Ava pov
The hallway was oddly quiet when I stepped out of the washroom, just the soft hum of the heater and faint café music echoing down the corridor. I was still thinking about Axel — or, more accurately, how he'd gone all silent and broody after his friends started talking to me. Typical.
I turned the corner and collided straight into someone's chest.
My breath caught. "Oh, for—"
A hand came up fast, bracing the wall behind me before I could stumble. His hand. Axel's.
"Seriously?" I muttered, blinking up at him.
He didn't move. His palm stayed planted by my head, his body close enough that I could feel the heat of him even through my sweater. His eyes met mine — steady, sharp, way too focused.
"You should watch where you're going," he said, low but even.
I scoffed, trying to look anywhere but at his mouth. "You're the one lurking in hallways like some kind of weirdo."
"Lurking?" His brow lifted. "I was waiting. Didn't think you'd take forever."
"Oh, sorry," I shot back, "didn't realize you were timing my bathroom breaks now."
For a moment, neither of us said anything. The air between us went still, heavy with something neither of us wanted to name.
His gaze softened just slightly — a flicker I almost missed. "You shouldn't walk around alone," he murmured, quieter this time, like it wasn't meant for me to hear.
I frowned. "Why? You think someone's gonna jump me between the tables and the door?"
He exhaled through his nose, that faint half-smirk tugging at his lips — the one that made me want to slap it and kiss it at the same time. "With how you attract trouble? Wouldn't surprise me."
"Wow, seriously"
He didn't reply. His eyes lingered on me a second longer — too long — before he finally stepped back, hand falling from the wall. The space he left behind felt colder, emptier than it should've.
"Let's go," he said, turning away, voice rougher than before.
And I followed, pretending I wasn't completely aware of the way my heart wouldn't slow down.
By the time I followed Axel back, my heartbeat was still somewhere in my throat. His friends were already laughing over something, the whole table buzzing with easy, loud energy. The moment we sat down, I knew I was doomed.
"Finally!" one of them — Jay — groaned dramatically. "Did you two get lost or what?"
"Or were you just… occupied?" Liam added, smirking in the most obnoxious way possible.
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
Axel shot them a look sharp enough to cut steel. "Don't start."
That only made them grin harder. "Oh, we're definitely starting," Jay said, leaning forward on his elbows. "You both disappeared for ten minutes and come back acting like—"
"—like something happened in that hallway," Liam finished with a grin, wagging his eyebrows.
Emma nearly spat out her drink. "I knew it!"
"Nothing happened!" I said, louder than intended. Heads turned. My face heated instantly.
Jay grinned wider. "Ohhh, denial. Classic."
Liam held up his hands innocently. "Hey, we're just saying — the tension's kinda hard to miss."
"Guys," Axel said, voice low, warning. "Drop it."
Jay chuckled. "Alright, alright. Calm down, man. We're just messing with you."
"Yeah," Liam added with a teasing grin. "You're acting like she's your girl or something."
Axel went completely still.
I looked up at him — he wasn't saying anything, but his jaw was tight, his hand flexing against the table.
Emily noticed instantly. "Ooooh, interesting reaction."
Kate laughed. "Yeah, that was not a 'just friends' face."
"I hate all of you," Axel muttered, leaning back in his chair, running a hand down his face.
"Sure you do," Jay said, grinning. "But I think we just helped you figure something out."
I rolled my eyes, trying to focus on my drink, but my pulse was still racing — not from embarrassment, but from the way Axel hadn't denied it.
The rest of the table went back to joking around, but the air between us stayed tense — quiet, charged, and full of everything neither of us was saying.
The table had finally settled down after all the teasing — or at least, that's what I thought. I was quietly praying for the earth to open up and swallow me when Jay suddenly snapped his fingers like he'd just remembered something.
"Hey! Almost forgot," he said, grinning wide. "There's that big Halloween bash tomorrow at Ridge Hall — the one everyone's been talking about."
Liam's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah, the Ridge Hall Party! The one with the rooftop lights and live band?"
Jay nodded. "Yup. Whole campus is going. It's gonna be insane."
Emma perked up immediately. "Wait, you mean that party? The one that sold out last year?"
"That's the one," Jay said proudly, leaning back in his chair. "And lucky for you, we know people."
Emily's grin spread like wildfire. "You're inviting us, right?"
Liam winked. "Wouldn't be a party without you girls there."
"Flirt," Kate muttered with a smirk.
Liam shrugged. "Guilty."
Jay turned his attention to me then, eyes glinting with mischief. "You too, Ava. You're coming."
"Me?" I blinked. "Uh, I don't really—"
"Oh, she's coming," Emma interrupted immediately, smirking. "Trust me."
I shot her a glare, but she only looked more smug.
Across the table, Axel, who'd been silent the whole time, finally spoke. "She doesn't have to go if she doesn't want to."
Jay laughed. "Relax, man. It's a party, not a duel."
Liam elbowed him. "Although if Axel shows up, it might turn into one."
That earned him a glare.
I couldn't help it — a laugh slipped out before I could stop it. "You really need to chill," I said softly, glancing at Axel.
He looked at me then — really looked. "Someone has to make sure you don't get into trouble."
"Who said I'd need you to?" I shot back.
He didn't answer, but the corner of his mouth lifted just a little — half a smirk, half a warning.
Emma leaned closer to Emily and Kate, whispering way too loudly, "Oh, she's definitely going now."
Axel pov
Jay clapped his hands once. "Then it's settled! Tomorrow night — Ridge Hall, 8 PM. Be there."
And just like that, I had a feeling tomorrow was going to be anything but normal.
The moment Jay mentioned Ridge Hall, I felt my patience start to die a slow, painful death. That party was chaos — loud music, drunk idiots, and way too many people pretending they were models in a perfume ad.
When he invited Ava, I nearly groaned out loud.
That place was a nuisance — nothing but flashing lights, loud bass, and people who thought wearing half an outfit was the same as having fun. I'd been there once last year. Never again.
And now they wanted her to go there?
I leaned back in my chair, arms crossed, trying to look indifferent. But the image popped in my head anyway — Ava, in one of her short dresses, walking into that mess of a crowd, surrounded by people who didn't know how to keep their hands to themselves.
Nope. Not happening.
"She doesn't have to go if she doesn't want to," I said, a little too sharply. The words came out tighter than I meant.
Jay raised an eyebrow, grinning like an idiot. "Chill, man. It's a party, not a battlefield."
"Could've fooled me," I muttered.
Liam laughed. "Oh come on, it's Ridge Hall. What's the worst that could happen?"
Plenty.
But I didn't say that. I just stared down at the table, jaw clenched, tuning them out as they kept talking about DJs and lights and some rooftop setup.
All I could think about was her. The idea of Ava in that kind of place — with her wild energy, that fearless spark that always got her noticed — made something uneasy twist in my chest.
She'd walk in and every guy there would look at her. They'd smile. Some idiot would try to flirt. Maybe even touch.
And the worst part? I wasn't supposed to care.
I wasn't her boyfriend. I wasn't even supposed to like her.
But as she laughed at something Emma said, that sound cutting through all the noise around us, I already knew — if she went, I'd be there too.
Not to party.
Not to have fun.
Just to teach them to keep their hands to themselves.