Jayden's POV
Well... here comes Monday.
Another hectic day of fangirls swooning over us and barely a second for me to breathe.
I guess Dylan and Jake enjoy all the attention.
Me?
It's exhausting.
Although... I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little entertaining.
On the ride to school in the car my parents assigned to me, with our driver behind the wheel, I sat scrolling through my phone while Dylan and Jake chatted beside me.
At first, I wasn't paying attention.
Then I heard her come up in their conversation.
I slowly looked up.
"It's been less than three weeks, and bro already has all her social media accounts. Damn... Dylan's moving fast," Jake teased, laughing.
Dylan only grinned like an idiot.
For some reason...
I hated seeing that smile.
I quietly stared at them, trying to suppress the strange anger burning inside me.
"Earth to Jayden!" Jake waved a hand in front of my face. "Bro, you're zoning out again. You sure you're okay?"
I blinked.
"...Yeah."
Gosh...
What the hell is wrong with me?
A few minutes later, my driver dropped us off at school.
The moment we stepped through the gates, the usual chaos began.
Girls screaming.
Confessions flying from every direction.
Students whispering.
Jealous stares from the guys who barely got any attention compared to us.
The same thing.
Every.
Single.
Day.
Then, through the crowd...
I saw her.
She had finally gotten her school uniform.
The neatly ironed black shirt.
The blue checkered skirt.
Her tie perfectly straight.
Black stockings reaching just below her knees.
She looked...
Beautiful.
I caught myself staring for a few seconds before immediately looking away.
No.
Don't look.
Don't get involved.
-------------
Second period.
History.
Mrs. Smith announced today's lesson, but I barely listened.
My thoughts drifted somewhere else.
Mom...
I wonder how she's doing.
Bang!
I flinched.
Mrs. Smith's fist slammed onto my desk.
"Hayes! On your feet!"
Here we go again...
I sighed inwardly before standing.
"Your grades have been dropping beyond what's acceptable," she said, circling my desk slowly. "I've spoken with your other teachers, and we've all agreed that you need a tutor."
She slammed her hand onto my desk again.
"You're falling from one of our top students to someone who can't even pay attention in class. Meet me in my office after school."
"Yes, ma'am."
As expected...
The head teacher never let anything slide.
--------------
After class, I knocked on Mrs. Smith's office door and stepped inside.
Someone was already there.
Her.
This time, she wasn't wearing her glasses.
I only spared her a brief glance before taking a seat.
Several long minutes later, Mrs. Smith finally walked in.
"Hayes," she began, "this is your new tutor. She's one of our brightest students, and since she's also a transfer student, I believe she'll help you catch up quickly."
...
My jaw nearly hit the floor.
"I don't know what's distracting you lately," Mrs. Smith continued, gently patting my shoulder, "but I know you'll get through it."
She smiled.
"We can't afford to lose our honor student."
Her words slowly faded into the background.
My thoughts were much louder.
I had just started following Rule Number Two.
And now...
The universe had assigned the very girl I was trying to avoid as my tutor.
Seriously?
How hard is fate trying to ruin my life?
I let out a quiet sigh.
"Hi."
I looked up.
Mrs. Smith had already left.
The girl smiled at me.
"I'm Olivia. What's your name?"
"Uh..."
"Jayden."
"That's a nice name." She smiled again. "I look forward to studying with you."
She...
Smiled.
No.
No, no, no.
That wasn't good.
Her smile hit me straight in the chest.
Suddenly, breathing became strangely difficult.
This is bad.
Really bad.
She waved goodbye and skipped out of the office.
I watched her leave.
Then leaned back in my chair.
I think I almost forgot how to breathe.
---
When I finally came outside, Dylan and Jake were waiting for me.
"So?" Dylan asked.
"How'd it go?"
"They assigned me a tutor."
I left out one tiny detail.
Who my tutor actually was.
Jake narrowed his eyes.
"Man... something definitely happened in there."
I shot him a glare.
Both of them burst into laughter.
"Oh, come on," Dylan chuckled. "Your face is giving everything away."
I rolled my eyes and kept walking toward the school gate.
Great.
Just...
Great.
Now I'm stuck with the one person I've been trying so hard to avoid.
So much for Rule Number Two.