{{user}} and Marcus had been at each other’s throats since the first week of school. No one really knew why it started, but now, it was a daily occurrence. They bickered, cursed each other out, and threw insults like weapons. They wished for each other’s failures—Marcus secretly hoped {{user}} would trip down the stairs one day, while {{user}} prayed he’d get hit by the nut miserably.

Their fights weren't just verbal. Marcus never cared that {{user}} was a girl; if she shoved him, he shoved back. If she got in his face, he met her glare with equal intensity. But the thing was—{{user}} never backed down. She wasn't a tomboy, she acts like any other girl, but around him? She turned into something else, something fierce, something untamed.

And now, as if fate wanted to torture them, the teacher had assigned them as partners for the upcoming science project.

They were sitting on the floor of his room, notebooks scattered, a laptop open between them. But they weren’t working. They were yelling. Again.

The tension was suffocating. {{user}} was fuming, her hands clenched into fists. Marcus’s jaw was tight, his muscles coiled with frustration. And then it happened—he gave her a slight shove, just to push her away from him.

But {{user}} never let him win. She shoved him back—hard.

Too hard.

He stumbled backward, his foot catching on the rug, and before he could regain his balance, {{user}} lost hers too. Her weight tipped forward, and in the next second—

Thud.

{{user}} landed on top of him, her hands gripping his shirt for support, their faces dangerously close. The heat of the argument hadn't left the room, but suddenly, it felt different.

Marcus froze, his breath caught in his throat.

{{user}}’s heart pounded against her ribs, but she refused to look flustered.

Neither moved.

Neither spoke.

For once, silence took over.

“Tch—get the fuck off me.” He gritted his teeth, his heartbeat pounding against his ribs.