Alex refused to let Jasper Allister get under her skin again.
For the rest of AP English, she kept her head down, taking notes with laser focus, pretending he didn't exist. But Jasper? He made that impossible.
Every so often, he tapped his pen against the desk in an annoyingly rhythmic way, like he was waiting for her to snap. When the teacher called on her to answer a question, Jasper leaned over and whispered, "Don't trip over your words, beautiful overachiever."
She nearly snapped her pen in half.
By the time the bell rang, she was out of her seat before anyone else, determined to put as much distance between her and the world's most aggravating person.
But Jasper? He was faster than he looked.
"Dunphy!" he called, effortlessly falling into step beside her as she walked down the hallway. "So, about that fall—"
Alex groaned. "Let it go, Allister."
"Can't." He smirked. "It was iconic."
She spun to face him, her eyes flashing with frustration. "Listen to me very carefully. I don't like you. I don't want to talk to you. And I definitely don't want to hear another one of your pretentious book quotes about fate or destiny or whatever nonsense you think applies to this situation."
Jasper raised an eyebrow, looking far too amused. "Who said anything about fate? But now that you mention it—"
Alex turned sharply, storming off before he could get another word in.
She had barely made it ten steps when his voice—calm, observant, and way too knowing—called after her.
"I know why you hate being called beautiful."
She froze.
Her hands clenched into fists. Slowly, she turned to look at him. "Excuse me?"
Jasper's expression shifted—not teasing, not smug. Just… quietly sure. Like he had already solved the puzzle before she even realized there was one.
"You don't think you are," he said simply.
Her stomach twisted.
He took a slow step forward, his gaze never leaving hers. "It's not just the overachiever thing. It's because of your sister."
Alex's throat tightened.
Jasper's voice softened, but it still held that same unsettling certainty. "You've spent your whole life being compared to Haley. She was the pretty one. You were the smart one. And somewhere along the way, you started believing that's all you could be. That if you were one, you couldn't be the other."
Alex felt like the ground had been pulled out from under her.
She should have been angry. She wanted to be angry. But the worst part?
He was right.
Jasper sighed, shaking his head like he was almost annoyed. "For the record, I don't call you beautiful to mess with you. Well—" he smirked, "—partly to mess with you. But mostly? Because it's true."
Alex stared at him, speechless.
For once in her life, she didn't have a comeback.
Jasper glanced at her one last time, then shrugged like the conversation had been nothing more than a passing thought. "See you in class, Dunphy."
And just like that, he walked away, leaving her standing in the middle of the hallway, completely off balance.
For the first time in her life, Alex Dunphy didn't know if she wanted to punch someone…
…or kiss them
For two whole days, Alex successfully avoided Jasper Allister.
She changed her usual routes between classes. She sat at the very front in AP English, pretending he didn't exist. She even started eating lunch in the library just to guarantee she wouldn't accidentally run into him.
It worked.
Until it didn't.
On Wednesday, just when she thought she was in the clear, her AP English teacher had to ruin everything.
"As part of your final semester project," Mrs Holloway announced, "you will be working in pairs to analyze and present on a classic novel. I have already assigned the partners."
Alex's stomach clenched.
Please, anyone but him.
"Alex Dunphy and Jasper Allister."
She let out a strangled noise of frustration.
From the back of the classroom, she heard the familiar smug voice. "Looks like fate does exist, Dunphy."
She gripped her pen so tightly it might snap.
The teacher continued, oblivious to Alex's suffering. "You and your partner will choose a novel from this list, develop an in-depth analysis, and deliver a presentation in three weeks. This will count for thirty percent of your grade."
Thirty percent.
That meant failure was not an option.
Which meant she had no choice but to work with Jasper.
She turned around to glare at him, already dreading whatever he was about to say. He was leaning back in his chair, looking completely relaxed, as if the universe had done him a favor. When he caught her staring, he gave a slow, lazy smirk.
"Guess we're stuck together, beautiful overachiever."
Alex forced herself to take a deep breath. She was not going to let him get to her.
With an icy calmness, she grabbed her notebook and walked over to his desk, sitting down beside him.
"We're doing this project my way," she stated, voice firm. "No distractions, no nonsense, and definitely no flirting."
Jasper raised an eyebrow, pretending to be shocked. "Flirting? Dunphy, I would never."
She shot him a withering look.
"Fine, fine." He held up his hands in surrender, though the smirk never quite left his face. "So, what literary masterpiece are we analyzing?"
Alex flipped through the list of books. "I'm thinking Crime and Punishment. Or 1984."
Jasper made a face. "Depressing. We should do Pride and Prejudice."
She blinked. "Are you serious?"
"One hundred percent." He leaned forward slightly, that annoyingly confident look still in place. "It's the perfect book for us."
"How?"
He grinned. "Enemies to lovers."
Alex's entire brain short-circuited.
For a moment, she could only stare at him, trying to process the sheer audacity of that statement.
Jasper watched her reaction with amusement, then added, "I'll be Darcy, obviously."
"You—" Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. "You cannot be serious."
"Oh, but I am." He leaned back, folding his arms behind his head. "And let's be honest, Dunphy. If anyone could pull off Elizabeth Bennet's sharp wit and stubborn pride, it's you."
She wanted to scream.
Instead, she inhaled slowly and clenched her fists.
"Fine," she said, voice tight. "We'll do Pride and Prejudice."
Jasper grinned. "Excellent choice, Lizzie."
Alex swore she was going to murder him before this project was over.