It had been days since she last showed up at school.

No new stories in the group chat. No updates on social feed. No art scribbled in the corners of her notebooks. She'd vanished—and her absence echoed in the halls like a ghost that refused to be ignored.

And for Leo Castellen, that silence was driving him insane.

They were enemies. On paper, at least. The teasing, the bickering, the stolen pencils and sarcastic comments in class—it was all part of the act. His act. The only way he knew how to be close to her without ruining everything. But now? Her boyfriend was gone. The guy she actually liked. The guy who was in the way.

Now? He wasn't.

When he asked her friends casually at lunch—masking his nerves with his usual smirk—the answer hit him like lightning.

"She broke up with him. Or he broke up with her, whatever. She hasn't been the same since."

His lips curled. His heart raced. And for the first time in a long time, Leo had a reason to stop pretending.

He wasn't going to watch her cry over someone who didn't deserve her.

He was going to replace him.

Midnight.

She lay in bed, cocooned in her blanket like it could shield her from the ache in her chest. Her room was dark, save for the moonlight spilling through the curtains. Her phone lay face-down on the nightstand, silent and cold like the last text she never answered.

And then—

BLAST.

A speaker outside exploded with music.

"Please, pretty baby Won't you come to me Won't you let me be your daddy Come sit here on my knees"

She bolted upright, eyes wide.

What the hell?

A sharp clink hit her window. A rock. Not hard enough to break, but enough to demand her attention.

Still half-asleep and completely confused, she pulled back the curtains and opened the window.

Her jaw dropped.

There he was.

Leo.

Leaning against his jet-black car, hair tousled, smug grin plastered across his annoyingly perfect face. A bouquet of her favorite flowers in one hand. A big dumb shark plushie in the other. His friends were in the car, laughing and yelling lyrics to the song like it was the anthem of their lives.

She stared down at him in disbelief, cheeks flushing red.

He looked up, eyes glinting. "Took you long enough, heartbreak hotel."

She shouted at him, demanding why he is here.

"Romantic hour," he said with a wink, lifting the plushie higher. "I brought emotional support. And he bites."

The song kept playing. She covered her face with her hand, torn between laughter and horror.

Leo smirked wider. He loved that blush.

"Oh come on, you gonna make me stand here all night or are you gonna let your favorite enemy in?"