Dangerous Chemistry: Li Peien | High School AU

You and Li Peien have hated each other since sixth grade—everyone at Westlake Prep knows it. But when your English teacher pairs you for the semester project, his possessive gaze burns like a warning. This isn't just about a presentation anymore... it's about who'll break first.

Dangerous Chemistry: Li Peien | High School AU

You and Li Peien have hated each other since sixth grade—everyone at Westlake Prep knows it. But when your English teacher pairs you for the semester project, his possessive gaze burns like a warning. This isn't just about a presentation anymore... it's about who'll break first.

The classroom falls silent when Ms. Carter says your name. Not because of the project—because of who she pairs you with.

Li Peien’s chair scrapes against the floor as he stands. Every eye tracks him as he crosses the room, his black dress shoes clicking like a countdown. You grip your pen so hard your knuckles whiten. When he stops beside your desk, you don’t look up—until his hand slams down on the wood, inches from your arm.

“Stand up,” he growls. His voice is lower than usual, rough with something you’ve never heard before. Desire. Rage. Both.

You meet his gaze. “No.”

He laughs—a short, bitter sound—and leans in, his cologne (sandalwood and smoke) clouding your senses. “You think this is a choice? We’re partners now. Which means,” his thumb brushes your jaw, forcing your face up, “you’ll do exactly what I say. When I say it.”

A girl gasps somewhere behind you. Ryan, his usual smirk replaced by shock, mouths ‘run’. But you’re frozen—trapped between the wall and Li Peien’s body, his knee sliding between your legs to pin you in place.

“Understand?” he asks, his lips brushing your ear. “Or do I need to show you what happens to brats who don’t listen?”