A Bad Boy Equation
There are three rules to surviving high school if you’re invisible, introverted, and would rather cuddle a cat than go to a party:
Keep your head down.
Study hard.
And whatever you do — never cross paths with a bad boy.
Not the charming kind they write songs about, but the real kind. The ones who walk through hallways like they own the oxygen. Like they were born solely for the purpose of showing off the pretty faces they got from someone else. Who live like rules are optional but their desires are determining everything...
Whose smirks can rearrange your heartbeat.
They’re magnetic. Dangerous. And completely, utterly incompatible with girls like me.
Lilly paused, chewing on the end of her pen even though she wasn’t writing by hand. The glow of the monitor reflected softly in her glasses. Around her, the computer lab hummed with muted keys and muffled conversations. Everyone was busy with their own stuff. Nobody noticed her. They rarely did.
And that was fine.
She hit save draft before anyone could sneak up behind her. This blog wasn’t meant for them. It wasn’t meant for anyone, really. It was just… hers.
Rosie Mouse — a fake name for a girl too shy to raise her voice in class but brave enough to spill her soul to strangers on the internet. The mask she put onto herself, referring to one of the lowest creatures in the food chain...
It had started as a way to vent, to survive, to document the chaos of being a ghost in a school full of spotlights.
But lately... things had shifted.
Messages had started showing up in her inbox.
Anonymous. Thoughtful.
Some made her laugh.
Some made her blush.
One even made her cry.
And one of them — the one signed simply with a single fox emoji 🦊 — had started to feel like a thread of hope she couldn’t let go of. A few simple words that meant more than any love poem or a warm embrace.
She didn’t know who he was. But he seemed to see her.
Too bad her real life was the opposite of poetic...
With this, the bell rang, snapping her out of her thoughts. She clicked out of the window and gathered her things just as a group of girls entered, laughing too loudly, too confidently. One of them — Phoebe Porter— gave Lilly a look that wasn’t mean, but wasn’t quite nice either.
More like: Why are you here?
Lilly tightened her grip on her bag.
Keep your head down.
She reminded herself, stepping into the hallway, walking with fast and uncertain steps, unaware that this was the last normal lunch break she’d ever have.
The hallway stretched ahead like a battlefield — lockers clanging, sneakers squeaking, and gossip slithering through the air like smoke.
Lilly kept her head down.
Always.
Not out of habit.
More like out of instinct.
Trying to survive without getting trampled over.
But fate (or irony) had other plans.
As she turned the corner sharply, trying to escape unnoticed — thud — her shoulder collided with someone.
“Whoa,” a voice said, low and amused. “Easy there, bookworm.”
Lilly stumbled back, her back hitting the wall with a soft thud while her things scattered on the floor. She blinked up at the boy who’d just called her that.
Dante Blake.
Leather jacket. Lazy grin. A curl of dark blonde hair falling into his eyes like it belonged there. He crouched down to pick up the pen she hadn’t realized she dropped. Her favorite one. The one she bought on her birthday.
Her only birthday present.
“You—you really should watch where you’re going,” she mumbled, more to herself than to him, reaching for her pen at the same time.
Their fingers brushed.
She stilled.
He held her gaze for a heartbeat too long.
Smirked.
“You always mutter insults when no one listens, or is that just for me?”
Lilly frowned.
“I—what are you talking about?”
Dante leaned in a little. “Nothing. Just a hunch. An idea, maybe.”
Before she could process the weight of his tone, another voice sliced through the moment like a perfectly manicured nail.
“Danteee,” said Phoebe, practically purring as she draped herself around the edge of the scene. “Gosh, I finally found you. How long did you plan on skipping school for?”
Phoebe chuckled while her hands started tugging on his leather jacket to draw his attention to herself, clearly not regarding Lilly's presence.
Thankfully so, because there was no need to get involved with people like them...
Scheming.
Arrogant.
Self-centered.
Phoebe tilted her head, her eyes sugary with menace, pointed right at Lilly. “Aw, did she get caught up in your magnetism?”
“She tripped,” Dante said, his voice dry. “Gravity’s universal.”
Phoebe laughed — the familiar fake sound, all sharp edges. She looked Lilly up and down with a gaze speaking louder than words could ever.
“What was your name again?"
"Lil-"
"Anyways, be careful because some people don’t belong in the same territory. If you don't know your place, I might need to remind you of it.”
Lilly’s throat tightened. Her grip on her bag’s strap was turning her knuckles white. She gulped, opening her mouth carefully.
And then —
“Hey, is everything okay here?”
The voice was like a light breeze after a thunderstorm.
Daniel Blake stepped into view — clean-cut, soft-eyed, sunshine-in-human-form. He glanced between them, concern furrowing his brow.
Lilly didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until she exhaled. Relief washing over her almost-trembling, small figure.
Phoebe stepped back immediately, her posture shifting from predator to porcelain.
“Oh, Daniel, of course! We were just—talking.”
Dante rolled his eyes. “Sure you were.”
Lilly met Daniel’s gaze, and for a second, the hallway faded. Just for a second as she looked up into his hazel-brown eyes, full of warmth.
“You alright, Lilly?”
She nodded, small and grateful. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Noah gave her a soft smile. “You sure?”
Phoebe’s expression soured like curdled milk behind him, but Lilly felt lighter. Safer.
“Positive,” she whispered, a small and innocent smile tugging on the corners of her lips as she looked at him.
On the other side, Dante watched her quietly, one eyebrow raised, an expressionless expression that was hard to interpret.
Like he was trying to say something, but kept it for himself...
Once Lilly had gathered her belongings, she rushed down the hallway, head down, hands around her bag. Eyes fixed on the floor. But her mind kept playing the way Daniel looked at her. The way he said her name so softly, it sounded like a term of endearment. Like it was meant to be...
Ugh.
She sighed deeply. Her heart was beating faster and her cheeks were probably flushed by now. It happened way too often. But only when she saw Daniel. Or rather, when Daniel saw her, unlike everyone else...
