Until forever...

Chapter 10: Breaking Down Barriers

Maya sat at her desk, tapping her pen against her notebook as she stared at the open document on her laptop. She was supposed to be working on her part of the group project, but her thoughts kept drifting to the last study session with Ethan. It had been... strange. She wasn’t sure what to make of it.

He wasn’t the lazy slacker she’d assumed. He was smart—really smart—when he chose to focus. His ideas had challenged her, made her think in ways she hadn’t expected, and that had thrown her off. And then there was the way he’d said they didn’t have to be enemies, as if he’d noticed how hard she was working to keep him at arm’s length.

She sighed, pushing her notebook aside. Why was she even thinking about this? Ethan wasn’t the kind of person she should be worrying about. She had bigger things to focus on—her grades, her future. That’s what mattered.

But as much as she tried to push it out of her mind, the memory of his words stuck with her. You don’t have to get me. You just have to trust that I’m not as bad as you think.

She closed her laptop with a snap, determined to stop overanalyzing. The group was meeting again later today, and she didn’t want to walk in with a thousand thoughts racing in her mind. She just needed to focus on the project, nothing more.

---

Later that afternoon, Maya arrived at the library to find Ethan already there, sitting at their usual table with a casual confidence that grated on her nerves. He was scrolling through his phone, his hoodie pulled up over his head, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. Lila hadn’t arrived yet, which meant she was about to be stuck alone with him—again.

“Hey,” she greeted him stiffly as she sat down.

“Hey,” he replied without looking up, still focused on his phone. But after a beat, he slid it into his pocket and leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes flicking over to her. “You ready to dive in?”

Maya nodded, already pulling out her laptop and opening the document. She wasn’t in the mood for small talk, and thankfully, Ethan didn’t push it. For the next half hour, they worked in silence, the only sound between them being the clicking of keys and the occasional rustle of papers.

But as they worked, Maya found herself sneaking glances at him, trying to figure him out. How could someone so outwardly careless have such a sharp mind when he chose to apply it? It didn’t make sense.

Finally, she couldn’t take the silence anymore. She cleared her throat and said, “You don’t really seem like the psychology type.”

Ethan glanced up, surprised by her sudden comment. He raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Maya hesitated, unsure of how to word her thoughts without sounding rude. “I just mean... you don’t seem like the kind of person who’s into deep discussions about human behavior and mental processes.”

Ethan leaned forward, folding his arms on the table as he looked at her with a half-smile. “What kind of person do I seem like, then?”

Maya blinked, caught off guard. “I don’t know. More... laid-back. Not really into school, I guess.”

Ethan chuckled softly, shaking his head. “I get it. I don’t look the part, right? But here’s the thing: just because I don’t wear it on my sleeve doesn’t mean I don’t care about stuff. Psychology’s actually pretty interesting when you start digging into it. People are complicated.”

Maya nodded, still not entirely convinced. “So, why act like you don’t care most of the time? You obviously know what you’re doing.”

Ethan shrugged, his expression shifting into something a little more serious. “Maybe I just don’t like people assuming they know me before they do. When you’ve got everyone around you thinking they’ve got you figured out, it’s easier to play along. Let them think what they want.”

Maya’s eyes narrowed. She hadn’t expected him to be this honest, and it threw her. “So you just... pretend to be something you’re not?”

Ethan smirked, though there was a flicker of something deeper in his eyes. “I wouldn’t call it pretending. More like... not giving away everything. Keeps things interesting.”

Maya sat back, processing his words. It was true—she had assumed things about him from the start. And here he was, slowly proving her wrong. She hated to admit it, but Ethan was more complicated than she had thought.

Before she could respond, Lila arrived, bursting through the door with her usual enthusiasm. “Sorry I’m late! Got caught up with some stuff,” she said, dropping her bag onto the table. “What did I miss?”

Ethan shot her a grin. “Just Maya here grilling me about my life choices.”

Maya rolled her eyes. “That’s not what happened.”

Lila laughed, oblivious to the tension between them. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

With Lila’s arrival, the atmosphere lightened, and they dove back into the project. Ethan and Maya continued to work well together, surprising her more and more as the session went on. Every time she thought she had him figured out, he’d throw out a comment or idea that made her rethink everything.

After they wrapped up, Maya packed her things and lingered for a moment, watching as Ethan and Lila joked around about something. He was so relaxed, so comfortable with himself. It was the opposite of how she felt most of the time, constantly second-guessing and planning her every move.

“See you next time,” Ethan called out as she headed for the door.

“Yeah, see you,” Maya replied, feeling an odd mix of frustration and curiosity. She wasn’t sure what to make of Ethan Matthews, but one thing was certain: he was breaking down the barriers she had so carefully built, and she wasn’t sure how to stop it.

As she walked away, she found herself thinking that maybe she didn’t want to stop it after all.