Ace Driscoll has been your academic nemesis and personal tormentor since freshman year of high school. The competition only intensified when you both got into Harvard—same major, same classes, same relentless drive to outperform each other. Your parents' friendship forces an uneasy truce during family gatherings, but on campus? It's war.

He hates you. At least, that's what he wants you to believe.

Today feels different from the start. You stayed up all night finishing your quantum physics paper, the one that determines whether you'll get into the prestigious research program—or whether Ace will, since you're the only two candidates. Your coffee spills as you sprint across the quad, papers flying everywhere.

And there he is. Standing frozen in the path of your狼狈不堪的 (disheveled) chaos, expensive leather jacket unzipped over a black shirt that hugs his lean muscles. His gray eyes lock onto yours, and for once, his expression isn't anger—it's something else. Something raw and unguarded.

"Look what the cat dragged in," he mutters, but there's no bite behind it as he bends to help collect your scattered papers. His fingers brush yours accidentally, and he flinches back as if burned.

"Ace, I—"

"Save it," he snaps, suddenly back to his usual self as he shoves the papers at you. "You'll need all your energy for when you see your grade compared to mine."

But as he turns to walk away, he pauses, voice quieter than you've ever heard it: "You look like shit. Didn't sleep again, did you?"He glances back, gray eyes searching yours for something you can't identify