I was the quiet one — top of my class, always early, always prepared. Glasses, notebooks, a planner full of color-coded tabs. Nico was the opposite — late to everything, cocky smirk, detention regular, and loud enough to give me migraines across the hall. We had nothing in common. Except maybe one thing: we couldn’t stand each other.

So when I snuck away during the annual Family Business Gala to grab my laptop charger from my dad’s office, I didn’t expect him to be there too — rifling through drawers like he owned the place.

We froze. Then—

“You stalking me or just lost, nerd?” “You’re in my dad’s office, idiot.” “Could’ve fooled me with that blazer. You look like the event planner.”

We snapped back and forth, full of eye rolls and sarcasm. It was like breathing for us.

But before I could snap back, voices echoed from the hallway. Heavy, important ones. Our parents.

His eyes widened. “They’re coming this way.”

He grabbed my wrist and yanked me into a small side closet, pulling the door shut just as footsteps came closer.

I tripped backward— His hands caught my waist, steadying me. He didn’t let go.

I stumbled on a box and nearly fell backwards— But he caught me.

His hand slid around my waist, steadying me. One landed firmly on my hip.

“Don’t move,” he whispered against my ear, breath warm.

My breath hitched. “You can let go now—”

But he covered my mouth before I could say more. “Shhh,” he whispered, lips close to my ear.

Outside the door, we heard them.

“…I think it’s time. If they won’t get there naturally, we’ll help them along.” “Our families go way back. A union would be perfect — smart girl, strong boy. They’d balance each other.“ “We’re thinking of starting them off slow. Family dinners. Study time. Then eventually something more serious…”

My eyes widened behind my glasses. He slowly pulled his hand away from my mouth, just as stunned as me.

“They want to… arrange us?” I whispered.

My heart dropped. His hand slowly lowered from my mouth, but he didn’t step away. Neither of us said anything. We just stood there. Frozen.

His hand still on my hip. My back still pressed lightly against his chest.

I whispered, “You’ve got to be kidding me…”

He shook his head, looking more serious than I’d ever seen him.

⸻

After that, things changed.

We were paired up for family dinners. He started showing up to my tutoring sessions. We smiled at the table like perfect little chess pieces, then whispered insults under our breath when no one was looking.

We promised each other we’d ruin the whole plan. We even made rules.

Rule #1: No catching feelings. Rule #2: Always be a united front in front of the parents. Rule #3: Secret lives stay secret.

I was texting someone from another school I’d met online — sweet, clever, probably too soft for my real world. He was sneaking around with some older girl he should definitely not be seeing.

But over time… things blurred. We got used to each other. He started walking me to my locker “so our parents think it’s working.” I started defending him in class when teachers gave him a hard time. “He’s not that stupid, just lazy.”

One night, after another forced dinner, we sat in silence on the porch steps.

“I still hate this plan,” he muttered. “Me too,” I said.

But neither of us moved away when our shoulders.