Page 8 of With This Mask

Biting my lower lip, I make a bold decision and take the laptop from him. My fingers fly as I type out two new paragraphs, the words spilling out of my mind at rapid pace.

“Fuck, do you know how annoying it is that you’ve actually improved it?” Alec asks with reflection on said annoyance.

"Brilliant, I think you mean," I gloat with a grin. We're like two soldiers in a trench, begrudging respect growing amidst the mud and blood of academic warfare.

It always happens to me. Time slips by without my notice when I’m focused on school work. Suddenly, my stomach growls and Alec looks over at me with an amused smirk.

“Maybe we should call it a day?” he suggests.

“I don’t think so,” I say with an annoyed scowl. “We still haven’t nailed the ending. I don’t know about you, but I’m not leaving until it’s perfect.”

"Fuck, Winters, don't you ever get tired?" Alec says as he leans back in his chair, rubbing his eyes as if to scrub away fatigue.

"Exhaustion is a luxury I can't afford," I shoot back, my fingers pausing above the keys. But there's no venom in it, just the truth of a girl who's fought for every scrap of her future.

"Same," he mutters, almost to himself. And there it is—a chip in the wall of hatred that I’ve thrown up between he and I. What is that supposed to mean? “You want some coffee?”

My brows furrow and I sit up a little straighter at his shocking offer. But he’s apparently too tired to cover up his levelheaded question with our usual shit-slinging. He walks toward the coffee bar as if nothing unusual has happened.

“Sure,” I say hesitantly as he goes. “Thanks.”

He returns a few minutes later, setting a cup in front of me. And we fall back into the rhythm we've carved out for ourselves, a dance of debate and concession that molds our project into something neither of us could have created alone. His shocking creative view sharpens my arguments; my insights give life to his approach. We're an unlikely duo, fire and ice, somehow burning brighter together.

"Okay, wait, what if we approach it as a social service?" Alec leans over, his breath warm on my cheek as he points to a graph I've been wrestling with. “Not only is there money to be made, but they’re making the world a better place at the same time?”

"Could work," I admit, tilting my head to consider his suggestion. "If you pitch it the right way. And I think the research is there to prove the concept."

And somehow, another hour passes in the blink of an eye. Sitting here with Alec, well, if someone had asked me two weeks ago, I would have said that sounded miserable. But to my shock, it isn’t. In fact, I feel… electric. Working with someone who challenges, like, actually challenges me, is pretty damn invigorating. And the fact that he smells like a damn wet dream…

Whoa, Salem. Cool your jets.

But I can’t help but notice every time his arm brushes mine with every other keystroke.

And for half a second, I forget to breathe.

"Seems promising," Alec finally says after I finish dropping some images into our presentation. “I think we need some outside eyes on it though.”

"Promising doesn't cut it. It has to be bulletproof." My voice doesn't waver, my focus ironclad. “I’ll run it by Josh.”

"Always aiming high, aren't you?" There's a smirk playing on his lips, but it doesn't reach his eyes. They're serious, intense even, reflecting a drive that matches my own.

"Josh is really good at this stuff,” I bite back. “We’d be lucky to have him give us some thoughts.”

I don’t expect it, but Alec’s eyes narrow and I can see his thoughts darken. But why? As far as I know, Alec and Josh have no interactions and Alec has no reason to dislike Josh. “I’ll ask Ava to look it over as well. She’s also pretty damn good at this shit.”

Ew. Why does that instantly give me the ick?

“What’s wrong, Winters?” Alec asks, and oh, I want to smack the smirk right off his face. “We’d be lucky to have Ava give us some thoughts.”

“Of course we would,” I snarl. Alec only smiles smugly. And I hate it.

Showered, hair brushed, pajamas on, I crash into bed in my dorm room. Benefits of being a senior, this year I get a private room with a private bathroom. It’s pushing midnight, and I really should get some sleep. It’s going to be an early morning as I study for a test. But I’m so damn tired in an entirely different way.

Sometimes what we need is mind numbing nothingness. Knowing I’m stealing from my sleep time, I pull out my phone and open my favorite video watching app.

Video after video, each one is a fleeting moment of distraction. One I need so damn bad. The soft glow of the screen casts a gentle light on my face, illuminating the faint furrow of concentration between my brows.

My thumb pauses mid-swipe when a particular video catches my eye. I lick my lips and a smile curls on my face.

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