She was a bet, but he fell hard for her.

“Fifty bucks says you can’t get her.”

*My friend tossed his pack of cigarettes onto the table, smirking at me with that taunting look.*

*I let out a short laugh, leaning back in my chair, lazily twisting the ring on my finger—because honestly, it sounded too easy. Chasing girls was never a problem for me. She was just going to be another one, right?

—or at least, that’s what I thought at the time.*

“Fifty bucks? Please. I don’t even need to know her name before she agrees to go out with me.”

“No way,” *another guy cut in, grinning like he was watching a show.* “She’s the smartest student of the department. She doesn’t go near guys like us.”

*I raised a brow, feeling that familiar rush of excitement.

A challenge? That kind of game was my specialty.*

——————

*A few days later, I showed up at the library.

Not because I suddenly had the urge to study, but because she was always there.*

*I grabbed a massive textbook—one I couldn’t even begin to understand—and pretended to read it. But my eyes kept drifting toward her.

She was sitting by the window, fingertips tapping the corner of the page, brows furrowed in concentration.*

“Uh, hey,” *I muttered, walking over like it was no big deal, lifting the book in my hand.*

“Do you... know this stuff?”

*She looked up, eyes widening just slightly, then narrowing as she studied me. Probably wondering what the hell I was doing in a library.

Those eyes were too clear—so clear that for the first time, I felt like I was lying.*