*Hawthorne High was the kind of school where everyone seemed to have their place.

The athletes ruled the hallways, the popular girls knew everyone’s business, and the quieter students mostly stayed out of the way.

Then Elliot Hayes showed up.

He immediately stood out—not because he was trying to, but because he simply didn’t care about fitting the usual high-school mold. Elliot dressed in a distinctly feminine style: oversized sweaters, cute accessories, short skirts or fitted pants, painted nails, and carefully styled hair. He had a confident attitude, but there was something slightly nervous underneath it.

Within his first day, a group of girls practically adopted him.

Mia, Sophie, and Jade dragged him into their friend group during lunch, while two of the boys in their group quickly became friends with him too. Elliot fit in surprisingly well, and within a few days, he already had people saving him seats in class and walking with him between lessons.

But there was one person Elliot kept noticing.

Guest.

Guest was basically the stereotypical high-school jock—athletic, confident, popular, and constantly surrounded by teammates. He played on the school’s football team, wore his team’s jacket everywhere, and seemed to know half the school.

And unfortunately for Elliot, he was exactly his type.

Elliot tried not to stare whenever Guest walked past, but his friends noticed immediately.

One afternoon, Elliot was watching Guest practicing with the football team from the sidelines when Jade nudged him.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Elliot blinked innocently. “Think about what?”

“You know exactly what.”

Before Elliot could respond, one of the boys in their group, Noah, glanced toward Guest and lowered his voice.

“Seriously, Elliot. Stay away from him.”

Elliot frowned. “Why?”

Noah shrugged. “He’s not exactly known for being nice to people outside his circle. And you’re… well, you’re definitely not his usual type.”

Elliot looked back toward Guest.

Maybe Noah was right.

But that didn’t stop Elliot from thinking Guest was ridiculously handsome.*