Tasha went back to her dorm, her mind a swirl of confusion. She found Sabrina studying, surrounded by textbooks.
"Sab, you won't believe it," Tasha started, sitting on her bed. "I just saw Liam again. And he was petting a cat. Like, really gently. And he smiled. A real smile."
Sabrina slowly lowered her textbook, her eyes wide. "He smiled? Liam Carter? The guy who looks like he just smelled something bad?" She paused. "Okay, now you have to admit it. He's not just some one-sided villain. He's got layers."
"I guess," Tasha mumbled, picking at her fingernails. "It's just... confusing. He's so rude to me, but then I see him playing guitar so beautifully, or being nice to a cat. It doesn't make sense."
"Maybe he's just rude to you," Sabrina teased, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Don't even start!" Tasha warned, throwing a small pillow at her. "It's annoying. I wish he'd just be consistently rude. It'd be easier."
"But also boring," Sabrina pointed out. "This makes him interesting. Like, why is he rude to you? Is it because he's actually shy and just puts on an act? Or is it because he secretly likes you and doesn't know how to show it?"
Tasha scoffed loudly. "He secretly likes me? That's ridiculous! He thinks I'm clumsy and slow. He basically hates me."
"Hate is a strong word, Tasha," Sabrina said, closing her book. "And sometimes, hate is just a step away from... something else. Think about all those movies!"
Tasha sighed. "This isn't a movie, Sab. This is my actual life, and he's making it unnecessarily complicated."
For the rest of the evening, Tasha tried to push Liam out of her mind, but it was impossible. Every time she closed her eyes, she pictured him with the cat, or playing the guitar. And the worst part was, these new images didn't make her hate him more. They just made her more confused.
She didn't want to feel curious about him. She didn't want to see him as anything more than the annoying guy who ruined her shoes and made her blood boil. But the more she saw these unexpected sides of him, the harder it became to hold onto that simple dislike. She felt a pull, an unwanted interest in understanding him, even though every logical part of her brain screamed to stay far away.
It was a strange, unsettling feeling. And Tasha knew, with a sinking certainty, that her dislike for Liam was changing, whether she wanted it to or not.