The morning air was crisp, biting at Sophie's cheeks as she walked to school, but she barely felt the cold. She was too busy reciting her New Commandments.
1. Thou shalt not stare at the back of his head for more than three seconds.
2. Thou shalt speak in complete, non-squeaky sentences.
3. Thou shalt maintain a facial expression that suggests 'Stable Human Being' rather than 'Person Seeing a Ghost'.
"Stable human being," she muttered, adjusting the strap of her backpack. "I am a rock. I am an island. I am a person who understands how to exist in a room with a boy."
Lila appeared at her side, as if summoned by the scent of Sophie's anxiety. She didn't say anything at first; she just watched Sophie's lips moving as she recited her mantras.
"Are you casting a spell, or are you just having a breakdown before first period?" Lila asked, her voice bright and far too awake for 7:45 AM.
"I am practicing my 'Acting Natural' routine," Sophie said, her eyes fixed straight ahead. "I've realized that my previous strategy of 'Vibrating with Terror' wasn't working. Today, I am the definition of chill."
Lila laughed, a sharp, delighted sound. "Soph, you're walking so stiffly you look like you've been starched. If you get any more 'chill,' you're going to shatter. Just... try to remember to breathe. Oxygen is generally considered part of a natural acting performance."
Sophie took a deep, theatrical breath. "Oxygen. Right. Got it."
The classroom felt smaller today. Or maybe it was just that Ethan was already there, occupying his space with a quiet authority that made the air feel heavier.
He was leaning over his desk, his sleeves pushed back, scribbling something in the margins of his textbook. The morning light from the window caught the chestnut highlights in his hair, a detail Sophie immediately tried to ignore in accordance with Commandment Number One.
Three seconds, Sophie. One... two... three. Look away.
She looked at her shoes. They were very interesting shoes.
"Morning," a low voice said.
Sophie didn't jump. She didn't shriek. She simply turned, pasted a carefully rehearsed smile onto her face, and met Ethan's gaze. "Good morning, Ethan. Ready to tackle the urban evolution of the 20th century?"
She sounded... okay. A little like a news anchor on a local station, but okay.
Ethan's eyebrows rose slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing his face before it smoothed back into his usual calm. "Definitely. I stayed up a bit late looking at the library blueprints we talked about. You were right, the secret passageway idea? It actually has some historical basis. There was a 'hidden' archive room in the original 1912 plans."
Sophie's "Acting Natural" mask slipped for a second, replaced by genuine nerdy excitement. "Really? I knew it! I mean, I suspected it based on the wall thickness in the East Wing, but I didn't think I'd be right."
"You were," Ethan said, pulling his chair closer to her desk.
As he sat down, the "Sensory Bubble" began to form. The rest of the classroom—the sound of Mr. Dawson's chalk, the giggling of the girls in the back row, the hum of the heater all of it began to recede. It was just the two of them, the smell of pencil lead, and the faint, crisp scent of Ethan's cologne.
"So," Ethan said, spreading a large, photocopied map across their shared desk space. "If we're the architects, we need to decide where the 'public' sees the history and where the 'secret' stuff stays."
Sophie leaned over the map, her hair falling forward. As she pointed to the library wing, her hand moved at the same time as his.
Brush.
It was the briefest contact his pinky finger against the side of her hand. It lasted less than a second, but it felt like a static shock. Sophie's heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs.
Commandment Two! her brain screamed. Stay calm! Do not retract your hand like it's been bitten by a viper!
She managed to keep her hand on the map, but she could feel the heat radiating from his skin. She looked up, and for a heartbeat, he was looking at her, too. His eyes were dark, searching, and for the first time, Sophie wondered if he was as "calm" as he looked.
"Everything okay?" he asked softly.
"Yes! Totally," Sophie said. Her voice was a little too fast, a little too high. She snatched her hand back and grabbed her notebook, hugging it to her chest like a shield. "Just... concentrating. Thinking about... drainage pipes. Very intense stuff."
Ethan's smile was small, but it reached his eyes. "Drainage pipes. Right. Very intense."
He didn't pull away. He stayed close, his shoulder almost touching hers as they moved on to the next section of the project. Sophie found herself stuck in a loop of noticing. She noticed the way he tapped his pen against his chin when he was thinking. She noticed the small, silver ring on his thumb. She noticed the steady, rhythmic way he breathed.
"I think," Sophie said, trying to regain her professional footing, "that if we're designing this, I'm the chaotic genius who leaves the breadcrumbs, and you're the serious architect who has to make sure the building doesn't actually fall down."
Ethan chuckled, the sound vibrating in the small space between them. "Chaotic genius. I like that. It suits you."
Sophie froze. It suits you. Was that a compliment? Or was he just agreeing that she was a mess? Her brain began to spin the words, analyzing them from every possible angle.
"Is that a good thing?" she asked before she could stop herself.
Ethan turned his head, his face inches from hers. The "Normal Human" Sophie wanted to run away. The "Crush" Sophie wanted to stay here forever.
"It's a great thing," he said quietly. "The world has enough 'serious' architects. It needs more people who think about secret libraries and croissant tunnels."
Sophie felt a warmth spread through her chest that had nothing to do with the classroom heater. He wasn't just being polite. He was seeing her.
But then, as if realizing they had strayed too far from "History Project" territory, Ethan cleared his throat and pointed back to the map. "So... the library section. Do you want to work on the interior layout together?"
"Together?" Sophie asked, her heart doing a somersault.
"Yeah. I have the structural notes, you have the 'genius' notes. If we combine them, we can make something really unique."
For the next twenty minutes, they worked side-by-side. Their heads were bowed over the same page, their voices hushed. Sophie found herself explaining her ideas with a clarity she didn't know she possessed. She stumbled over a few words, her "Natural" act was still a work in progress but Ethan didn't laugh. He just waited. He gave her the space to find her voice.
"I'm listening," he'd say whenever she trailed off in a fit of nerves.
By the time the bell rang, Sophie felt like she had run a marathon. Her "Acting Natural" routine had been a disaster in terms of technical execution, but it had led to something better: a real connection.
She packed her bag with shaky hands, her mind replaying his words: It suits you.
Lila was waiting by the door, her arms crossed and a knowing smirk on her face. "So? Did the 'Stable Human Being' survive?"
Sophie exhaled a long, shaky breath as they stepped into the crowded hallway. "I survived. But Lila... I don't think I can 'act natural' around him anymore."
"Why not?"
"Because," Sophie said, a small, genuine smile breaking through her exhaustion. "He likes the 'chaotic' part. And I think... I think I like that he likes it."
Lila nudged her shoulder, her expression softening. "See? I told you. You don't need a mantra, Soph. You just need to be the person who dreams about secret libraries. He's already paying attention."
As they walked toward their next class, Sophie looked back through the classroom window. Ethan was still at the desk, folding the map they had worked on. He looked up, and for a split second, his eyes found hers through the glass. He gave a small, quiet nod not a wave, not a smile, just a silent 'I see you.'
Sophie turned back to the hallway, her heart finally learning how to fly.
Acting natural was overrated. But being herself? That was starting to feel like the best plan she'd ever had.