Slow It Down

Part 6 •REWRITTEN•

Still, it felt unfair. Like the universe was deliberately throwing him in my path, making sure I couldn't escape the one person I swore I'd never have to deal with again.

I squeezed my hands together under the desk, focusing on the front of the classroom as a man stepped inside.

"Now that everyone decided to show up," the professor sarcastically said, glancing back in Jackson's direction.

"Everyone, settle down," the professor called, his voice carrying easily over the quiet murmurs. He was older, probably in his late forties or early fifties, with short-cropped salt-and-pepper hair and deep lines on his face that gave him a permanently tired expression.

The room fell silent.

"I'm Mr. Grey," his bored tone continued, tossing a stack of papers onto his desk. "For those of you who haven't taken one of my courses before, let me be the first to tell you—I don't do free rides in my class. If you don't put in the work, I'll know. And if you don't pull your weight in group projects, I'll know. And you'll fail."

He let the last word hang in the air, his sharp gaze sweeping over the class, daring someone to test him. My eyes quickly glanced around, noticing a few students shift uncomfortably in their seats. Others smirked, amused by the warning.

My eyes naturally drifted to a certain corner of the room to see a certain person. Jackson? Unmoved. Completely unaffected.

"I know it's only the first day," Mr. Grey continued, pulling out a list from a folder, "but we're going to jump right into things. This course revolves around practical application, which means you're going to be working in pairs on a semester-long project."

A few groans sounded from the class.

"I don't want to hear it," he said flatly, flipping through his paper. "This project is fifty percent of your grade. You will create a fully developed business concept, complete with branding, marketing strategies, and a final presentation at the end of the semester."

My stomach twisted. Of course there was a presentation that determined if I passed or failed this class. I swallowed thickly, staring at my hands as my foot bounced anxiously beneath my desk.

He continued. "I will be going through and assigning your partners—so don't get too excited."

More groans. A few students muttered under their breath, while others shifted in their seats, clearly trying to get a good look at who they might be stuck with.

Mr. Grey ignored them and started reading names off his list, matching people up one by one.

"Addison Boyer," he called, glancing up.

"Here," a quiet girl next to me murmured.

"You'll be working with Jamie Fabel."

A guy on the other side of the room lifted his hand in acknowledgment. Addison gave a shy nod.

I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to breathe through the anxiety threatening to creep in. The list of available students was getting shorter and shorter, but I still had a chance. I still had a chance to avoid—

"Jackson Brooks."

I stiffened. A few heads turned toward him, and I could feel the shift in the room as people waited for his reaction.

Jackson let out a short, irritated huff. "Yeah, I'm here."

Mr. Grey skimmed his list. "You'll be working with—"

Please, anyone else. My mind continued to chant in desperation.

"Jayce Kennedy."

A loud whoop came from one of the obvious jocks, as he was wearing the schools football jersey, sitting toward the front. He turned back, locking eyes with Jackson and smirked. "Hell yeah, let's go!"

Relief flooded my chest.

Mr. Grey barely lifted his eyes before shaking his head. "Actually, scratch that, never mind. That's a disaster waiting to happen. You two would get nothing done."

Jayce let out a loud groan, throwing his hands up in protest. Some of the students quietly chuckled. Instead, my relief vanished. Mr. Grey's gaze moved down his list again, and I knew it before he even said it.

"Lilah Spark."

I froze. My heart plummeted straight to my stomach. There was a beat of silence. Shakily, I raised my hand and announced I was present in a hesitant tone, wishing to be anywhere but here. I felt Jackson's gaze before I saw it.

His head snapped up and immediately turned in my direction, his jaw ticking as his eyes burned into my figure across the room. I fought the urge to shift in my seat from the uncomfortable tension and anger I could feel practically rolling off of him several feet away.

"You'll be with Mr. Brooks," Mr. Grey explained as if we couldn't figure it out ourselves.

Slowly, I turned my head, locking eyes with him for the first time since Friday night. His expression was unreadable, but I could see the flicker of surprise in his deep blue eyes. Like he hadn't even realized I was in this class until now.

Great.

I felt my chest tighten as my gaze never left his. I didn't know what I expected—annoyance, irritation, maybe even some sarcastic comment—but Jackson said nothing. He just stared at me, unreadable, before his lips pressed into a hard line of defeat.

"Fantastic," he muttered bitterly under his breath, dragging a hand down his face before leaning back in his chair.

I clenched my jaw, turning forward again. This wasn't happening. Out of all the people in this class, I had to be stuck with him.

This wasn't just some cruel coincidence. This was the universe actively punishing me. And just like that, my fresh start was over before it even began.

And here I thought I was having a good day.