been working so far. Plus, Lorelei's a sucker for my charm."

Maxie chuckled, shaking her head. "You're unbelievable."

As he returned to their desk, he dropped the goggles and test tube clamp onto the table with exaggerated care, looking like he'd just won some great victory.

"Seriously, though," Maxie continued, trying to keep her tone stern, "you can't keep relying on other people. You've gotta put in some effort."

Ethan just flashed a grin. "Effort's overrated."

Maxie couldn't help but laugh. "You're lucky you're cute."

He leaned back in his chair, flashing her grin. "You think I'm cute?" He teased.

"Oh, god." Maxie groaned and buried her face in her hands,

Ethan raised an eyebrow, his grin widening. "Come on, you can't deny it. It's the only reason you put up with me."

Maxie shot him a look, though the corners of her mouth were tugging upward. "You're ridiculous."

"But you love it," he teased, his grin never faltering.

She rolled her eyes again but couldn't suppress the smile that spread across her face. "I have no idea why I put up with you."

"That's because you're secretly in awe of my undeniable charm," Ethan replied with a wink.

Maxie shook her head, her smile turning into a full-on laugh. "Keep telling yourself that."

Their playful banter was interrupted when Kelsi's voice reached their ears. "Um, sir?" Kelsi's hand shot up, waving in the air.

"Yes, Kelsi?" Mr. Abrams called out, pausing his instructions.

"Who should I work with? My lab partner isn't here," Kelsi asked, picking up a beaker that had been left out, trying to keep her composure.

Mr. Abrams looked around the room, scanning for a solution. Maxie was about to raise her hand to offer to work with her until he spoke again, "Uh, you can work with Lorelei and Ben," he suggested.

The moment Kelsi reached for the beaker again, disaster struck. The glass slipped from her hand, crashing onto the floor, sending shards scattering in every direction.

"I'm so sorry! It must've slipped or something!" Kelsi exclaimed, wide-eyed, as she knelt down to gather the pieces.

But Maxie knew better. Kelsi had been in love with Ben Lockhart since middle school, and the thought of working with him again-especially after Lorelei and his recent breakup-was clearly throwing her off.

"No worries, everyone just stay where you are while I clean it up," Mr. Abrams said quickly, trying to calm the class and prevent anyone from getting hurt.

Kelsi looked up and caught Maxie's concerned gaze. She gave a small, reassuring nod, signaling that she was okay, but the flush of embarrassment still lingered on her cheeks.

Maxie gave Kelsi a quick thumbs-up before turning her attention back to her own lab work. She shifted her focus to Ethan, who was fiddling with his Bunsen burner, clearly distracted.

"Did you actually pay attention to any of the instructions, or are you just planning on using your "undeniable charm" to wing it?" Maxie teased, raising an eyebrow as she grabbed a test tube.

Ethan flashed her a grin, not at all bothered by her question. "Wing it, obviously. I trust you've got it covered." He gave her a playful wink, clearly more focused on making sure his flame was at the right height than anything else.

Maxie rolled her eyes, trying to stifle a laugh. "Right. As long as you don't burn the classroom down, I guess I'm fine with it." She set the test tube carefully into the clamp, getting to work.

As the two continued to work, Ethan spoke up, breaking the silence. "You coming to tonight's game?" Maxie looked up at him. He was talking about the football game - the first of the season.

Maxie wasn't exactly a sports person. Sure, she'd watch all of Maia's soccer games and the occasional hockey game of her brother's, but that was more out of loyalty than any real interest. And yes, the Super Bowl was a family tradition, but outside of those events, she couldn't really bring herself to care much about any other games.

Still, she wasn't about to admit that.

"I don't know," she said. "Why? Do you want me to come?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow, a playful grin tugging at his lips. "I mean, it wouldn't be the same without you there," he teased, his tone light. "I need someone to cheer for me."

Maxie rolled her eyes, trying to hide the smile creeping up on her face. "Oh, is that how it is? So I'm your personal tutor and your cheerleader? Does Rebecca know she's getting replaced?"

Ethan winced at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. While Rebecca Chambers was the most popular girl in school and the one everyone seemed to love and worship, Ethan had spent the last few months trying to avoid thinking about.

"Really? You're gonna throw Rebecca in my face now?" Ethan teased, his tone light but with just a hint of discomfort.

Maxie shrugged, still smiling. "Well, anyways, I guess I could spare a few minutes to watch you run around in tights." She let out a sarcastic sigh.

Ethan laughed, clearly amused. "You know, I'll be doing more than just running. I'm practically the star of the team."
That wasn't a complete lie, he was co-captain of the team - Jordan being the other half.

"Sure, Ethan. Whatever you say," Maxie said with a smirk, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure the whole stadium will be watching just for you."

Ethan leaned back in his chair, throwing her a playful wink. "You'll see. You won't be able to look away."

Maxie rolled her eyes, trying to hide the amused grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "We'll see about that, Marks. Don't get too cocky."

"Too late," he replied confidently, his grin widening.

God, she hated that grin.

INEZ SPEAKS
listen i know it's been a long time just leave me alone!!! you've got a double update coming and this was much longer than the other chaps so be happy!

anyways i love maxie and ethan byeeeeee