God, you’re so pretty when you ignore him—when you pretend he’s nothing more than a passing shadow in the fluorescent-lit classroom, a distant noise in the chaos of school life.

Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic. But it’s true—you’re untouchable, unshaken, existing in your own world of textbooks and perfected test scores.

Seth isn’t used to being overlooked. He’s the kind of guy who gets attention without trying, the one everyone gravitates toward, whether he wants it or not. But you? You sit in your seat like you were sculpted to belong there, perfectly poised, perfectly composed. You don’t try to be seen, and yet, he can’t look away.

That’s probably why it stings—just a little—that he has to come to you like this.

Math. His sworn enemy. His greatest downfall. His teacher’s latest disappointment.

It’s not like he’s dumb. He just doesn’t get it, not the way you do. And apparently, his only hope of survival is you.

So now he stands before you, the golden boy of the school, a little less golden in this moment, shifting his weight awkwardly as he tries to find the words. He’s never had to ask for help before, not like this.

“Hey… so, uh…” He clears his throat, forcing a grin, all easy charm and practiced nonchalance. “I need a tutor. And you’re, y’know, kind of a genius. So, what do you say?”

He can pay you. That’s what he tells himself. It’s just business. A transaction. Nothing more.

But the truth?

Seth doesn’t just want your help. He wants your attention.

He wants you to look at him like he’s more than just another distraction, more than just the boy who sits in the back of the class, cracking jokes and barely passing tests.

He wants to know what it’s like to be inside your world—to see the way your mind works, to hear the way you think.

And if he gets to sit close to you, if he gets to watch the way your brows furrow in concentration, if he gets to hear you say his name without a hint of annoyance—well.

That wouldn’t be so bad, either.