The Girl in the Hoodie is Mine

Ella’s POV:

Walking into the library, I braced myself for the inevitable clash. The last place I wanted to be was the library, sitting across from Jason Knight, of all people. But here I was, forced to work with him because of this stupid project. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with his cocky attitude, but I also knew I couldn’t afford to mess this assignment up. The sooner we got it done, the sooner I could stop pretending we had anything in common.

I found him already there, sprawled across a table with books and notes spread out. Seated in like he owned the place, which wasn’t much different from how he acted at school. I rolled my eyes but kept my mouth shut. We had work to do, and I wasn’t in the mood for his nonsense.

He looked up, flashing that cocky grin that told me he was ready to prove a point. I resisted rolling my eyes—barely.

"Finally decided to show up?" he quipped as I sat down, not even bothering to greet me properly.

"Let’s just get this over with," I muttered, pulling out my laptop and notes. I was prepared for a battle, not just of academics, but of wills.

To my surprise, he didn’t respond with a snarky comment or an arrogant smirk. Instead, he pulled up some notes on his screen and actually started talking about the project—like, really talking about it. For the first time, I realized he wasn’t just some clueless jock who thought he could charm his way through life. He actually had ideas, and they were good.

Surprisingly, the session didn’t go as I expected. Jason wasn’t just throwing his weight around; he actually contributed. He had insights into the project topic that caught me off guard—good ones that steered our research into deeper waters. We divided the workload efficiently, with me focusing on gathering data and him analyzing it. The give-and-take was unexpectedly smooth.

As we worked through the details, discussing our research and how we’d present everything, I couldn’t help but notice how quickly we were making progress. Jason was sharp, focused, and surprisingly organized. I had expected him to be lazy and uninterested, but he was taking this seriously.

I glanced over at him a few times, half-expecting him to break character and revert to the cocky jerk he usually was, but he didn’t. Instead, he leaned in, asking questions, suggesting different angles for the project, and genuinely listening to my input.

"Okay," he said, after we spent a good half hour going over our outline. "I think we’ve got a solid start here."

"Yeah," I admitted, almost reluctantly. "This is actually... working."

He smirked a little, but it wasn’t the usual arrogant one. It was more like he knew I wasn’t expecting things to go this well. "Told you we could work together," he said, his tone casual.

I rolled my eyes but didn’t argue. Truth be told, I was starting to see that Jason wasn’t as shallow as I’d pegged him to be. He wasn’t just the school’s golden boy, and he certainly wasn’t all talk. He had brains behind that smug exterior, and part of me hated to admit that.

For a moment, I caught myself watching him explain a complex part of our project with a focus I hadn’t anticipated from him. His hands moved animatedly, his eyes lit with a spark of intelligence that I had never bothered to look for before. It was disarming, seeing this side of him—the side that wasn’t wrapped up in his usual arrogance.

"We should put this part in the conclusion, don’t you think?" he suggested, pointing at the notes we had compiled. "It ties back to our thesis perfectly."

"Yeah, that actually makes sense," I admitted reluctantly. We worked well together, much to my annoyance. The part of me that wanted to keep disliking him was slowly being cornered by the reality that Jason Knight was not the complete fool I had pegged him to be.

Hours passed quicker than I anticipated, and we made significant progress. We worked for another hour, finalizing our research and discussing how we’d split the workload. Everything was going smoothly, but I couldn’t stay much longer. As we hit the halfway mark of our assignment, I glanced at the clock and sighed. "I have to go," I announced, beginning to pack up my things.

"Now? But we’re on a roll," Jason protested, his expression showing a flicker of genuine disappointment.

"I have to go soon," I said, glancing at the time. My shift at the diner started in less than an hour.

Jason frowned, clearly not ready to stop. "We’re almost done, though. Can’t you stay a little longer?"

"No," I said flatly, closing my notebook.

"I have a job," I snapped, a bit more harshly than I intended. His eyebrows rose, curiosity evident in his gaze.

"What kind of job?"

"That’s none of your business," I shot back, my tone final. "We’re only talking because of this assignment. Let’s keep it that way."

Jason held up his hands in a mock surrender. "Alright, alright." He held up his hands defensively, the smirk creeping back onto his face. "Just curious."

"But think about it, Ella—collaborating like this could get us a top grade."

I paused, the practical part of me knowing he was right. "Fine. We meet here again, same time, but only for the project. Nothing else. I’m not interested in whatever else you’re thinking."

Jason leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Fair enough. But we make a pretty good team, you know."

"Yeah, sure," I muttered, not wanting to admit that he was right. "See you tomorrow. Same time."

"Deal," he agreed quickly, a trace of his smirk returning. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

As I left the library, the weight of our interaction settled on me. We had indeed made a solid team, and part of me was actually looking forward to finishing the project. But I was careful not to let that sliver of respect turn into anything more. Jason Knight was still Jason Knight, and I was just Ella—the girl who needed to keep her guard up.