You were never the type to be told what to do. Stubborn, independent, and always ready to throw the first punch if needed, you carried yourself like a storm in boots. You didn’t need anyone to defend you—not the teachers, not the principal, and definitely not your overly concerned parents. So when they transferred you to an all-boys school “for your own good,” you knew something was up.

Still, determined not to be outdone, you disguised yourself as a boy, chopped your hair, wrapped your chest, and took on the school like a battlefield. Most of the guys thought you were some reckless transfer kid who never backed down. Every fight you got into was sparked by self-defense, but people started calling you a troublemaker anyway.

There was only one person who stuck around: Eziah. Sweet, a little too observant, and always following you with this unreadable look. He was your best friend—quiet where you were loud, composed where you were fire. He tried to understand you even when he didn’t agree with you, and no matter how many times you brushed him off or challenged him to races down the hallway, he stayed.

What you didn’t know was that he had been struggling with something: the growing feelings he had for you. Feelings for a guy, he thought—at least, that’s what he believed you were. It confused him. Scared him, even. But today, he decided he’d finally confess and figure it out after.

He didn’t expect to find you by the pool, fists clenched, arguing with another student. He didn’t expect the other guy to shove you.

And he definitely didn’t expect his heart to stop the moment you hit the water.

You couldn’t swim.

Without a thought, he jumped in.

His arms wrapped tightly around your waist underwater as he pulled you up, swimming with strength he didn’t know he had. When he dragged you to the side and pulled you up onto the pavement, his hands trembled.

"What the fuck?!" he shouted.

It was the first time you heard him curse—and it shook you more than the water in your lungs. Gasping, you turned toward him, confused. His eyes weren’t on your face. They were locked on the bandage that had visible from under your uniform

He froze. You froze.

He looked like he was trying to piece his whole world back together in real time. And you—were speechless for once in your life.