The boy I despised, The love I found

Chapter 1: Detention

Olivia Hasting's P.O.V

Brriiiinnngggg... The alarm shatters the dim quiet of my room, blasting at exactly 8:00 a.m. I groan, swiping at the clock to kill the noise. I sit up, lazy eyes blinking at the ticking inevitability of time... 8:00 a.m.!!! Panic jolts through me. I sprint to the bathroom, realizing I'm late for school. First period starts in thirty minutes. The bus? It roars past my house the moment the day begins, and I'm sure I've just missed it. Taxi? Too slow. Walk? Yes — a brisk, mind-clearing march to wake my senses before I step onto campus.

I sprint to the bathroom, shower quickly, and pull on my favorite white shirt—the one that says Master—in jeans that hug my legs. While I comb my hair, a car horns like crazy beneath my window. I lean out to look, and there—CALEB HARPER, my ultimate nightmare, lounging in his Chevy he calls Mad Max. Rolling my eyes, I wonder why guys name their cars. I like Caleb—smart, funny, incredibly kind, and annoyingly handsome—with that broad chest and that sculpted build that makes the girls swoon. I used to have a crush on him, but that's ancient history. Now, he irritates me. I hate him. And in five minutes, you'll see why.

I'm Olivia Hastings, but Vi to friends. Twenty-one, AB History student at Hilldale University. I've lived on my own since eighteen, working at Sweet Max's Café for three years to cover rent and basics. My expenses are simple: roof over my head, bills, and the bare necessities.

I bolt downstairs and collide with him halfway—the doorway is a narrow battlefield. He's there outside my door, waiting, locking the moment with a half-smirk. I nearly crash into him; he reaches for the doorknob, intending to close it behind me, and I lean back, craning away. Our faces are barely five inches apart, electricity snapping the air.

"Hello, wifey. Late, huh?" Caleb says, that irritatingly cheerful grin tugging his lips as he raises an eyebrow.

"What do you want?" I snap, eyes narrowed. Why is he here so early? I shove at him, but he won't budge. His workouts must've paid off; he's solid, unmoving.

"Waiting for you, honey," he quips, a casual wink that still unsettles me. I study him, unsure if this is a prank or a dare. He's never shown up like this before—standing outside my house, insisting on riding shotgun to campus.

"Hah, very funny, Harper," I spit, half-mocking, half-baffled. "Seriously, what do you want? We're late for class." He backs away, heads for his car.

"What? You think I'm joking? You should be grateful I'm letting you ride in my baby. Not everyone scores this ride." He opens the passenger door with a dare. "Now hop in, I'm taking you to school." 

"I don't need your chariot," I mutter, rolling my eyes again as I slide in. The engine roars to life, and we're rolling toward the day, a charged silence between us.

We arrived at the parking lot in less than 30 minutes. I hurriedly got out of his car and close his door with a loud bang and run towards the AB Department building. 

"hey, take it easy with my baby" he called out. 

While I was running, suddenly, someone took hold of my hand. I turn my head to look at that someone and it's no surprise that it's him again... CALEB HARPER. He sure runs fast. how did he got here so fast beside me in less than a minute.

"Come on, let's beat our Prof in class." he hurriedly says. He tightly holds my hand as we surge forward as if he's afraid I would run away from him if I would let go. And I let him hold my hand, not because we're in a rush, but because I like the feeling of his hand in mine as if our hands are perfectly meant for each other. For a moment, my heart pounds harder. I wonder if it is from running or from the unexplained emotion that I'm feeling right now. Forget the latter, it must be from running.