My Rival Turn Into Lover

Waking up to a buzzing phone wasn't unusual, but the sheer volume of notifications blinking on my screen definitely was. My eyes widened as I scrolled through a flood of chaotic texts from my group chats. There’s a new transfer student. And he’s assigned to Room 1. Room 1—our room. The top section. Throwing my blankets off, I scrambled to get ready and rushed to school. The moment I walked through the gates, my friends swarmed me with hurried greetings, our usual morning chatter cut short by the sharp ring of the school bell. We hurried inside and took our seats just as the heavy wooden door swung open. Our adviser walked in, scanning the room with a calm smile. "Good morning, students." "Good morning, Teacher," we chorused automatically. "Today, we have a new student joining our class," she announced, gesturing toward the hallway. "You may come in." When he stepped across the threshold, a collective, audible gasp echoed through the room. It wasn't just that he was strikingly handsome; there was something intensely gripping about his entire aura. Our teacher cleared her throat, breaking the sudden spell over the room. "Can you please introduce yourself so your classmates can get to know you?" The boy shifted, his gaze scanning the rows of staring faces before settling somewhere in the back. "Good morning. My name is Sebastian del Castro. I’m nineteen years old, and I just moved here from America. In my previous school, I was in Section 4—which, from what I understand, corresponds to Room 4 here." A suffocating silence fell over the classroom. I could see the visible shock on our teacher's face, matching the sudden drop in my own stomach. Section 4. Room 4. In our school's rigid hierarchy, that room was reserved for the troublemakers and the academic rejects. A guy who looked like an American prince belonged in the lowest, most infamous section? The prejudice was instant. By lunchtime, the whispers turned into open hostility. I watched in horror as a group of my classmates cornered him in the courtyard, their cruel laughs echoing against the concrete walls. They pushed him, taunting him for his background, treating him like an anomaly that didn't belong in their pristine Room 1. I couldn't just sit there and watch. Ignoring the warnings of my friends, I pushed through the crowd and stood between Sebastian and his tormentors. Once the bullies finally dispersed, muttering insults under their breaths, I turned to look at him. He was breathing heavily, his skin scraped and bruised, blood trickling from a cut on his lip. "Come on," I whispered, gently taking his arm. "Let’s get you to the clinic." The walk to the school clinic was quiet. Inside, I helped him clean his wounds, the sterile smell of rubbing alcohol hanging heavy between us. When the nurse stepped out to grab more bandages and I turned to leave, a sudden warmth wrapped around my wrist. Sebastian had grabbed my hand. I froze, looking down at his fingers wrapped around my skin, then up into his dark eyes. "What... what's your name?" he asked, his voice low and slightly raspy. My heart did a strange, unfamiliar flutter. "I-I'm Evelyn. Evelyn Montreyo. I'm nineteen, too... and I actually lived in Canada before moving here." A slow, breathtaking smile broke across Sebastian's bruised face, melting the guarded expression he had worn all day. "Thank you, Evelyn." My cheeks flared bright crimson. Unable to handle how ridiculously cute he looked when he smiled like that, I completely panicked, yanked my hand back, and literally ran out of the clinic. When I finally stumbled back into Room 1, the atmosphere was sickening. The guys who had cornered him earlier were laughing hysterically, throwing his books across the floor and vandalizing his desk. I spent the rest of the afternoon in a daze, unable to focus on a single lecture. The second the final bell rang, I bolted out of my seat and rushed back to the clinic. But when I pushed the door open, the cot was empty. "Where did he go?" I asked the school nurse, panicking slightly. She looked up from her paperwork, frowning. "Who? The boy from earlier? I stepped out for five minutes and he was gone. I haven't seen him since." A cold knot of shock and curiosity tightened in my chest. Where could he have gone in that condition? Determined to find him, I spun around and sprinted down the crowded hallway, my eyes scanning every passing face. I was so consumed by my own racing thoughts that I didn't even see the shadow looming right in front of me. Oof! I slammed hard into a broad chest, the impact sending me stumbling backward as a pair of strong hands reached out to steady me.