It had been two years since Ava got humiliated by Nathaniel. Two whole years. And since then she had avoided men like the plague. She didn't want to associate with them at all, not even for friendship, not even for something as simple as a hello in the hallway.
Because of this, boys in her school had decided she was proud. Not like she cared about what they said behind her back. Let them talk. She had her books, she had Valerie, and that was enough.
She was in her second year now and doing well in her studies. No distractions meant better grades. Simple math.
"Why don't you just read at my house, since your brother is too loud and won't let you study." Valerie suggested, chewing her bubble gum loudly beside her ear.
"I will just read at the library, that will be fine I can manage." Ava reached over and took Valerie's notes from her bag. "I will return this to you tomorrow." She ran off, waving without looking back.
She headed to the library, pulled out her headset and placed it over her ears. She jotted down a few things in her notebook and settled into her reading, music low in the background, the world completely blocked out.
She stayed there for at least two hours.
Then her phone buzzed. A text from her elder brother.
"Hey, I need your help. I think I am about to burn down the kitchen. Please hurry up and save the day." He had added a crying emoji at the end.
Ava sighed heavily. Her brother was a complete disaster in the kitchen and he knew it. They were living alone, far from their parents, because they wanted to be near school. She began shoving everything into her bag, tucked Valerie's notes under her arm and headed out.
On her way out she stopped to buy a coffee. She held the cup in one hand, the notes in the other and started walking.
Then bang.
She crashed into someone. The notes slipped from under her arm and hit the ground. The coffee tilted forward and splashed across a white T-shirt, the last few drops landing right on Valerie's notebook.
"Fuck." He cursed under his breath.
Ava looked up.
Her breath almost stopped.
He was insanely attractive. A lip piercing sat at the corner of his mouth. A black earring on the left side of his ear. A piercing through his eyebrow. He looked like the kind of person who didn't apologize for taking up space and was completely fine with that.
He snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Hey. So now you are quiet. What are you going to do about my shirt." His jaw tightened as he looked down at the coffee spreading across the white fabric.
Even doing that was cute.
Focus Ava. He is a man. His gender almost ruined you three times. She swallowed hard and pulled herself together.
"I am so sorry." She bowed her head slightly.
Then her eyes dropped to Valerie's notebook lying on the ground, pages soaking up the coffee like a sponge.
Great. More problems for her. She bent down and picked it up.
"Is that all? What am I going to do about this." He pointed at his shirt, voice flat and unamused.
"I already said I am sorry." The words came out sharper than she planned, her voice climbing before she could stop it. "What more do you want."
"I can't believe you are yelling when you are the one at fault." He looked at her like she had just said something completely unreasonable. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. "Take it. Clean it."
She snatched it from him and narrowed her eyes.
"And then what, what about my notebook that is now ruined." She held up the coffee stained pages, frustration bleeding into every word.
"How is that my problem." Flat. Simple. Like the answer was obvious and she was wasting his time.
This was beginning to really irritate her. "Do you want me to go on my knees and beg then." It came out more out of frustration than anything else.
He looked at her. A slow mischievous smile crept onto his lips, and something behind his eyes shifted in a way that made her stomach turn.
"If you will be kneeling before me, you should be doing something more fun with that." He paused just long enough for it to land. "Maybe choking."
Ava understood exactly what he meant.
Something cold and sharp moved through her chest. She stared at him for one more second, the smile still sitting on his face like he was proud of himself, and everything she felt in that moment folded neatly into disgust.
"You disgust me." She hissed.
She threw the handkerchief straight at his face, turned around and walked away with so much anger burning in her chest she could barely breathe straight.
As soon as she got home Ezra opened the door and she walked straight in without a word. She immediately rolled up her sleeves, tied her hair up in a ponytail and dropped her bag on the chair like she was already done with the day before it even ended.
Then she walked into the kitchen and stopped.
"Come on Ezra, why is there water everywhere." The frustration in her voice was not hidden at all. She looked around at the mess like she was trying to decide where to even begin.
"I was trying to make pasta, my best friend is coming over." Ezra grabbed a towel and started dabbing at the water on the kitchen counter, looking only slightly guilty about the whole thing.
"You mean your imaginary friend." Ava teased, the corner of her mouth lifting just a little as she opened the fridge.
"Come on Ava, what am I, twelve?" He almost rolled his eyes. "It is not my fault you never got a chance to meet him."
Ava pulled out what she needed and started chopping onions, her focus already shifting to the food. The kitchen smelled like burnt water and poor decisions.
"He should be here any moment from now." Ezra leaned against the counter and crossed his arms, his voice dropping into something that sounded more serious than usual. "Let me warn you Ava. Don't try to fall for him. He is my best friend and I will not approve that kind of thing."
Ava didn't even look up from the chopping board.
"Relax. I no longer find guys attractive. You are all full of lies."
Ezra opened his mouth to respond but before anything came out, there was a knock at the door.
"That should be him." The excitement that jumped into Ezra's voice was almost funny. He moved quickly to the door and pulled it open.
A few seconds of muffled greeting passed and then Ezra's tone shifted.
"What happened to your shirt Jace?" Concern colored his voice as he looked his friend over.
"Some uncultured brat did this to me." The irritation was still fresh, still sitting right at the surface. "She was even the one yelling at me."
Ava slowly put down whatever she was holding.
Something about that voice made her stomach do something uncomfortable. She wiped her hands on the kitchen cloth and walked toward the living room, telling herself she was just curious.
She stepped through the doorway and looked up.
She froze.
