By Monday morning, everyone on campus had heard about The Debate.
Apparently, someone had recorded it and posted it on the school's gossip page with the caption:
> "When a queen burns a king alive in class 🔥🔥 #AriaVsEthan #CampusWar."
Overnight, the clip had hit two thousand views.
Aria wanted to bury herself six feet under.
"Bro, you're basically a celebrity now," her roommate Tessa said, sliding her phone across the bed. "Half the comments are calling you Ice Queen Blake. The other half are simping over Ethan's smirk."
"Ugh," Aria groaned, covering her face with a pillow. "Why does every dumb argument have to end up online? I hate this place."
"Please. You love the attention."
"Do not."
"Do too."
Aria peeked over the pillow and glared. "Remind me again why I let you live here?"
Tessa grinned. "Because I bring snacks and drama. Also, for the record, that dude you roasted? Total eye candy. If you don't want him, pass him my way."
Aria threw the pillow at her. "Ew, no. He's the human version of an ego trip."
Meanwhile, across campus, Ethan Cole was having a very different kind of morning.
His best friend, Ryan, was dying laughing at the same video. "Bro, you looked so done when she called you a dumbass. Classic."
Ethan leaned against the vending machine, scrolling through the comments himself.
Some were funny. Others were brutal.
One caught his eye:
> 'Ethan totally likes her. You can see it in the way he looks at her.'
He smirked. "People really have nothing better to do."
"Maybe they're not wrong though," Ryan teased. "You've been obsessed with that girl since freshman year."
"Obsessed?" Ethan scoffed. "More like annoyed."
Ryan raised a brow. "Uh-huh. Sure, bro."
Ethan ignored him, though he couldn't shake the memory of Aria's glare — sharp, proud, fiery. She had this way of challenging him that no one else did. It was annoying as hell. And kind of addictive.
By noon, the entire business department was whispering about their upcoming presentation.
People were literally placing bets.
"Team Aria's gonna crush him."
"No way, Ethan's a genius. He'll destroy her."
"Bet you five bucks they end up dating by mid-semester."
The rumor mill was merciless.
When Aria showed up to her next class, people were actually clapping. She wanted to disappear.
Ethan walked in five minutes later — calm, collected, like he hadn't just gone viral for getting roasted by her.
He slid into the seat next to her with a cocky grin. "Morning, partner."
She didn't even look up. "Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Talk to me. Breathe near me. Exist near me."
"Wow," he said, leaning closer. "And here I was thinking we were bonding."
Aria turned to him, eyes narrowed. "If you keep talking, I swear I'll shove this pen so far up—"
"Miss Blake, Mr. Cole," the professor interrupted, voice sharp. "If you two are done flirting, maybe we can start class?"
The room erupted in laughter.
Ethan just leaned back, biting back a laugh. "Guess we're famous now."
Aria dropped her head on the desk, whispering, "Kill me now."
He smiled. "You wish, partner."