C5 Collision Course

Writer’s POV

Monday morning came with the kind of energy that made the walls of Manchester High hum — rumor, noise, and chaos. The weekend dinner with the Reeds felt like a fever dream, but the sight of him leaning casually against the lockers made it all too real again.

Xavier Reed.

Arrogant. Infuriating. Unpredictable.

And, unfortunately, impossible to avoid.

Mila walked past him without a word, chin high, pretending not to notice the lazy grin he threw her way.

“Morning, Princess,” he called.

She didn’t even glance back. “You wish.”

A few students snickered, but everyone could feel it — the unspoken electricity between them. A quiet battle of pride and power.

*****

Mila’s POV

By third period, the whispers started again.

Only this time, they weren’t about me.

“Did you hear? Someone hacked the school board’s page.”

“No way!”

“Principal Carter’s losing it — it’s everywhere!”

I frowned. Hacking? At Manchester High? The most exciting thing that usually happened here was the cafeteria running out of fries.

But my curiosity didn’t last long — because during lunch, a teacher walked straight into the cafeteria and called out,

> “Mila Miller. Xavier Reed. Principal’s office. Now.”

The entire room went silent.

My stomach dropped.

What now?

*****

Xavier’s POV

The principal’s office smelled like old wood, ink, and tension.

Carter looked up from a thick file, glasses low on his nose.

“Do you two know why you’re here?”

“Not yet,” I said, slumping into the chair.

Mila shot me a glare. “We’ve done nothing.”

Carter folded his hands. “Our system was breached last night. Someone used your shared project account to post… offensive material under the school’s name.”

“What?” Mila snapped. “That’s impossible. I didn’t—”

“And I was nowhere near the school,” I cut in.

But Carter wasn’t listening. “Until this is resolved, you’ll both stay after school assisting the IT department. Think of it as… helping fix the mess.”

Mila groaned. “You mean detention with computers.”

He smiled thinly. “Call it whatever helps you sleep at night.”

*****

Writer’s POV

By 4 p.m., the halls were empty — except for the faint hum of the computer lab.

Mila sat rigidly at her desk, sleeves rolled up, hair tied back, eyes glued to the monitor. Xavier sat beside her, tossing a pen into the air every few seconds.

“Are you seriously not going to help?” she asked.

He grinned without looking up. “You seem to have it under control.”

She let out a sharp breath. “You’re insufferable.”

He leaned closer, voice low. “And yet you keep sitting next to me.”

“Because I’m being forced to.”

Their eyes locked — brief, charged, dangerous.

And then, the computer beeped.

*****

Mila’s POV

A file appeared on the screen, highlighted in red:

“GROUP12_BACKUP.”

“That’s not mine,” I whispered.

Xavier leaned in, suddenly serious. “Not mine either.”

The file opened on its own — lines of code flashed, then faded.

And a single message appeared on the screen in bold, white text:

> “You two make a good pair. Let’s see how long before you break.”

My throat went dry. “This… this is a setup.”

He didn’t argue. For once, Xavier Reed looked genuinely thrown.

Then his jaw tightened. “Someone’s playing with us.”

I swallowed hard. “And they’re watching.”

*****

Xavier’s POV

The message blinked once — then vanished.

He stared at the empty screen, heart pounding in quiet anger.

Whoever did this wasn’t just trying to get them in trouble — they were taunting them.

He turned to her. “If they want to play games, we’ll give them one.”

She raised a brow. “What does that even mean?”

He smirked. “You’ll see. But from now on, we work together.”

She blinked, almost laughing. “We? You mean me and your ego?”

“No,” he said softly, eyes steady. “Me and you.”

Something in his tone made her pause. Not flirtatious — serious.

Determined.

For the first time, Mila didn’t argue. She just nodded.

A silent truce.

A reluctant alliance.

Because one thing was clear — whoever was behind this wasn’t finished.

And neither were they.

*****

Writer’s POV

As they left the lab, the school was silent.

Outside, the sun had dipped behind the old clock tower, painting the walls in gold.

Mila glanced at Xavier, his hands shoved into his pockets, face unreadable.

She should’ve felt angry.

Instead, she felt something stranger — focused.

Like the game had just begun.