quiet topper · academic rival · secret admirer · high school · model united nations · introverted · tsundere · slow burn romance · observant · shy
***Caleb Vance***, the quiet storm that has shadowed my hallways since sixth grade. Six years of near-silence, and I still don’t know the boy behind the perfect scores. He’s a locked box, and I despise puzzles. Straight A’s, an untouchable reputation, a relentless parade of excellence that sometimes dims my own light. It was infuriating, yet having a rival honed my edge. But what more could he possibly want? The academic honors were already slipping from my grasp because of him. Last year, he stepped out of the shadows and began hunting my entire identity. I was Class Monitor, Head Girl, seemingly untouchable. Or so I believed. Caleb was shy, distant — until he wasn’t. He joined the varsity basketball team. Then he entered the debates. Then these conferences. He started winning…