A Twist of Fate

Zack’s eye twitched. It was a nervous tic, one he’d perfected over years of… well, of being Zack. But today, it was practically doing the tango. He stood by the trophy case, pretending to admire the dusty old football awards, but his gaze was glued to the scene unfolding near the art room. There they were, Leo and Maya, giggling. Giggling! The monsters. The abominations. The reason his perfectly planned life was currently resembling a deflated balloon.

Just last week, they’d been a blur of competitive glares and muttered insults. Now? They were sharing a juice box, practically in sync as they debated the merits of glitter glue versus sequins. Zack’s stomach churned. He’d seen the way Leo looked at Maya after their impromptu comedy act – that goofy, slightly bewildered grin that said, “Wow, she’s actually pretty cool when she’s not trying to trip me.” And Maya? She’d looked back with something that was definitely *not* annoyance. It was… soft. Too soft. It made Zack want to yell.

He clenched his fists. This was unacceptable. Maya was *his*. Or at least, she *had* been. Before Leo, before this whole ridiculous talent show debacle, before they’d apparently forgotten that Leo was the bane of her existence and she was the bane of his. They were supposed to be enemies, locked in an eternal battle of wills. Not… this. This budding, nauseatingly sweet friendship that was clearly heading towards something even worse.