Jenny

Ashton and Darwin sat in class, casually chatting.

"Yeah, and that's why we lost that match so badly," Ashton said, shaking his head.

"We had to lose," Darwin replied. "It was a high-rank lobby. You got guys in there who are unemployed and grinding 24/7 like their lives depend on it."

"Yeah…" Ashton muttered in agreement.

Darwin smirked. "Speaking of yesterday…" He trailed off, his voice taking on a knowing tone.

Ashton already knew where this was going. "Who was she?"

"Who?" Ashton feigned ignorance.

Darwin gave him a deadpan look, clearly unimpressed.

Ashton sighed. "Oh, her… she's my aunt."

"Damn, your aunt has a pretty voice."

"Hmmm." Ashton hummed, desperately thinking of a way to change the topic.

Darwin, however, had other plans.

"Anyway, after you left yesterday, a girl approached me…"Ashton said changing the topic.

"So? What's special about that? It's about time half the school started noticing you," Darwin teased.

Ashton ignored the jab. "She said she wanted to talk about something important. I was in a rush, so I told her to meet me in the morning. She also mentioned that she's the cousin of someone in our class."

Darwin furrowed his brows. "Wait… what? No way."

Darwin nodded dramatically. "Oh, it gets better. You were approached by Emily's cousin, Jenny."

"Oh, right… Jenny." Ashton blinked. "What's the big deal?"

Darwin leaned in. "Bro, she's the daughter of the richest man funding our school. Her father practically pays for our festivals and events. But more importantly—she doesn't give any guy even a penny's worth of attention. She's the complete opposite of Freya. No guy friends, polite, quiet, and feminine."

"Well… Freya is feminine too," Ashton said instinctively.

Darwin gasped dramatically. "Oh, my apologies. I belittled your wifey."

Before Ashton could throw a retort, the classroom door opened, and Jenny walked in with Emily.

"There she is," Ashton muttered.

"Yep, that's her. Go talk to her."

Ashton smirked. "She wanted to talk, so let her come to me."

Jenny and Emily settled in the middle row—right next to Ashton's. Jenny stole glances at him, waiting for him to look her way. When he finally did, she smiled and, after a slight hesitation, walked over.

She wore a fitted red top with a round neckline and a knee-length white skirt. A delicate white headband rested atop her straight, neatly parted hair, which cascaded behind her shoulders. The sunlight hitting her face only highlighted her sharp features—her thin, delicate jawline, arched eyebrows, and the rectangle glasses sitting perfectly on her nose.

Ashton tilted his head slightly. She's kinda pretty…

"Hey, Ashton… how are you?" she greeted, her voice soft.

"I'm good. What about you?"

"I'm fine."

"Sorry about yesterday, Jenny. I was in a rush. We can talk now."

"No problem, Ashton. It's understandable."

She took a deep breath, clearly nervous. "So, I'm the head of the coordinating team for the festival. I need a co-leader. Would you be interested?"

Ashton raised a brow. "Uhhhh… thanks for asking, but I don't think that's my thing. Plus, I've got other commitments, so… I'll have to pass."

Jenny's lips parted slightly in surprise before she quickly recovered. "Oh… okay, that's fine."

Ashton gave a small nod. 'Yeah. no way I'm signing up for that. I know exactly what kind of stuff co-leaders have to do—cleaning, designing, decorating. No thanks.'

Jenny hesitated before speaking again. "Uhm… the festival's in a few days, as I'm sure you know." Her cheeks started turning pink.

Ashton noticed the shift and frowned slightly. Why is she blushing?

"Yeah, I know."

Jenny clasped her hands together. "We're organizing a fashion show for the festival… and I'm having trouble finding a partner." She hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and said, "I think you'd be perfect for me."

Now, her entire face was red.

Ashton blinked, scratching the back of his head. "Uhh… maybe not th—"

"You should absolutely do it, bro," Darwin interrupted.

Ashton turned to glare at him. "Dude—"

Darwin grinned. "What's the point of looking like a model if you're scared to walk a stage?"

"I'm not scared—"

"Alright, then. Jenny, count him in," Darwin said without hesitation.

Jenny's eyes lit up. "Really? That's great!"

Ashton groaned. "I've never done this before. The last time I was in a school play, I was a tree."

Jenny let out a laugh, quickly covering her mouth with her hands. Ashton watched her with a small smile. 'Damn… she has a pretty smile.'

As if on instinct, he said, "Jenny, did anyone tell you today that your hairband with that skirt looks really pretty on you?"

Jenny froze, completely caught off guard. She fumbled for words, unable to maintain eye contact. "Uh… Th-thanks, Ashton."

At that moment, the entire class, particularly the girls, started whispering among themselves, some shooting envious glances in Jenny's direction.

But there was one girl who wasn't just watching—she was seething.

Freya.

She stood at the classroom doorframe, biting the long sleeve of her dress, her eyebrows furrowed together in frustration. She hadn't even stepped inside yet.

Since Ashton had joined this college, she had never seen him show genuine interest in a girl. He was always distant, always uninterested.

But now? Now, he was smiling at Jenny? Complimenting Jenny?

Freya felt her stomach churn as she saw them exchange numbers.

It was like the ground beneath her feet had just disappeared.

Why her?

Freya clenched her jaw, gripping the edge of her sleeve so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

This isn't happening.

The Ashton she knew—the one who never showed interest in any girl—was now casually flirting? Smiling at her? Giving her his number?

For a whole month, she had watched him keep his distance from everyone. Even when girls tried to strike up conversations, he barely responded.

But now, for the first time, he looked... interested.

Jenny laughed again, her face still flushed as she tapped something on her phone. "I'll text you later, Ashton," she said, still a little shy.

"Sure," Ashton replied, pocketing his phone as if it was nothing.

Freya's stomach twisted.

No. No. NO.

She turned around abruptly and stormed off, not even stepping inside the class. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she couldn't understand why.

Was she... jealous?

That was ridiculous.

'Why the hell would I be jealous?'

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, but it only made things worse. No matter how hard she tried, the image of Ashton and Jenny smiling at each other burned itself into her mind like a scar she couldn't erase.

Meanwhile, back in the classroom, Ashton leaned back in his seat, letting out a sigh.

Darwin smirked, resting his chin on his hand. "Well, well, well... look at you."

"Shut up."

"No, you shut up." Darwin grinned wider. "Bro, I have to ask—what was that?"

"What was what?"

"The way you complimented her out of nowhere?" Darwin wiggled his eyebrows. 

"Damn, Jenny, you look so pretty today~" he mocked in a terrible imitation of Ashton's voice.

Ashton groaned. "Bro, stop."

"Nah, I need to know. Was that just being nice, or is my boy catching feelings?"

Ashton rolled his eyes. "I was just being polite."

Darwin squinted at him. "Nah, I don't buy it. You were smiling while looking at her, man. You never smile at girls like that."

Ashton hesitated. Did he really smile that much? He didn't even notice.

Darwin smirked knowingly. "I swear, if you actually end up dating the richest girl in school, I'm gonna call you a gold digger for the rest of your life."

"I'm not dating her," Ashton muttered.

"Yet."

Ashton sighed, shaking his head. But before he could argue further, he noticed something—or rather, someone missing.

"Where's Freya?"

Darwin blinked, following Ashton's gaze toward the door. "Huh... weird. She was standing there a minute ago."

Ashton frowned slightly.

Something about this felt... off.

Freya wasn't the type to skip class for no reason. In fact, she wasn't the type to leave when something caught her attention.

Why did she suddenly disappear?

And more importantly... why did he even care?

Somewhere in the hallways...

Freya stood by the vending machine, gripping her phone so hard she thought it might crack.

She didn't even want a drink. She just needed an excuse to be anywhere but in that classroom.

Why was she feeling like this? Why was she so irritated?

The logical part of her brain told her it wasn't a big deal. So what if Ashton talked to Jenny? So what if he smiled at her?

But it felt like a big deal.

He never smiles at anyone like that.

And that's when it hit her.

She wasn't mad because Ashton and Jenny were talking. She was mad because...

He had never looked at her like that.

Back in class...

Ashton tapped his fingers on his desk absentmindedly. He kept looking toward the door, but Freya never came back.

Darwin nudged him. "Why do you keep looking over there?"

"No reason," Ashton said quickly.

Darwin raised a brow. "You sure? 'Cause I think someone's starting to notice things."

"Dude, just—"

But before Ashton could finish, the class door opened again.

Freya walked in.

Her expression was unreadable, but her posture was stiff. She didn't even glance in Ashton's direction as she silently walked to her seat.

And for some reason... that bothered him, a little.