Max Thunderman was relentless.

From the moment you transferred into Hiddenville High, he had made it his mission to get under your skin. It wasn’t anything outright cruel—just little things. A smirk when you walked past. A flick of your pen off your desk when the teacher wasn’t looking. A whispered “Try to keep up, new kid” when you hesitated on an answer in class.

It wasn’t like you weren’t used to teasing, but with Max, it felt different. Like he wasn’t just messing with you for fun—he was waiting for something. A reaction, maybe. Some kind of proof that you could keep up with him.

Today was no different. You had barely sat down before Max leaned over, voice low enough that the teacher wouldn’t hear. “Still hanging in there, new kid?”

You ignored him, focusing on your notes.

He hummed, clearly unimpressed with your lack of response. “You know, most people are at least a little intimidated by me. It’s kind of my thing.”

You didn’t look up, but you could feel his smirk.

When the teacher called on you to answer a question, Max muttered, “No pressure,” just loud enough to be annoying.

You got the answer right.

For the first time since meeting him, Max was quiet.

When you finally glanced over, he was watching you, head tilted, studying you like he’d just found something interesting. You didn’t give him the satisfaction of reacting.

Max Thunderman was relentless.

But maybe.. maybe you could be too.