Zara
Rooftops at midnight were not my thing. Not ever. Not in the rain. Not in soaked sneakers. Not with wind trying to yank my scarf into oblivion. Not when your brain is fried, your chest feels like it's trying to escape your ribcage, and the universe apparently thought it was hilarious to pair you with Ethan Drake. Yep. That Ethan Drake. Smug, infuriating, chaos-walking disaster magnet.
I climbed the narrow fire escape, wet metal slick beneath my hands. Heart thudding. Fingers numb. Bag slipping. Shoelaces tangled. Curse under breath. Tried to steady myself. Failed. My phone buzzed. **SYSTEM ALERT — TASK PROGRESS 25%**. Ugh, tracking humiliation in percentages. Fantastic.
"You're… really late," Ethan called from the rooftop edge, smirk in place, hair plastered. Calm. Infuriatingly calm. Perfectly infuriating.
"Traffic," I muttered. Obvious. Shoes squelching. Bag sliding. Rain soaking my sleeves. Socks squelching inside shoes. Fingers trembling.
"Careful," he said, voice low. Too low. My chest betrayed me.
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. Tripped slightly on a puddle that had no right to exist there. Wind gusted. Rain pelting. Hair plastered to my forehead. Socks soaked. Shoes squelching. Bag strap digging into shoulder. Ugh, universe, really?
"Relax," he said. Smirk widening. "It's just a rooftop. Well… technically."
I groaned. Not helping. Not helping at all.
City stretched beneath us. Neon lights flickering like broken stars. Steam rising from vents. Sirens wailing. Wind howling. Trash swirling. Perfect chaos. My brain fried. Heart doing cartwheels.
**SYSTEM ALERT — Next Task: Confront the Unknown.**
Reward: Unknown.
Yeah. Unknown. Fantastic. My feet glued to wet metal, thinking maybe the "unknown" included me slipping into oblivion.
"Ready?" Ethan asked. Too casual. Infuriating.
I blinked. Blinked again. "Do I have a choice?"
"Depends. Are you brave?"
"Brave? Ha. Ha. Ha. Nope."
He laughed. Low. Smooth. Dangerous. My chest betrayed me. Brain short-circuited.
We moved closer to the edge. Wind gusted again. Rain stung cheeks. Puddles everywhere. Shoes squelching. Bag sliding. Hair plastered. Hands numb. Fingers trembling.
"Careful," he repeated. Calm. Smug. Infuriating. Perfect.
I rolled my eyes. Tried to act annoyed. Failed instantly.
"Why does everything have to be dramatic?" I muttered.
"Everything is dramatic," he said. Deadpan. Chest thundering, eyes betraying my panic. Sparks, literally.
A pigeon fluttered by. I jumped. Shoes squelching. Bag falling. Fingers gripping railing. Ethan caught me. Sparks. Chest betrayed me. Brain short-circuited.
"Don't die," he said. Smirk soft. Almost… human.
"Funny," I muttered. Not funny. Not even close.
We circled the rooftop like cats. Not friends. Not enemies exactly. Just aware. Sparks flying. Brain fried. Heart racing. Feet slippery. Wind threatening. Rain pelting. Shoes soaked. Hair plastered.
**SYSTEM ALERT — Romance Meter +1**
I glared. Ethan noticed.
"What's that now?"
"Nothing," I muttered. Obvious lie.
He tilted his head. "You're flustered."
"Maybe," I admitted. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Phone buzzed. **Next Task Unlocked: Rooftop Leap.**
Leap. At midnight. Rain. Wind. Neon reflecting everywhere. Hands shaking. Heart thundering. Brain fried. Shoes squelching. Socks soaked. Bag sliding. Hair plastered. Fingers numb.
"Leap? Seriously?" I muttered.
"Yeah," he said. Smirk widening. Calm. Too calm. Infuriatingly perfect.
I groaned. Hands shaking. Feet slippery. Bag strap cutting into shoulder. Shoes squelching. Socks soaked. Rain cold as knives. Wind trying to steal my breath. Heart racing. Brain fried.
"Trust me?" he asked.
I blinked. Blinked again. "No. Absolutely not."
"Good answer," he said. Calm. Smug. Infuriating.
I tripped. Nearly faceplanted. He grabbed my arm. Sparks. Chest betrayed me. Brain short-circuited.
"Careful," he said. Too casual. Infuriatingly casual. My chest thudded. Heart racing. Fingers trembling. Shoes squelching. Socks soaked. Bag sliding. Rain pelting. Hair plastered.
"Why am I like this?" I muttered.
"Because it's fun," he said. Smirk widening. Calm. Perfect. Infuriating.
I was just devastated.
Neon city below. Steam rising. Sirens. Trash. Wind howling. Rain pelting. Shoes soaked. Socks soaked. Fingers numb. Bag sliding. Heart racing. Brain fried. Sparks again.
"Leap," system buzzed.
I froze. Blinked. Heart racing. Brain fried. Shoes squelching. Fingers trembling. Bag sliding. Hair plastered. Rain stabbing. Neon reflections everywhere. Chaos alive. Sparks flying.
Ethan smirked. Calm. Perfect. Infuriating.
The wind whipped harder. Rain stung. Pigeons screeched. Trash scattered. My feet slipped. Bag slid down my shoulder. Shoes squelching. Socks squelching. Fingers numb. Heart thundering. Brain fried.
I inhaled. Exhaled. Tried to steady my shaking hands. Failed. Heart thundering. Brain fried. Bag sliding. Shoes squelching. Fingers trembling. Rain stabbing. Hair plastered. Sparks. Chest betraying me.
Ethan leaned closer. Smirk widening. Calm. Perfect. Infuriating.
"Ready?"
Blinked. Heart racing. Brain short-circuited. "Nope. Absolutely not."
He laughed. Low. Smooth. Dangerous. Chest betraying me. Sparks. Again.
Wind gusted. Rain pelting. Neon reflecting. City alive. Chaos alive. Me panicking. Heart thundering. Brain fried. Shoes squelching. Bag sliding. Fingers numb. Socks soaked. Hair plastered.
"Jump," system buzzed.
I froze. Blinked. Heart racing. Brain fried. Shoes squelching. Fingers trembling. Bag sliding. Hair plastered. Rain stabbing. Neon reflections everywhere. Chaos alive. Sparks flying.
Ethan smirked. Calm. Perfect. Infuriating.
I swallowed. Eyes scanning the drop below. Wet, slick, terrifying. Rain blinding. Heart thundering. Brain fried. Shoes squelching. Bag sliding. Fingers numb. Socks soaked. Hair plastered. Breath ragged.
"You… you first," I stammered.
"Uh-uh," he said, smirk widening. Calm. Smug. Infuriating.
"Why me?"
"Because chaos is fun," he said. Low laugh. Dangerous. Heart betraying me. Brain fried. Sparks again.
I groaned. Rain soaked me. Shoes squelching. Socks squelching. Bag sliding. Fingers numb. Hair plastered. Wind whipping. City alive below. Neon chaos everywhere. Sirens. Trash swirling. Pigeons screeching. Heart racing. Brain fried.
"Fine," I muttered. Took a shaky step toward the edge. Shoes squelching. Bag sliding. Heart thundering. Fingers trembling. Brain fried. Sparks. Breath ragged. Hair plastered. Socks soaked. I was in a complete mess or i was a mess. Nevermind
Ethan smirked. Calm. Perfect. Infuriating.
And somewhere, deep down, I realized the leap wasn't just physical. It was me. Him. The system. Chaos. Sparks. Fear. Heart racing. Brain fried. Shoes squelching. Bag sliding. Fingers trembling. Socks soaked. Hair plastered. Breath ragged.
— Rooftop Leap begins. And I have no idea if I'll survive… or if I even want to.**