Jay has never had to worry about competition. A soon to be valedictorian, Student Council President, and star student, why should he?
But when Roman transfers to his Academy, everything flips on its head. Jay and Roman are almost exact equals, battling for dominance over the school leaderboards - At least, that's how Jay sees it.
When Roman begins tormenting Jay, attempting to throw off his game, how will Jay fair? How is he meant to cope with all the hate accumulating within him?
That's all this feeling was, right? Hate?
...Right?
--
Jay wasn't on anything by the end of the party - he'd been hiding out in a bedroom and reading, actually - but he really, really had no clue how he got here.
Currently, Jay was shoved into the wall, Roman in front of him, faces shoved embarrassingly close as Jay leaned as far back as he could. There was a soft chuckle against his skin; Jay could feel Roman's breath tickle his eyelashes.
He was fucking with him. He was fucking with Jay, trying to freak him out, so he'd stop impeding on his territory. Jay felt stupid that he thought he could handle this at all.
"Look at that hotshot," Roman mumbled, his voice low, "You got my attention. Now will you stop looking at me like that?
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]