Heart Of A Fighter

Instant Reactions

Lavender and Ethan walked to the ping pong table near where his girlfriend was, a title that Sandra didn't deserve.

"Why are you doing this again?" Lavender remembered asking just before they entered the student lounge.

Ethan's eyebrows furrowed as he halted and scratched his head at her question. "I guess--I guess, I'm trying to convince both myself and her that she's worth it. Are you having second thoughts already?"

"Nope." Being seen in the arms of a new man wasn't exactly new anymore. "You're willing to do this even if she was with someone else?"

"Yes. Everyone deserves second chances. You're not one to judge, seeing as you don't actually stay with one man, Lavender."

Lavender smothered a sigh. That hurt more than she thought it would. Ethan started apologizing, but she bit her tongue and waved the conversation off. It was her fault that her name had a permanent stain on it.

She pulled his arm around her waist. "I hope this all works out for you, Martinez."

They got an instant reaction from Sandra the second she saw them. She slammed her pen down hard, mouth open and teeth chattering.

A few students in the lounge watched with inquisitive eyes, happy to distract themselves from the pressure of finals. People were as nosy as they were in high school which Lavender thought might've differed in college.

College was supposed to be taken seriously. A time to be completely selfish, because how you performed determined your future. No degree meant going from job to job for minimum pay. That life was far from comfortable.

Her mother never attended college nor got her high school diploma and before her father's departure, she didn't know what a job looked like.

That was why Lavender motivated herself to get an education. A proper education.

She would never allow a man to be her main source of income so that she didn't have to let history repeat itself.

"What a reaction! Well, that was easy," Ethan whispered in Lavender's ear, the r rolling off his tongue.

"That's cause she is easy."

This whole masquerade was stupid.

Ethan was too good of a person to waste his time on a meaningless, toxic relationship. This was why Lavender didn't do relationships. Only one person seemed to be putting in the work these days.

Ethan slowly twirled her around, whistling loudly. She wore his denim patched hoodie as a dress with a pair of her favorite maroon sneakers. Her hair was laid back in a tight sleek bun, maroon lipstick painting her lips and her necklace dangling from her neck. "You actually pulled off this look perfectly."

Lavender held her cheeks, pretending to blush.

"Can you get any hotter, Lavender?"

When those words left Ethan's mouth, Sandra stood up with a balled fist. Maybe it was her imagination, but Lavender could've sworn she saw steam coming out of Sandra's ears.

"She'll huff and she'll puff and she'll blow your head off," Lavender whispered with a peal of low laughter, wrapping her arms around his neck. He smelled like an expensive bottle of Versace.

Ethan pulled her closer. "Wouldn't that be great."

He leaned in and kissed Lavender full on the lips. It was simply a normal kiss with no heat or romance, but the series of gasps from some of the students thought otherwise.