Elena Aster walked into the classroom, her mind still heavy with the fragments of the memories that plagued her thoughts. Every day was a battle to keep her composure, especially at Bellrose High, where her uncle's eyes seemed to be on her every moment. But today, it wasn't Damian that was on her mind—it was the chaos that awaited her in science class.
She approached her desk, just in time to hear Mrs. Caldwell's voice, sharp and cheery, rising above the hum of the room.
"Alright, class! Time for your group project assignment! This will count for half your grade, so I suggest you work well together." Mrs. Caldwell smiled, her glasses perched on the end of her nose. "I'll be pairing you up randomly, so no complaints. I expect teamwork and cooperation."
Elena's heart sank. She had hoped for a quiet, solo project, maybe even to do it herself. The thought of being paired with one of her classmates, especially someone like him, was too much. She glanced around the room, and just as she feared, Mrs. Caldwell called out the pairs.
"Elena Aster, you'll be working with Jaxon Rivers."
The room seemed to still. Jaxon. Elena didn't even have to look over to know he was making his usual bored expression. He didn't care about school. He didn't care about anything, it seemed. And she? She cared too much. They were the perfect storm of incompatibility.
Jaxon's eyes met hers across the room, and for a split second, their gazes locked. Neither of them smiled. Elena's stomach twisted.
"Great," she muttered under her breath.
Jaxon, slouched in his chair, only raised an eyebrow, obviously not thrilled by the pairing either. Without waiting for a word from her, he grabbed his bag and shuffled to her desk.
"Well, looks like we're stuck together," he said, voice laced with sarcasm as he dropped his books onto the table with a thud. "You got a plan, or are we just winging it?"
Elena's eye twitched. She hadn't even opened her notebook yet, but she already had a plan. She always had a plan.
"We're doing something serious," she said firmly. "I'm not wasting my time on some half-baked idea. This project is important, Jaxon. We can't just 'wing it.'"
He leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the edge of the desk. "Sounds boring. I say we keep it simple, like environmental pollution or something." He shrugged. "Easy enough to explain, and it's not like anyone cares about the details."
Elena's lips parted in disbelief. "That's your idea of a serious topic?" She scoffed. "It's a common, lazy subject. We need to stand out, not blend in. You want to make it easier, but that's the last thing I'm interested in."
Jaxon's lips curled into a smirk. "Yeah, of course you do. Miss Perfect always has to overdo everything. Not all of us have time for that." He gestured lazily at her, a motion that felt dismissive, but Elena's irritation flared.
"I don't overdo anything," she shot back, her voice cold. "I just want to do it right. If you can't be bothered to put in the effort, I'll do this by myself."
"Oh, please," he snorted. "You think you can do it all by yourself? Don't kid yourself." His voice was low, but the challenge was clear. "We're stuck together, so get used to it."
Elena stood up abruptly, grabbing her books, her frustration bubbling over. "Fine. You want to be lazy, Jaxon? I'll just handle it myself."
But Jaxon was already up and following her, his steps echoing behind her in the empty hallway. "What, you gonna ditch me now? Come on, Elena, don't make this harder than it has to be."
"Hard?" Elena laughed bitterly, spinning around to face him. "You're the one making it hard. I'm trying to make sure this project actually matters, and you're too busy playing around." She shook her head. "I don't need this."
For a moment, they both stood there, glaring at each other, the tension thick and palpable. Jaxon's eyes softened slightly, but he quickly masked it with a smirk.
"You're really something, you know that?" His voice lowered, and for the first time, Elena caught a glimpse of something more than just defiance. Something... raw.
"Yeah," she bit out. "And you're exactly what I don't need right now."
Jaxon narrowed his eyes, his jaw tightening. "Same goes for you."
Turning on her heel, Elena stormed off, her thoughts swirling in chaos. The last thing she needed was to be stuck with someone who couldn't see the point of anything. She didn't even know why she cared so much, but it felt like she was fighting a battle she couldn't win.
---
The Clash Continues:
The next day, they met at the library to continue the project. Elena had come early, ready to tackle the research with determination. Jaxon, of course, was late—something she wasn't exactly surprised by.
She looked up from her notes when he plopped down across from her, slinging his backpack onto the floor.
"Didn't even start yet?" he asked, his tone light, though there was an edge of amusement in his voice.
"I've been here for an hour already," Elena muttered. "You were supposed to be here on time."
Jaxon shrugged, pulling out a crumpled snack from his bag. "Whatever. We'll get it done, won't we?"
"I will get it done," Elena corrected, already flipping through pages of her research. "I don't need you slowing me down."
He raised an eyebrow. "You're real fun to work with, you know that?"
Ignoring him, she kept her focus on her laptop, barely noticing when Jaxon casually leaned back in his chair and began scrolling through his phone.
"Is this really happening?" she muttered to herself.
The minutes passed in tense silence. Elena worked through her notes, drafting the outline for their project, while Jaxon played with his phone, offering the occasional disinterested comment. Every time Elena asked him a question or offered an idea, he shot it down or dismissed it.
It wasn't long before her patience wore thin.
"You're not even trying," she snapped, glaring at him. "You can't just sit there and expect me to do all the work. I'm not carrying you through this."
Jaxon looked up from his phone, unfazed. "Relax, will you? We've got time. You're overthinking it."
Elena's hands balled into fists on the desk. "Overthinking? This is important, Jaxon! Do you even care?"
"Maybe not," he said, leaning back in his chair. "But why don't you just lighten up for once? You're all stressed out over nothing."
The air between them crackled with tension, each one standing their ground. Elena's chest tightened with the sudden rush of emotion, and before she could stop herself, she stood and stormed out of the library.
---
Later that evening, Elena found herself staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, the tension from earlier still simmering in her chest. She was frustrated—at Jaxon, yes, but more than that, at herself. Why did she care so much? Why was she letting him get under her skin?
She had a plan, a way of doing things, and yet every time Jaxon opened his mouth, it felt like the ground she'd built her foundation on was crumbling beneath her feet. It shouldn't have mattered, but it did.
And that was what scared her.
---
The Truce:
The next day, they met once more, the project hanging over them like an unspoken challenge. Elena had prepared more of the material, but this time, she found herself waiting for Jaxon to arrive. When he finally showed up, surprisingly on time, he didn't waste any time in sitting down beside her.
"I think you were right," he muttered, his usual cocky tone gone. "About... everything. Maybe we need to do this your way."
Elena looked up at him, surprised. "You're actually admitting I was right?"
He grinned. "Don't make it sound like I'm that wrong. Let's just finish this."
Something shifted in the air between them. The tension that had been there before didn't entirely disappear, but it felt different now—more manageable. They were still opposites in many ways, but maybe, just maybe, there was a way forward.
As they worked, side by side, Elena noticed a change. Jaxon wasn't just the rebellious, uninterested guy anymore. He was contributing in his own way. And, for the first time in a long while, Elena found herself appreciating his perspective. It wasn't perfect, but neither was she.
---
When they finished the project later that week, it wasn't flawless, but it had a spark neither of them expected. And when they stood before the class, presenting their work, they found a surprising balance between Elena's meticulousness and Jaxon's relaxed style. The class was impressed, and Elena, despite herself, felt a flicker of respect for him.
As they walked out of the classroom, Elena couldn't help but feel the weight of the strange, new connection forming between them. It wasn't friendship, not yet, but it was something—a mutual understanding that had never existed before.
And for the first time since meeting Jaxon, Elena didn't feel quite so alone.