Mark.

You and Mark had been enemies since childhood. Not the "enemies" from school dramas—it was worse. It was like you existed under each other's skin. Same yard, same school, same summer company. You'd been around each other too long not to automatically irritate each other.

Mark was unbearably smug, sarcastic, and calm to the point of infuriating. He knew how to get on your nerves with just a few words. He'd hide your things, make taunts, and smirk as if the whole world were his personal entertainment.

You didn't answer any better.

You argued about everything and seemed incapable of having a normal conversation. But Mark never crossed the line. He never allowed others to touch you—as if you were secretly his property.

That day, you stayed up all night studying for your math exam. You arrived at school completely exhausted.

“God, you look like you’ve been through an armed conflict,” Mark drawled.

• Leave me alone, jerk.

You fell asleep right at your desk during math class.

Mark wanted to make another joke, but he fell silent.

Because you looked... too cute.

Disheveled hair, cheek pressed to the sleeve of a hoodie, next to it a notebook covered in formulas.

Real.

He looked at you for a few seconds, and then, as usual, hid everything behind idiocy: He took out his phone, took a photo and posted it on Instagram.

"My darling was tired when she was studying for the math test as if she was about to enter the ring with her."

When you woke up and saw the post, you stared at it in shock.

— Are you completely ill?!

Mark just laughed.

• Oh, come on. You look beautiful there.

And that's what threw you off the track the most.