♡AN ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS ROMANCE♡
Attending the same college is the only thing Sebastian Hutches and Tara Van Doren have in common.
To Sebastian, Tara is a rich, spoiled girl, obsessed with her looks and status.
To Tara, Sebastian is a rude, arrogant...
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The Ethics lecture the following day sparks a filament of hope inside me. I didn't find Tara after Elena glued her pictures to the walls outside the lecture hall, and my texts and calls went unanswered, but if Tara's in class, I'll make sure not to let her leave without talking to me.
I tap my pencil on the desk, taking inventory of my surroundings. More and more people enter the room and occupy their seats, but they're not who I need to see.
Five more minutes pass, and fear frays me. Everyone but Elena and Tara is already here. I grab my phone and unlock the screen, but the hum of my classmates' voices dies, and I glance up from the chat with Tara I pulled up.
Elena steps into the hall, and it feels as if everyone latches their gaze onto her.
She walks to her seat, and two girls in the opposite corners of the auditorium stand. Then two more. Then it's the turn of the guys. In a weird kind of flash mob, every student rises to their feet. I do, too, wishing someone had warned me.
Dr. Garcia rushes into the room and halts at the picture in front of him.
"What's going on?" he asks, dumping his laptop and a stack of papers on the desk by the lectern.
"We refuse to be in the same class with a bully," Emma says. She's a top student with a sharp tongue, red hair, and colorful tattoos covering her arms. "If someone is publicly shamed for their body, job, or other choices they made based on their circumstances, we can't carry on as if nothing happened. A woman's worth isn't determined by her looks, and decency has zero to do with how much skin we show."
A quiet 'preach' comes from several girls.
"What happened in the hallway yesterday wasn't ethical," she goes on, "and we're adults who are aware of our actions and their repercussions. Harming someone purposefully can't be tolerated."
Dr. Garcia takes off his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose. "Thank you, Miss Torsney. Class is dismissed. Miss Atkins, stay."
Elena's face is scarlet. She awkwardly shifts her weight as everyone strides past her, throwing disgusted glances her way.
I'm not sure she's ever given a damn about how everyone sees her, but this time, she seems affected, hopefully enough to realize how badly she fucked up.
***
I text Tara and head to the canteen. Evans, Nash, and Connor are outside, chatting.
"Hi," I say, approaching them.
"Emma for the win, right?" Connor tells me.
I nod. Saying something would be more appropriate, but guilt laps at me. I wasn't the one to defend her. I couldn't even find her or talk to her.
"I can't believe Tara said nothing." Evans groans.
"She left early this morning," Nash says. "Was she okay?"
