Zara Williams had mastered the art of going unnoticed. At Ridgeway High, where popularity was currency and drama lived in every hallway, she walked like a ghost-present, but never really seen. She wore her hood up, her glasses low, and her headphones in, even when the music wasn't playing. It was easier that way. No one expected much from the quiet girl who scribbled poetry in the margins of her math textbook.
She liked it that way.
Until her name showed up next to Ethan Cole's on the school's talent show list.
It happened during morning assembly. The principal's voice echoed through the dusty intercom, reading out the final list of approved acts. Zara had only auditioned because her literature teacher begged her to submit a poem. She never expected it to be selected. She definitely didn't expect to be paired with the school's golden boy.
Ethan Cole was everything Zara wasn't. Confident. Loud. Wildly talented. He could play guitar, sing like an angel, and had a fan club larger than some teachers' Instagram followings. Girls wanted to be seen with him. Boys wanted to be him. He walked the halls like he owned them, a constellation burning too bright for someone like Zara to look at directly.
That afternoon, he found her at her usual lunch spot-the library.
"Zara, right?" His voice was smooth, casual, like he already knew her.
She looked up, blinking. Ethan Cole never spoke to girls like her.
"I'm Ethan," he said, sliding into the chair across from her without asking. "Guess we're doing this thing together."
Zara blinked again. "What thing?"
He grinned. "The talent show. You're the poet. I'm the performer. You write. I sing. We win."
She frowned. "I didn't agree to any of that."
"Neither did I," he said with a shrug. "But here we are."
Zara studied him-his tousled curls, his easy smile, his eyes that hinted he knew exactly how charming he was. This had disaster written all over it. And yet, a small part of her was curious.
"Fine," she said quietly. "One meeting. Then we'll see."
Ethan smirked. "That's all I need."
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