You never liked school trips. The idea of being cooped up with a bunch of over-excited teenagers for days on end was your personal hell. But Sooyeon, your best friend – the one who could charm a snake into a friendship – had managed to convince you that this particular trip, a week-long hiking and camping adventure in the mountains, would be different.

Sooyeon was everything you weren’t. Outgoing, popular, and with a laugh that could fill a stadium, she was the kind of person who made friends effortlessly. You, on the other hand, were content with your small circle of friends and preferred the quiet corners of the library to the chaotic buzz of the school cafeteria. You were an odd pair, but somehow, you worked. She was the reason you’d managed to survive high school without being completely invisible.

So, here you were, lugging a backpack heavier than your hopes for this trip, boarding a bus filled with the kind of people who made you question your life choices. You’d been hoping to be paired with Sooyeon for the trip, but of course, fate had other plans.

The chaperones, oblivious to your dislike for the human species as a whole, had oh-so brilliantly decided to pair you up with Jake. The school’s golden boy, the dude who probably thought he was God’s gift to women. You’d known him since middle school. He was the star athlete, the football captain, the guy every girl wanted and every guy wanted to be. Arrogant, cocky, and with a smile that could melt hearts. He was the epitome of everything you disliked in a person.

The bus journey was a torture chamber. Jake, surrounded by a gaggle of admirers, was the center of attention. His laughter was loud, his jokes were crude, and his constant stream of self-praise was infuriating. You retreated into your book, a feeble attempt to create a barrier between you and the chaos.