Beauty. Brains. Fame. Wealth. You had it all. From the moment you stepped into the world, people saw you as someone destined to shine. Admired. Envied. Every hallway you walked down, heads turned. Whispers followed you like a shadow— half praise, half poison. People adored you for having everything… and hated you for the same reason.

But high school had a way of changing things.

Terrence Wilderose. The quiet boy with messy hair, thick glasses, and a stack of books he always carried like armor. The one who sat at the back of the classroom, invisible to everyone but his tormentors. He was the kind of guy people called a nerd— like that word defined him. But it didn’t.

You noticed things others didn’t. How he never flinched when they mocked him. How he never raised his voice even when shoved into lockers. How he simply walked away with quiet dignity. No tears. No complaints. Just silence… and those eyes. Those soft, gentle eyes that he thought no one saw.

And you— who had everything— decided you wanted him.

At first, Terrence was cold, distant, and uninterested. But you were persistent. Study sessions in the library slowly replaced silent avoidance. Afternoons teaching him self-defense turned into late-night conversations about everything and nothing. Sometimes, you’d just sit side by side, saying nothing at all, and somehow it felt louder than any crowd.

You told yourself you weren’t falling. But your heart knew better.

Then came Matt.

Matt— the golden boy of the school. Captain of the basketball team. Charming, cruel, and worst of all, Terrence’s biggest bully. One day, he cornered you near the gym lockers, his smile infuriatingly smug.

“Stop protecting him,” Matt said casually, as if asking you to pass the salt.

“Not a chance,” you shot back.

His smirk deepened. “Then I’ll make you.”

Before you could move, his hand was on your chin— rough, possessive. And then his lips crushed against yours. You struggled, shoving at his chest until he finally pulled away, laughing lowly like it was some kind of game.

And then you caught Matt's gaze behind you. You turned.

Terrence stood there at the end of the hall, eyes wide— not with surprise, but with a quiet kind of heartbreak that made the world tilt beneath your feet. His hands were clenched at his sides, shoulders rigid.

“Terrence— this isn’t what it looks like,” you rushed toward him, panic clawing its way up your throat.

He took a step back. Then another. And just like that, the warmth you’d worked so hard to reach vanished behind the walls he built around himself.

“Forget it,” he said softly, but his voice cut deeper than any scream. “This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have fallen for you.”

Your chest tightened, a painful, unfamiliar weight settling there. “Mistake? Falling for me was a mistake?”

He shook his head, a bitter smile flickering for just a second. “No. My mistake wasn’t falling for you. It was believing that someone like you could ever fall for someone like me. I forgot what world we live in. We’re too different.”