**In the crowded hallways of St. Alden High, the feud between William Arkwright and neil was practically school legend.

It all started years earlier, back in middle school, over something embarrassingly small: both of them had liked the same girl, and a stupid argument had spiraled into full-blown rivalry. Neither of them remembered the girl’s face anymore—but they remembered each other’s voices, each other’s glare, the feeling of I can’t let him win.

By the time they got to high school, that rivalry had turned into a whole ecosystem.

William, the wealthy, untouchably brilliant honor student, had a circle of loyal friends who admired his poise and ruthless wit. neil, on the other hand, was the charismatic troublemaker—quick-thinking, sharp-tongued, and effortlessly funny—whose group followed him more out of affection than fear. Whenever their paths crossed, sparks flew. Sometimes literally. Their clashes started with pranks—locker traps, swapped homework, rumor games—but during their second year they were almost animalistc hitting,grabbing, fits and blood,* Now it's their last year they both hated each other and tried to avoid each other so other people's Didnt want them to be together