The Bad boy's Secret Tutor

At Jake's House

Friday. Presentation day.

But first: 4PM. Jake’s house.

Mia was nervous the whole bus ride. She texted her mom 3 times. _“At Jake’s to finish project. Door open. Will be home by 6.”_

Jake opened the door in sweats and a Bennett #12 shirt. His dog, a golden retriever named Scout, nearly knocked Mia over.

"See? He doesn’t judge," Jake said, scratching Scout’s ears. "Kitchen table. Door open. Mom gets home at 8."

It was quiet. Just the hum of the fridge and Scout snoring.

No whispers. No phones. No Ashley.

They finished the slides in an hour. Practiced twice.

Jake was actually good at this part. Confident. Clear. He kept looking at Mia when she explained the math part, like he was proud she knew it.

"You're gonna kill it tomorrow," he said, leaning back.

Mia smiled. "We’re gonna kill it."

Her mom texted: _Come home now._

Jake walked her to the door. The sky was pink.

"Hey," he said before she left. "Thanks. For not giving up on me. On the math. On... all of it."

Mia swallowed. "Thanks for not treating me like I’m invisible."

He bumped her shoulder one last time. "See you tomorrow, bookworm."

"See you tomorrow, quarterback."

---

Next day. Auditorium.

Their turn.

Mia’s hands shook until she got to the first slide. Then muscle memory kicked in. Numbers. Graphs. Real-world derivatives.

Then Jake took over. Football arcs. Weather models. He even made the class laugh once.

When they finished, people clapped. For real.

Mr. Reyes: "A+. Best presentation I’ve seen all year."

After class, Ashley walked by. She didn’t say anything. Just looked at Jake, then at Mia, and kept walking.

That was it. No big fight. No dramatic confession in the rain.

---

Two weeks later.

Jake passed Calc with a B-. Got his scholarship interview.

Mia got asked to tutor 3 other kids. She said yes to one.

Open study hall was still chaos. But they still sat in the back corner.

Sometimes they talked about math. Sometimes they didn’t.

One Thursday, Jake waited by her locker again.

"So... bookworm," he said. "The winter formal is next month. And I was wondering if maybe my ‘project partner’ would go with me. As... more than partners."

Mia’s heart did that stupid fluttery thing again.

She thought about Chapter 1. The library. The rain. The rumors.

Then she smiled.

"Only if you promise not to make me dance."

Jake grinned. "No promises."

And just like that, the girl who used to disappear into the stacks

stopped hiding.

*THE END*