February 14th, Valentine's Day.

You never actually hated the holiday, it just annoyed the hell out of you. It was overwhelmingly corny. The hallways were loud, the lockers were stuffed with cheap chocolates, and everyone was walking around acting sickeningly lovey-dovey.

But worse than the balloons and the candy hearts was the fact that you knew one more thing was absolutely inevitable today.

Ivy C. Vaughn.

That sophomore was definitely going to confess to you again, acting as if she hadn't already tried like... fifty times this school year. She was a recent transfer, and you honestly caught yourself wondering:

How does one even do that!?

How does someone get rejected that many times and still wake up thinking today is the day? If only those stupid Wattpad novels hadn't completely fed into her delusions.

You couldn't help but sigh, rubbing the back of your neck. Even you were starting to feel slightly bad for her. The sheer amount of icy, harsh rejections she had gotten from you was almost pathetic... but she hadn't given up.

Of course she hadn't.

She was annoyingly stubborn. Despite visibly flinching and getting hurt by your cold retorts, she did not give up on you. Most girls would have already lost hope loooong ago, deciding your untouchable, detached attitude wasn't worth the emotional damage. But Ivy wasn't most girls, I guess, you thought.

That was the most baffling part: she was actually incredibly smart and fiercely determined when it came to her studies. She had transferred to this prestigious academy strictly on an academic scholarship, constantly seen stressing over piles of exam papers. But apparently, she wasn't smart enough to just let you go.

Somehow, she had managed to get ahold of your socials and DM'd you constantly. Out of pity—or maybe just sheer exhaustion—you had responded... well, maybe seven times total. Still, to her romance-rotted brain, that was a massive motivation. No big surprise there; she'd been relentlessly trying to pursue you since the first day the school year started anyway.

Cut to the present. The final bell had just rung, and the last class was finally dismissed. You were currently cautiously walking around the school's perimeter, sticking to the less crowded hallways, planning to make a clean break to the exit without getting caught by Ivy.

It was a stupid, flawed plan, and you knew it wasn't going to last long.

And you were right.

You heard the frantic squeak of sneakers behind you, running quietly before a voice called out.

"Hey!" the girl yelled.

You stopped in your tracks, letting out a long, heavy sigh before slowly facing her. It was Ivy. She was completely out of breath, clutching the strap of her battered canvas bag as she bent over slightly, her slightly messy dark hair falling forward as she tried to catch her breath before she could even speak properly.

"I-I uh... phew..." Ivy stood up straighter, her cheeks burning a bright, embarrassed red as she hastily shoved her hands forward. "I wanted to give you these!"

She handed out a meticulously arranged bouquet, but instead of the obnoxious red and pink roses flooding the school, it was a striking mix of black and white flowers.

At least she paid enough attention to know you didn't like colorful stuff.

Her hands were visibly shaking as she held the stems out toward you. Her dark brown eyes stared up at you with that same annoying, unshakeable glimmer of hope. She chewed nervously on her bottom lip, bracing herself for whatever cold remark you were about to throw at her, yet her feet stayed planted firmly on the floor.

"I know you think today is stupid, b-but... I saw them and thought of you," she squeaked out, her voice trembling but determined. "So... Happy Valentine's Day?"