The Bad boy's Secret Tutor

Seen After School

Monday came fast.

The halls felt different. People weren’t whispering _about_ Jake and Mia anymore. They were whispering _to_ each other while looking right at them.

Mia tried to disappear like she always had — head down, books up, take the back stairs. But Jake wasn’t making it easy.

He waited for her by her locker. In broad daylight. With half the school watching.

"You ready, bookworm?" He tossed her a bottle of water. "Brought you one. You always forget."

Mia blinked. "How do you know that?"

"I pay attention now." He shrugged like it was nothing.

Her cheeks burned.

---

3:15 PM. Library.

Today wasn’t just math. Mr. Reyes had given them a group project. Due in 2 weeks. Together.

"Great," Jake groaned, dropping into the chair. "Now we’re stuck with each other even longer."

Mia hid a smile behind her notebook. "We survived Calc. We can survive this."

They worked. It was easier now. Less awkward. Jake actually asked questions before guessing. Mia actually laughed when he made dumb jokes about integrals being "the devil’s slopes."

Then the doors opened.

Ashley.

With two cheerleaders.

"Oh look," Ashley said sweetly. "The library rats." She dropped into the seat across from them without asking. "Coach said Jake has to keep his grade up. So I thought I’d... supervise."

Jake’s jaw tightened. "You don’t have to do that, Ash."

"I know." She smiled at Mia. "I just like to see who he’s spending so much time with."

The room got quiet. Even the rain outside seemed to pause.

Mia kept her eyes on her paper. "We’re working on the project. Chapter 3, derivatives in real-world applications."

"Wow," Ashley said. "Sounds riveting." She leaned forward. "You know, Jake gets bored of smart girls real fast. They’re too... serious."

Jake stood up. Chair scraping loud.

"Don’t talk to her like that."

Ashley blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I said don’t." His voice was low but firm. The whole library heard it. "Mia’s helping me. That’s it. So back off."

Ashley’s face went red. She grabbed her bag and stormed out, cheerleaders trailing behind her like confused ducks.

Silence.

Mia couldn’t look at him. Her hands were shaking.

"You didn’t have to do that," she whispered.

"Yeah, I did." Jake sat back down. He didn’t meet her eyes either. "You’re my partner. And... you’re my friend."

Friend. The word hit Mia harder than she expected.

They didn’t talk for the rest of the hour. But when the bell rang, Jake waited until she packed up.

"Walk you to the bus?"

Mia nodded.

Outside, the sky was clearing. Puddles everywhere.

They walked in quiet. Halfway there, a few kids from the football team saw them and started whistling.

Jake didn’t let go. He just kept walking, hands in his pockets, next to her.

At the bus, he bumped her shoulder one last time.

"See you tomorrow, bookworm."

"See you tomorrow, quarterback."

The bus pulled away.

And for the first time, Mia didn’t feel invisible getting on it.