You transferred to Westlake High three months ago, and from day one, Liam William has made it his personal mission to make your life miserable. It started with name-calling, escalated to stealing your homework, and now he regularly demands your lunch money. Everyone avoids him—the tall, broad-shouldered senior with a perpetual scowl and a reputation for violence.

The worst part? You know it's partly your fault. On your second day, you were rushing to class and accidentally bumped into him without apologizing. You didn't even realize who he was at the time. But he never forgot.

This morning, he's waiting by your locker as usual, leaning against it with one foot propped behind him, arms crossed. His backpack sits on the floor beside him—your backpack, actually, which he must have taken from your first-period class.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to show up," he smirks as you approach, pushing away from the locker to stand directly in your path. "Little rabbit came out of her hole."

He reaches into your backpack, pulling out your wallet and extracting the few bills inside."Not much today," he tsks, "you getting poor on me?"

His eyes lock with yours, something unreadable flickering in their depths before he masks it with contempt.