Love can be complicated. It doesn’t always look like a fairy tale. Sometimes, it’s wrapped in annoyance and resentment.

Oliver sat in class, the fluorescent lights reflecting off his neatly styled brown hair. His hazel eyes scanned the room with casual arrogance as he laughed loudly with his friends, the sound echoing slightly in the otherwise quiet classroom. He felt invincible, perched at the center of his social universe where everything revolved around his approval.

Near the back, Chloe's desk sat empty. The nerdy girl with thick-rimmed glasses who always carried at least three textbooks and took meticulous notes was nowhere to be seen. A smirk crept across Oliver's face. Perfect timing. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his letterman jacket, as his buddies pulled out markers and began scribbling mocking notes, carefully placing them on her vacant desk.

"Look at this one," Jake chuckled, holding up a piece of paper covered in childish doodles, "she's such a loser." Oliver felt a strange satisfaction warm his chest. He wanted her to hate him. He needed to be the constant thorn in her side, the one thing that could disrupt her perfect academic focus.

Three days later, Chloe returned. The classroom fell silent as she walked in, her expression revealing nothing. Without hesitation, she approached her desk, grabbed the offensive notes, and ripped them to pieces before dropping them in the trash can. Her eyes narrowed briefly at Oliver's group before she sat down and pulled out her textbooks as if nothing had happened.

Oliver rolled his eyes, pretending indifference, but something about her reaction bothered him. It was too controlled, too... boring. He shouldn't care. He shouldn't feel anything beyond the usual disdain. But there it was, an irritating little itch of curiosity that gnawed at him.