Chapter 38 – From Bully to Sweetheart

I knew it was going to be a weird day the second I walked into homeroom. The air felt… off, like everyone knew something I didn’t. And there, leaning against the doorframe like some poster boy for misplaced arrogance, was Luca. ‘Oh boy, here we go. The bullying continues,' I thought to myself

He caught my eye and grinned. Not a smirk, not a sneer—an actual grin. I swear my knees almost buckled. Did he have some kind of quota on infuriating facial expressions or something?

"Morning, sunshine," he said, and my brain short-circuited for a solid two seconds.

Sunshine? Since when did Luca Blackthorn call me anything but "pain in the butt," or worse? I stood there blinking like I’d just gotten slapped with a math equation.

"Did you hit your head last night?" I asked, glaring at him with my best unimpressed expression while crossing my arms. "Or, I don’t know, get possessed by aliens?"

"Why?" His eyes never left mine as he straightened up. "Surprised that I’m suddenly feeling… friendly?"

Friendly? Friendly? My life had been a complete nightmare for the past month because of this guy. And now, like a bad teen movie cliché, he was attempting the "charming" act?

"Friendly isn't usually your speed," I shot back, brushing past him to get to my seat. But he followed me, sauntering over to my desk like he had all the time in the world.

"So, what, you’re saying I can’t be friendly?" He leaned down, way too close for comfort. "Because I’m feeling pretty friendly right now."

I glared at him. "Do you have any idea how creepy that sounds?"

He just laughed. "I’ll work on it."

The bell rang before I could even reply, and he eventually left with a final grin over his shoulder. Half relieved, half angry, I sank into my chair. We had a long day ahead of us.

The weirdness continued all morning. He was there wherever I went. I'm referring to casual glances in the hallway, prolonged looks in English class, and a real wink across the cafeteria during lunch. A wink. What in the high school soap opera was going on? I was prepared for him to return to his normal self and bully me as he normally did before, but has it changed since I discovered that we’re supposed to be mates? Since we…kissed?

By third period, people were starting to stare. People were talking. There was this freshman who looked between us like she was witnessing a plot twist in real life. I couldn’t blame her; I felt the same way. I mean, last week he was making snide comments about my shoes, and today he’s… winking at me? This is bringing us too much attention.

I decided to take action. Maybe if I confronted him, he’d get bored and move on to his usual pastime of bullying me. But I wasn’t even halfway to his locker when he somehow appeared out of thin air.

"Looking for me?" he said, smiling like I’d just paid him the ultimate compliment by chasing him down.

"No, just trying to walk this way," I said, attempting to brush past him. But he stepped in my path, grinning wider.

"Admit it, Quinn. You missed me."

I let out a loud, very unladylike snort. "You wish."

Without missing a beat, he shot back, "And you’re cute when you’re mad."

My brain threw in the towel right there, I swear. Instead of our typical battle to the death, why was he acting as though we were in the middle of a romantic comedy?

"Did… did Nick put you up to this?" I asked, trying to catch him off guard. "Or maybe it’s Ethan? I bet they dared you to act like an idiot."

Luca shrugged, looking unbothered. "Nope, this is all me."

The worst thing? For a moment I didn't believe him. He must be working on something. Perhaps this was a brand-new psychological tactic meant to make me doubt my own sanity. I wasn't going to fall for it, whatever it was. He was able to throw a "See you later, sweetheart" over his shoulder before I pushed past him.

Sweetheart? Now he was really pushing it.

By the time lunch rolled around, I’d had enough. I spotted him sitting with Nick, Marcus, and a few of their friends, and they were all watching me, like they’d planned out this elaborate prank and were waiting for my reaction.

With as much determination as I could muster, I stomped over to their table. Luca glanced up, and the smirk on his face told me he’d been waiting for this all morning.

"Luca," I started, planting my hands on my hips. "What is going on with you today?"

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and giving me that insufferable look of his. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know exactly what I mean," I said, lowering my voice as the cafeteria suddenly felt way too quiet. "You’ve been… different. Weird. Acting like we’re—”

"Friends?" he interrupted, that stupid grin widening.

"More like actors in a rom-com that no one asked for," I shot back. I heard a few laughs from his friends, which only egged him on.

"Maybe I’m just in a good mood today," he said, shrugging.

"Or maybe you’ve lost your mind." I was about to storm off when he caught my arm, just lightly enough that it didn’t feel threatening but enough to make me pause.

"Hey, maybe I just wanted to see what it’d be like to be nice to you for a change."

The way he said it, all calm and smooth, sent a shiver down my spine that I absolutely did not want to admit to. I glared at him, jerking my arm away.

"Do us both a favor, and stick to what you’re good at," I snapped. "And ‘nice’ is not it."

But as I walked off, I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe he was doing exactly what he was good at. And for some reason, that worried me more than all the insults in the world.

The rest of the day was a masterclass in frustration. Every time I turned a corner, he was there. In math, he passed by my desk three times for absolutely no reason, each time flashing me that grin that somehow managed to be both charming and infuriating. And don’t even get me started on gym class. Every time we did an exercise, he found a way to "accidentally" end up next to me.

"Need a spotter, Quinn?" he asked, all fake concern as he leaned a little too close for comfort.

"No," I snapped, shoving him back. "I need you to leave me alone."

"Can’t do that," he replied, eyes twinkling with mischief. "After all, someone’s gotta make sure you don’t, you know, hurt yourself."

"Pretty sure I’ve been doing fine without your help for, oh, my entire life," I said, gritting my teeth.

"Oh, come on, you know you’d miss me if I weren't around."

I glared at him, but he just laughed, completely unaffected. How was he getting away with this? The teachers seemed oblivious, and everyone else was just watching us with a mix of fascination and amusement. By the time the final bell rang, I was practically sprinting out of the building just to get away from him.

But, of course, he was waiting outside, leaning casually against the wall like he hadn’t been driving me insane all day. I walked right past him, not even sparing him a glance.

"Hey, wait up," he called, falling into step beside me. "You’re not going to say goodbye?"

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to face him, my patience finally snapping. "Luca, I don’t know what game you’re playing, but it’s not funny."

He raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely innocent. "Game? Who said anything about a game?"

"You. Are. Driving. Me. Nuts," I said, emphasizing each word. "So whatever you’re trying to do, just… stop. Please."

To my surprise, he looked almost hurt, but then the mask was back, and he just shrugged, smirking as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Alright, Quinn. I’ll see you tomorrow."

He turned and walked away, leaving me standing there, completely baffled. And maybe, just maybe, a tiny bit disappointed.

That night, I couldn’t stop replaying the day in my head. Every glance, every smirk, every "sweetheart" he’d tossed my way. Part of me was furious, ready to march over to his house and demand answers. But another part… a very, very small part… couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he was trying to get closer to me… make me change my mind and accept him as my mate. He spent all his time trying to push me away, and now he won't leave my side.

As I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, I finally admitted it to myself. Whatever his game was, he’d won today. Because I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

And that, of all things, was the most annoying part of all.