It started with a notification.
By third period, everyone’s phones were buzzing. A single post was spreading like wildfire across the school’s group chat and socials.
Ava had uploaded screenshots text threads, photos from the app, even a clip of Theo and Eliya walking together, captioned with venom:
> “Proof the ‘perfect couple’ is fake. Just a school project. Nothing real. He’s mine.”
The comments blew up instantly. Emojis. Laughs. Side-eyes. Everyone loved a scandal.
When Eliya walked into class, all eyes followed her. Whispers rose and fell like waves. She gripped her binder tighter, her throat dry.
At the back, Ava smirked like a queen on her throne.
---
(Eliya POV)
She found Theo after lunch, dragging him into an empty stairwell.
Her voice trembled. “Tell me it’s not true.”
Theo’s jaw clenched. “It’s not like that. Ava twisted everything’’
“But it was fake at first,” Eliya cut in, blinking back tears. “The deal. The app. All of it.”
Theo stepped closer. “And then it wasn’t fake anymore. Not for me. El, you have to believe me.”
She shook her head, chest heaving. “I can’t do this. Not when the whole school thinks I’m a joke. Not when I don’t even know what’s real anymore.”
“Eliya”
“It’s over, Theo.” Her voice cracked. “The deal. Us. Everything.”
She left before he could see the tears spill.
---
(Theo POV)
By the time the final bell rang, Theo was done hiding.
He spotted Ava in the quad, surrounded by her two friends, basking in the attention like she’d won.
Theo strode over, his friends Zayn and Devon trailing behind him. Mina spotted him from across the way and hurried closer, as if she knew something explosive was about to happen.
“Ava!” Theo’s voice cut across the chatter. Heads turned.
Ava’s smirk widened. “Finally here to admit it? To admit she was just a placeholder”
“No.” Theo’s voice was sharp, certain. “I’m here to tell everyone the truth.”
The quad went still.
“The truth is, Ava, you can post whatever you want. Twist things however you want. But none of it changes the fact that I don’t love you. I never did.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Ava’s smile faltered.
Theo turned, scanning the crowd until his eyes locked on Eliya at the edge, frozen in place. His chest rose and fell, but his voice carried strong.
“I love Eliya.”
The words rang out, silencing everything else.
---
Mina & Zayn
Mina, wide-eyed beside Eliya, grabbed her arm. “Did you hear that? He just he just said it. To everyone.”
Zayn, usually the joker, actually looked serious for once. He leaned toward Mina and muttered, “He means it. He’s been a wreck all day. Guy hasn’t even touched his fries.”
Mina shot him a look, but her lips curved, softening. For once, she didn’t fire back with sarcasm.
Zayn blinked, then smirked. “What? Don’t tell me you’re falling for me now.”
“Shut up,” Mina hissed but her face flushed.
---
Ava’s Crack
Ava’s friends shifted uncomfortably as whispers spread. The queen bee mask Ava always wore was cracking.
Her voice shook as she snapped, “You’ll regret this, Theo. Both of you will.”
But no one was listening anymore.
All eyes were on Theo and Eliya.
---
Theo & Eliya
Theo didn’t care about the whispers, or the way his hands trembled.
All he cared about was the girl standing across from him.
He took a step toward Eliya. Then another.
Her lips parted, but no words came out. Her heart raced so loud she swore everyone could hear it.
He stopped right in front of her, lowering his voice so only she could hear.
“I’m not asking you to believe the app. I’m asking you to believe me.”
Eliya’s eyes burned. She wanted to run. She wanted to stay. She wanted
She didn’t know what she wanted.
So she whispered the only truth she had left.
“I don’t know if I can.”
Theo’s chest tightened. But he nodded, as if accepting the war wasn’t over yet.
Because love wasn’t easy.
And he wasn’t giving up.
YOU ARE READING
The Love Algorithm
Romance"She coded the app that could predict love until it matched her with her worst rival." Eliya Park doesn't believe in love. She believes in logic, data, and coding especially when it comes to her senior project: LoveMatch, a matchmaking app that uses...
