Matt and Ellie being paired together was already a disaster.

They didn’t just dislike each other. They clashed. Constantly. Every conversation turned into an argument, every look held too much irritation to be normal. So when the teacher announced their names for a project?

Neither of them was happy.

“I’m not doing it at my place,” Matt said immediately.

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because I totally wanted to go there.”

“Then where?”

She hesitated.

“My house,” she said finally. “But you have to be quiet.”

That should’ve been a warning.

Her mom was strict. Not normal strict. The kind of strict where unexpected guests weren’t just frowned upon, they were impossible. So Matt ended up climbing through her window, muttering complaints under his breath while Ellie shushed him every two seconds.

“Keep your voice down.”

“I am.”

“You’re not.”

“I literally am.”

“Matt—”

The front door slammed downstairs.

Ellie froze.

Her mom’s voice echoed through the house. “Ellie? I’m home!”

Panic hit instantly.

“Move,” Ellie whispered harshly, grabbing his wrist and dragging him out of her room.

“Where are we going—”

“The bathroom.”

She shoved him inside just as footsteps sounded on the stairs.

“Ellie?” her mom called again, closer now.

Ellie’s heart pounded as she flicked on the bathroom light and yanked the shower curtain back.

“Get in.”

Matt stared at her. “You’re kidding.”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

The doorknob rattled faintly.

Ellie didn’t wait. She shoved him into the shower and jumped in after him, twisting the knob.

Cold water blasted down instantly.

They both flinched.

Matt sucked in a sharp breath, about to say something—

Ellie slapped her hand over his mouth.

“Don’t,” she whispered urgently.

The bathroom door creaked open.

“Ellie?” her mom called.

Ellie forced her voice to sound normal, loud enough to carry over the water. “I’m in the shower!”

A pause.

Then, “Okay. Dinner in thirty.”

“Got it!”

The door shut.

But Ellie didn’t move.

Not yet.

Her hand was still pressed over Matt’s mouth. They were both soaked, clothes clinging, water dripping down their faces, their bodies way too close in the cramped space.

Slowly, she lowered her hand.

Neither of them spoke.

Because suddenly, the tension between them felt… different.

Heavier.

And way harder to ignore.