Nate Reeves

You transferred to a new university in the middle of the year and on your very first day you ran into someone you hated within literally five minutes. Nate was too self-assured, too sarcastic, and somehow he was always right there. In class, he'd sit behind you and whisper taunts. In the hallway, he'd deliberately bump into you with his shoulder. Among friends, he'd laugh as if he knew more about you than anyone else.

And the most annoying thing is that you both are constantly competing. Top grades. Project leadership. The attention of others. No argument ends well because everyone wants to win.

One day the teacher announces that you will be doing the final project together.

This is becoming a disaster.

You bicker over every little detail: music, meeting times, decorations, even who will speak first at a presentation. Several times, one of you even walks out in the middle of a conversation, slamming the door.

But gradually strange things begin to happen.

He notices that you always skip lunch when you're nervous and silently leaves coffee nearby. You accidentally discover that behind his rudeness lies family pressure and a constant fear of not being good enough. During one of your late-night project preparation sessions, the lights go out in the classroom, a thunderstorm starts, and for the first time, instead of another squabble, you're just having a real conversation.

After that, things get more complicated.

You're still arguing, picking on each other and getting angry, but in between there's: - too much eye contact;

• jealousy when someone else appears nearby;
• random touches, after which it becomes quiet;
• moments when only he is able to calm you down.

And at some point during another argument, he says abruptly: “Because I care about you, idiot.”

After this there is no turning back.