Battling Hearts and High Scores: A Teenage RomCom

Battling Silent Stares and Loud Rivalries

Shalom was supposed to be focusing on her food. Instead, her gaze was fixed on a certain table across the cafeteria. There, Sage Roe and his small group of friends were huddled around a laptop, engrossed in a game. Why was she staring? She didn't know. All she knew was that she couldn't tear her eyes away from her arch-nemesis of the past six years.

Sage Roe had always been in competition with Shalom Hope Fitch. For what? He wasn't quite sure. Maybe it was because he wanted to prove that the Queen Bee of Havenview could be defeated at something. The one thing he could challenge her at was academics. They were constantly vying for the top spot in their high school, both maintaining above-average 4.0 GPAs. Wherever there was a competition or club showcasing student intelligence, you could bet Sage and Shalom would be there, bickering as usual. Sage could feel Shalom's piercing gaze from across the cafeteria, but he shrugged it off, too engrossed in the latest action video game, Steel Reckoning III.

Shalom bit her lip in frustration, trying to shake the feeling of irritation that rose whenever she saw Sage. It wasn't just their rivalry anymore—it was the way he could still get under her skin with that smug smile of his. The way he made everything into a competition, like it wasn't enough for him to be good at school, he had to rub it in her face too. Still, as much as she hated to admit it, part of her enjoyed the challenge.

The constant back-and-forth between them had become a routine, almost predictable. At times, she even looked forward to it. If Sage didn't challenge her, she wasn't sure what would fill that competitive void. But admitting that was out of the question. He'd never know how much she secretly respected his intelligence—nor that she sometimes found herself agreeing with him during debates.

"Earth to Shalom," Anya teases, waving her hand in front of her face to interrupt her daydreaming. "Are you even listening to me?"

I blink, snapping back to reality. "Yeah, of course I was," nodding rapidly, my eyes darting around the table and catching everyone's judging glances. I reach for my drink, pretending to be focused on it instead of on the table across the room. "But what were you saying again?"

Anya raises an eyebrow, her eyes flicking across the cafeteria where Sage sat. "Uh-huh, sure you were. You've got to stop letting Sage live rent-free in your head. It's low-key embarrassing."

"High-key," Izzy butts in, fixing her brown lip liner in her handheld mirror.

I frown, crossing my arms defensively. "I'm not obsessed with him, you guys. He's just...so...annoying."

"Sure," Anya says with a knowing smile, leaning back in her chair as if she'd won some secret victory. "And you're definitely not staring."

I roll my eyes. "Me? Staring at him? Come on, I've got better things to do than pay attention to a pretentious overachiever."

"Clearly to me, it looks like Shalom is checking out my baby brother," Finn chuckles, sliding into the seat beside Anya and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, immediately making everyone cringe at the PDA.

Finn Roe was Sage Roe's older brother—only by a couple of seconds, considering they were twins. He was different from Sage in many ways. While Sage stood at a towering 6'3", with a scrawny build, vibrant green eyes, and luscious, wavy chestnut hair, Finn was 5'10", sporting a dirty blonde crew cut and a physique that clearly didn't miss a day at the gym. It seemed like, with every passing year, Finn's muscles grew, but his brain stayed the same—empty.

Another stark difference between the two was their social status at Havenview High. Finn was the star of the Havenview Hornets, the school's basketball team. He wasn't nearly as bright as Sage and often paid his brother to do his homework. Despite his reputation as a notorious player—off the court, that is—every girl at Havenview seemed oblivious to his glaring red flags. In the past, he'd shamelessly flirted with my entire friend group, but he'd never shown as much interest in anyone as he did with me.
That is, until the summer of our senior year, when he finally realized his charm and good looks weren't working on me. Over the past few months, he had started hanging out with my best friend, Anya, more and more. They're not official, and knowing Finn, he probably has no intention of making it official anytime soon. However, ditzy Anya seems convinced he'll commit to her—despite my many warnings.

"Me? Checking out your brother? As if. A rock has more personality than that skeleton. I mean, seriously, have you ever heard him say anything interesting? I think I'd rather listen to a lecture on quantum physics than hear him speak for five seconds," I blurt, scoffing and tightening the cross of my arms.

The cafeteria fell into an awkward silence, as everyone around me stared in disbelief. Judging eyes glared at me from all angles, and the piercing green ones across the cafeteria finally shot up to meet mine.

Finn laughs, making it obvious the jibe at his brother didn't bother him one bit, but Shalom noticed the brief flicker of pity in his eyes. "Still as cold as ever, Fitch."

Sage, ever the drama queen, dramatically pushes his laptop aside and springs onto the cafeteria table, startling everyone around him.

"What the hell is that weirdo doing?" someone calls out from another table.

"Call me boring all you want, Queen Bee," Sage shouts, trying to make a scene. "However, being boring yourself will never make you funny. And I know. My face is too hard to resist, that's why you have to join every club and competition I'm in," he winks, a smug grin spreading across his face.

A ripple of laughter spreads through the cafeteria as Sage's antics drew more attention. I felt my face heat up as people turned to stare. Why did he always have to make everything into a public spectacle?

I groan at my table, trying to ignore the judgmental glances from my friends and Finn, before finally standing and stomping over to Sage's table. Inside, I was silently apologizing, hating that I had to do this, but I couldn't risk the outburst reaching the ears of the debate team coordinator, Mrs. Cromwell. Getting kicked off the debate team was not an option, not when I'd spent all year putting so much time and effort into this tournament, and the final match was less than a month away.

When I reach the table, Sage looks up, a smirk already forming on his face. "Come to apologize, Queen Bee?"

I put my hands on their table making my presence a bit intimidating, forcing a sweet smile. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I deeply apologize."

Sage laughs, shaking his head. "You think you actually hurt my feelings? I barely remember half the things you say anyway. And let's be real, I know how fake that apology was."

"Right, obviously I'm only making peace between us because Mrs. Cromwell is tired of our bickering," I say dryly, rolling my eyes.

Sage leans back in his chair, tapping his chin like he was actually thinking hard. "But just for the record, I'm still better than you on the debate team. Mrs. Cromwell told me so herself."

My eyes narrow. I whip my head toward one of Sage's friends, Max, who was also on the debate team and mouths, "Did she really say that?"
Max opens his mouth to respond but clamps it shut when Sage shoots him a death glare.

I shrug. "Whatever," I say, brushing it off like it didn't matter.

But then my eyes wander over to the laptop they are all huddled around. The familiar graphics catch my attention instantly—Steel Reckoning III, the latest video game release, and one of my personal favorites. Without thinking, I mutter, "You guys are gonna need to scavenge for a shield if you want to make it past the next mission."

Sage scoffs, even though it was clear he didn't know that. "Duh, I knew that already."

I smirk, shaking my head. "Sure you did."

Just as I turn to leave, the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch. I head back to my table, where Finn and Anya were still cuddled up, giggling like they didn't have a care in the world. Vivian and Izzy were huddled together, whispering about what is probably the latest school drama, their eyes occasionally darting across the room.

I quickly grab my backpack, slinging it over my shoulder as I make my way toward the exit, determined not to glance back at Sage.

But just before stepping into the hallway, I couldn't resist. My eyes flicker to Sage's table one last time, and there he was, already staring at the screen of the video game completely bewildered at how he wasn't doing so well.