Until forever...

Chapter 2: Unwanted Encounters

Maya woke up the next morning determined to forget about the incident with Ethan Walker. She had more important things to focus on—like getting ahead in her coding class, finishing her psych paper, and figuring out how to manage her tightly packed schedule without burning out by midterms. She didn’t need some leather-jacket-wearing distraction messing with her head.

But as soon as she stepped into the library, her resolve began to waver.

The massive study hall was usually her sanctuary. The high ceilings, the smell of old books, and the quiet rustle of pages flipping made it the perfect place for concentration. Maya had her favorite spot—a cozy corner table by the window, away from the constant foot traffic. As she rounded the corner, backpack heavy with textbooks, she spotted him.

Ethan.

Of course, he was lounging at the exact table she’d been eyeing. His legs were stretched out under the desk, a laptop open in front of him, though it looked more like he was watching something than studying. He didn’t belong here—this was her spot. And yet, there he was, as if the universe was playing some cruel joke on her.

Maya let out a slow, exasperated breath, her eyes narrowing. He hadn’t noticed her yet, so maybe she could just—

“Hey,” Ethan’s voice cut through her thoughts.

Too late.

His gaze had shifted up from his screen, locking onto hers with that familiar mix of amusement and curiosity. His lips quirked into a smirk, like he was fully aware of the effect he had on people, and it annoyed her even more.

“Fancy seeing you here, library girl,” he drawled, leaning back in his chair as if he owned the place.

Maya’s jaw tightened. Library girl? Was that how he saw her? She pushed her glasses up her nose, forcing herself to stay calm.

“It’s a public library. Anyone can be here,” she shot back, already regretting engaging him. She should have just ignored him and found another seat.

“True,” he conceded, a glint of mischief in his eyes. “But it’s a big library. You sure you didn’t follow me here?”

She snorted, rolling her eyes. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Ethan,” he said, tapping his chest as if offering her some grand revelation. “Now you know.”

She gave him a look that clearly communicated her lack of interest. “Great. Congratulations.”

She turned on her heel, determined to find another table. But, as fate would have it, every other spot she liked was either taken or too close to the main study area, where people were constantly moving around. Maya hated being distracted, and the thought of sitting anywhere else made her skin crawl. So, despite herself, she walked back to the corner table, dropped her backpack onto the chair opposite Ethan, and sat down with a loud sigh.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so you are staying.”

“I was here first,” she muttered, pulling out her laptop and flipping it open. “Don’t think this means anything.”

Ethan chuckled under his breath but didn’t say anything else. He went back to whatever he was doing, and Maya focused on her screen, refusing to let him get to her. She had more than enough work to do—she wasn’t going to waste time trading snarky comments with some arrogant bad boy.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t completely block him out. His presence was like static in the air—annoying, persistent. Every few minutes, she caught herself glancing up, only to find him smirking as if he could feel her eyes on him.

After about an hour, Maya’s frustration boiled over. She snapped her laptop shut, gathered her things, and left without another word.

---

Maya was convinced she’d successfully dodged the Ethan bullet for the rest of the day. But by mid-afternoon, the universe seemed to have other plans.

She had just settled into her usual spot in the computer lab, ready to work on a coding assignment, when Ethan sauntered in. This time, she didn’t even try to pretend she wasn’t irritated. He was everywhere. Was this some kind of cosmic joke?

He didn’t notice her at first, and Maya prayed it would stay that way. She ducked her head behind her screen, tapping away at her keyboard like her life depended on it. But soon enough, the sound of a chair scraping across the floor right next to her made her groan internally.

“You again,” Ethan said, clearly amused.

Maya didn’t even look up. “Do you have a tracking device on me or something?”

“Nah,” he said casually, settling into the seat next to her. “You’re just hard to miss.”

There was something in the way he said it that made her heart skip a beat, though she quickly buried the feeling under layers of irritation. She couldn’t let herself get flustered by him. Not today.

“Look, some of us are actually here to study,” she said, her tone clipped as she continued to type. “So if you’re just going to sit there and be obnoxious, can you at least do it somewhere else?”

Ethan chuckled softly. “Relax, I’m here for the same reason. I’ve got work to do, too.”

That stopped her. She glanced sideways at his screen and noticed, for the first time, that he was actually working on something—what looked like some sort of engineering assignment. Maya blinked. She hadn’t expected that.

“You’re... studying?” she asked, the skepticism clear in her voice.

He flashed her a grin. “I’m not a complete slacker, despite what you might think.”

Maya hesitated. She didn’t know what to make of this new side of Ethan. Sure, he had that whole carefree, rebellious vibe going, but seeing him actually focused on something threw her off balance. She wasn’t used to it.

“I didn’t say you were,” she muttered, though her tone was softer now.

“Didn’t have to,” he teased, his grin widening. “I could see it on your face.”

Maya rolled her eyes and went back to her work, trying to ignore the strange tug in her chest. She wasn’t about to get distracted by a guy like Ethan. She couldn’t afford to.

---

The final straw came the next morning when Maya walked into her psychology class, ready for the day’s lecture, only to find Ethan sitting in the back row, lazily scrolling through his phone. Her stomach twisted.

Of course he was here.

She slid into her usual seat, near the front, but when the professor announced that they would be working on a group project, Maya’s heart sank. They were instructed to pair up, and before she could so much as blink, Ethan had strolled down the aisle toward her.

“Guess we’re partners,” he said, plopping down next to her.

Maya stared at him, horrified. “No way.”

He shrugged. “No one else is left, unless you want to work with Brian over there.” He nodded toward a guy at the back who was loudly chewing gum and staring blankly at the whiteboard.

Maya cringed. She had no choice. Ethan was her partner.

She exhaled sharply, her fingers drumming against her notebook. “Fine. But I’m in charge.”

Ethan leaned back in his chair, that infuriating smirk still in place. “Whatever you say, library girl.”

Maya felt a flicker of heat creep up her neck. This was going to be a long semester.