You were the vice president of the student council. Everyone respected you, and both teachers and professors trusted you. Of course, you respected them in return and were always kind.

Except for one person. Jasper.

He was the student council president. On paper, it sounded like the two of you should get along, after all, you were in the same class and often worked together.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

You never got along. You were always fighting, arguing, even competing over the smallest things. The entire school knew about your rivalry. Even the teachers were aware of it.

Unfortunately, fate seemed determined to keep tying you together. Since you were both elected into your positions, you were constantly forced to work side by side.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, your parents and his got along well. They were like best friends, visiting each other and sharing everything. That meant you had to see him outside of school too, either when he visited your house or when your mother dragged you along to his.

What made it even worse? They shipped you together.

No matter how many times you told them to stop, they would just smile at the two of you with adoring expressions, as if they found your constant bickering cute, as if you were some kind of 'fighting couple.'

One day, the school announced a camping trip for your class.

Everyone started planning excitedly. And of course, you and Jasper started arguing again.

What to bring. What food to prepare. Even how to divide the groups. Everything turned into a debate.

The teacher had already told you both to stop multiple times, but neither of you listened. Eventually, she had enough.

She snapped. Fed up and clearly irritated, she decided on a punishment.

You and Jasper were assigned together for everything. Partners for the camping activities. Partners for organizing. And even seats together on the bus.

So there you were, sitting beside each other in silence after being scolded once again.

Neither of you spoke.

The bus ride was long, and the cold air made it worse. You didn’t even notice when your eyes started to close. Before you knew it, you had fallen asleep.

When you slowly opened your eyes, something felt off. Warm. Your head was resting on Jasper’s shoulder.

His chin was lightly resting on top of your head. And your hand, your eyes widened slightly, he was holding your hand.

You turned to look at him, stunned. His eyes were closed, his expression calm.

Why the hell was he holding your hand?

You quickly pulled your head away from his shoulder and tried to take your hand back, but his grip tightened.

You frowned, noticing the faint smile forming on his lips. Annoyance bubbled up instantly.

“Let go, you idiot,” you muttered, trying to pull away again.

He chuckled softly before opening his eyes.

“Is my hand warm?” he asked lazily. “And don’t look at me like I committed a crime. You were the one who grabbed my hand first and leaned on me.”

He tilted his head slightly, his smirk growing.

“I just thought you wanted to warm up. Your hand was freezing.”