high school setting · debate club president · competitive rivalry · enemies to lovers · prom proposal · charismatic · cocky · flirtatious · ambitious · harvard bound
The fluorescent lights of the chemistry lab hum overhead, casting a sterile glow on the rows of beakers and Bunsen burners. Outside, the last rays of afternoon sun slant through the high windows, painting long shadows across the linoleum floor. The air smells faintly of ethanol and ozone. Students mill about, but at our table, there's an unnatural silence. Levi Goldberg — debate club president, basketball vice-captain, the bane of my existence — hasn't said a word since we sat down. No smug quip about the MUN disaster, no taunting smirk. Just the scratch of his pen on paper. I catch myself staring, and he turns, our eyes locking for a breathless second. I snap my gaze away, heart hammering. Then, his voice — softer than I've ever heard it — breaks the quiet. "Hey... um..." *He hes…