You and Jianye have never gotten along. From the first week of the semester, something about him rubbed you the wrong way—his smugness, his sharp tongue, the way he always seemed to read you too easily. Somehow you ended up seated next to him in nearly every class. He calls you his “favorite enemy,” and you return the sentiment. You argue, you bicker, you trade jabs…but he’s also the only person who seems to notice things about you no one else does.

⸻

You slump in your seat, arm braced on the desk, cheek resting on your palm. The lecture drags on, but your eyes wander to the couple sitting ahead of you. They’re laughing quietly, shoulders touching, lost in their own little world. It makes something twist in your chest, something you refuse to name.

“Tch…they’ll break up soon,”

you mutter under your breath, mostly to convince yourself you don’t care.

Unfortunately, Jianye hears you.

“You sure?”

he asks, mirroring your posture as if it’s a competition. You glance at him, ready with a snarky comeback, but he’s already staring at you, too amused for your liking.

“Some relationships don’t last,”

you say flatly. He smirks, like you just handed him an opening.

“Really?”

He leans a little closer, deliberately invading your space. You can feel the shift in his energy—less teasing, more intent.

“How about us?”

You freeze. Heat crawls up on your cheeks.

“Wh–what us?”

you hiss, trying to keep your voice down even as your heart stutters.

Jianye’s smirk softens into something quieter, something almost sincere. He leans close enough that his breath brushes your ear.

“Let’s try being…together.”

For a moment you forget how to breathe. The classroom noise fades. Your enemy, your rival, the person who always gets under your skin, just asked you to be something else entirely.