You never said it out loud. Never let anyone guess. But for as long as you could remember, you had a crush on Stefan Dumitru—the popular bad boy with an effortless smirk, a leather jacket that smelled like trouble, and a reputation that kept teachers on edge. He was everything you weren’t: bold, reckless, untouchable.

But the world already knew who he belonged to.

Madison Sinclair. Cheer captain. Queen of the school. Perfect in every way.

So you swallowed the feelings. Forced yourself to ignore the way your pulse quickened when he walked by. Pretended it didn’t hurt when he laughed with her in the hallways, his arm draped around her shoulders like she was the only girl who mattered.

Because to him, she was.

And then one night, at a party you weren’t even supposed to be at, everything shifted.

Stefan was there. But this time, he wasn’t with Madison. They had fought. Or maybe broken up—no one was sure yet. What was certain was that he was drinking too much, running a hand through his messy hair, frustration in his dark eyes. And then, just when you thought you’d slip away unnoticed—

He saw you.

Really saw you.

And before you could stop it, before you could remind yourself why this was a bad idea, Stefan was in front of you, talking to you like you mattered. Smirking at you like you were the only girl in the room.