Monday morning started suspiciously well. That should have been Aiden's first warning. Nothing embarrassing had happened yet. Nobody had mentioned the confession box. Noah hadn't said anything weird in almost fifteen minutes. It was honestly unsettling. The entire situation felt too peaceful. Aiden didn't trust it.
"Why do you keep looking around like that?" Noah asked.
"Something's wrong."
"Nope."
"Something is definitely wrong."
"Nope."
Aiden narrowed his eyes.
"You're being way too calm."
Noah smiled.
Aiden immediately knew he was right.
"Oh no."
"Oh yes."
When they entered the classroom, Aiden noticed Sophie sitting at Mia's desk. The two girls were whispering about something. The moment Sophie saw Noah, she gave him a thumbs up. Noah returned it. Aiden saw the entire exchange.
And immediately became concerned.
Very concerned.
"What was that?"
"What was what?" Noah asked.
"The thumbs up."
"What thumbs up?"
Aiden pointed.
"The thumbs up."
Noah looked.
"Oh, that thumbs up."
"YES. THAT THUMBS UP."
Noah looked far too pleased with himself.
Across the room, Mia was having a similar conversation.
"Sophie."
"Hm?"
"What are you planning?"
"Nothing."
"That's a lie."
"It might be."
Mia groaned.
Both Aiden and Mia spent the entire morning waiting for whatever disaster Noah and Sophie had planned. Surprisingly, nothing happened. Classes were normal. Lunch was normal. Even the teachers seemed unusually relaxed. By the final period, both had started wondering if they'd imagined the whole thing.
Then the last bell rang.
And everything made sense.
The teacher stood at the front of the room holding a clipboard.
"Before you leave, I have one final announcement."
The class collectively groaned.
The teacher ignored them.
"For the charity event, volunteers will be working in pairs."
Aiden felt a sudden sense of dread.
The teacher continued.
"I've already assigned everyone."
"Oh no," Noah whispered.
Aiden turned.
"You did this."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You absolutely do."
The teacher looked down at the list.
"Aiden Scott and Mia Anderson."
The classroom exploded.
Again.
At this point, the classroom exploding was becoming a daily occurrence.
"No way."
"Called it."
"This is getting ridiculous."
"BEST DAY EVER."
Aiden dropped his head onto his desk. Mia covered her face with her hands. Noah and Sophie looked like they'd just won the lottery. The teacher looked confused.
"Why is everyone so excited?"
Nobody answered.
Because explaining would take too long.
After school, Aiden and Mia found themselves carrying boxes of decorations across the gymnasium. The charity event was only a few days away, and apparently that meant they were responsible for organizing half the decorations in the building. Neither complained. Mostly because both were trying very hard not to think about the fact that they were alone together.
Unfortunately, that made it impossible to think about anything else.
"This box is heavier than it looks," Mia said.
"You've said that about every box."
"Because every box is heavy."
"Fair."
For a while, they worked in comfortable silence. The gym was almost empty except for a few students setting up tables on the other side of the room. Sunlight streamed through the high windows, filling the space with a warm golden glow. It was peaceful. Too peaceful. Which meant it couldn't last. Sure enough, about thirty minutes later, Aiden realized something. The gym was completely empty. Everyone else was gone. Including Noah. Including Sophie. Including literally everyone. Aiden slowly looked around. Then at Mia. Then back around.
"Uh..."
Mia noticed immediately.
"What?"
"Where did everyone go?"
She blinked.
Then looked around too.
"Oh."
The gym doors suddenly closed. Loudly. Both froze. Complete silence followed. Then came the unmistakable sound of laughter from outside. Noah's laughter. And Sophie's. Aiden closed his eyes. Slowly. Painfully.
"They did not."
"They absolutely did."
Aiden walked toward the doors and tried the handle. Locked. Of course it was locked.
"NOAH!"
Laughter echoed from the hallway.
"Have fun!" Noah shouted.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
"That's fair!"
Mia started laughing. Aiden looked over.
"What?"
"I'm sorry."
"No, you're not."
"I'm really not."
That only made her laugh harder.
Eventually, Aiden gave up and sat on the edge of the stage. There was no point trying to escape. Noah and Sophie had clearly planned this. Knowing them, they'd probably informed a teacher too. Which meant they were stuck. Together. Alone. For who knew how long. For a few moments, neither spoke. The gym suddenly felt much quieter than before. Much bigger too. Mia sat beside him, leaving just enough space between them to be noticeable.
Neither seemed sure what to say.
Then Mia smiled.
"So."
"So."
"We got trapped."
"We did."
"Because of Noah and Sophie."
"Definitely because of Noah and Sophie."
Mia laughed softly. The silence returned. Not awkward. Just different. Aiden glanced at her. She was already looking at him. This time, neither looked away. And for the first time in a long time... There was nobody around to interrupt them.