The rooftop was supposed to be locked.
Supposed to be.
Maya Fujimoto knew this because she was the class representative, and class representatives knew everything. The rules, the curfew, the exact time the vending machines got restocked, her brain was basically a filing cabinet of regulations.
So when she pushed open the heavy rooftop door and found it unlocked, she was already mentally drafting a complaint for the facilities committee.
Then she saw him.
Kai Tanaka.
Leaning against the wire fence like it was his personal throne, sleeves rolled up, tie loose, sunlight catching in his messy dark hair. A lollipop stick dangled from his mouth like he owned the world.
Of course. Of course it was him. Who else would sneak up here?
Maya pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Tanaka Kai. You're breaking at least three school rules right now."
He didn't even flinch. One lazy glance slid her way, golden-brown eyes half-lidded, the smirk already forming on his lips. "Only three? Damn. I'm losing my touch."
Ugh. His voice....low, smooth, the kind that could make girls swoon without trying...was wasted on sarcasm.
"This area is off-limits," Maya pressed, marching forward with her clipboard tucked under her arm like a shield. "No students allowed. That's a safety violation, and technically!"
"Technically," he cut in, plucking the lollipop from his mouth, "you sound like my grandma."
Her jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." He grinned, and it was the kind of grin that could sell trouble in a bottle. "Do you ever loosen up, Fujimoto? Or are you programmed to quote the rulebook 'til you die?"
Maya opened her mouth, then shut it again. Don't rise to it, she told herself. He wants a reaction.
But unfortunately, her temper didn't always listen to her logic.
"At least I won't be flunking out because I slept through another exam," she shot back.
That wiped the grin off his face....only for a second, but she noticed. His eyebrow twitched before the smirk returned, sharper this time. "Ouch. Didn't know you cared enough to keep track of my grades."
"I don't," she snapped. "I care about the school's reputation. Which you're single-handedly dragging through the mud."
Kai tilted his head, stepping closer. Not threatening, exactly, but close enough that she had to tilt her chin up to meet his gaze. "Funny. I thought the school's reputation was safe in your perfect little hands, Rep. Guess I'm just here to balance it out."
Her heartbeat kicked up annoyingly. From anger. Definitely anger.
Before she could fire back, the stairwell door creaked open behind them. Footsteps. A teacher's voice humming a tune.
Maya's eyes widened. "If we're caught up here, we'll—"
She didn't even finish before Kai grabbed her wrist and pulled her down, crouching behind the water tank.
"Shh." His breath brushed her ear. Warm. Too close.
Maya froze. Why is he....why are we...oh no, he smells good, this is unfair!
The teacher's footsteps echoed across the rooftop. A pause. A mutter about "kids these days" and then the door banged shut again. Silence.
Only then did Kai let go.
Maya scrambled back, clutching her clipboard like it might erase the memory of his hand on hers. "You...you can't just—"
"What?" He leaned back, hands in his pockets, grin firmly back in place. "Save you from getting detention on your precious record?"
"I didn't ask you to save me!"
"Didn't have to." He winked. "Consider it a free service."
Maya glared, cheeks hot, pulse annoyingly loud in her ears. She'd come here to enforce the rules. Instead, she'd walked straight into his playground.
Kai stretched, heading toward the fence again like nothing happened. "Relax, Princess. I was leaving anyway."
"Don't call me that."
"Why not? It fits. Perfect little Maya Fujimoto, princess of the rulebook kingdom."
And with that, he tossed the lollipop stick into the trash can on his way out...because of course even the bad boy had annoyingly perfect aim—and disappeared down the stairs.
Maya stood frozen, clipboard pressed to her chest, replaying the last five minutes in her head.
She hated him. Absolutely hated him.
…So why was her heart still racing?
Maya spent the rest of the morning trying to ignore the way her pulse jumped whenever she thought about that stupid smirk. Which was difficult, considering every single girl in class whispered "Kai this, Kai that" the moment he strolled in late, hands in pockets like the world was his runway.
"Late again, Tanaka!" their homeroom teacher barked.
Kai gave a lazy bow, hair falling into his eyes.
"Had to rescue a kitten, sensei. You wouldn't believe the heroics."
The class snickered.
Maya groaned under her breath.
Unbelievable. He was ten minutes late, zero homework, and somehow everyone found it charming. Meanwhile, if she so much as sneezed in class, she'd get a stern lecture about responsibility.
And then, just to make matters worse, their teacher scanned the seating chart and said the words that would haunt her forever.
"Since Miss Fujimoto is class rep, she'll tutor you, Kai. After school."
Her pen slipped right out of her hand. "E-excuse me?"
The teacher adjusted his glasses. "You're top of the class, she's bottom five. Balanced equation. Fujimoto, I expect you to raise his grades before midterms."
Kai turned his head slowly, locking eyes with her. That grin stretched across his face like the cat that caught the canary.
"Looking forward to it, Princess."
Maya's stomach dropped. "Over my dead body."
"Careful," Kai said, leaning back in his chair, "don't tempt me."
The class burst into laughter again. She wanted to melt into the floor. Or better yet, strangle him with her neatly ironed tie.
By the time the lunch bell rang, Maya was already exhausted. She slumped over her bento box, glaring at her chopsticks as if they'd betrayed her.
"You okay?" her best friend Lila Sakamoto asked, plopping down beside her. Lila was all sunshine curls and a mischievous smile, the polar opposite of Maya's tightly wound posture.
"No," Maya muttered. "I've been sentenced to the seventh circle of hell."
Lila blinked. "Which is…?"
"Tutoring Kai Tanaka."
There was a beat of silence, then Lila's delighted squeal practically shook the cafeteria. "WHAT? That's amazing!"
Maya slammed her hands on the table. "Amazing? He's impossible! He called me Princess. Twice!"
"Uh-huh. And you blushed, didn't you?"
"I did not—" Maya's protest was cut short by the very person in question striding past their table, a carton of milk in one hand, his tie still dangling loose.
He didn't even stop. Just tossed her a look over his shoulder and said, "Don't be late, Rep. Three o'clock. Library."
The carton straw slid between his lips as he walked off, not even waiting for her response.
Maya sat there, frozen, while Lila smirked like she'd just been gifted front-row tickets to the best drama of the semester.
"Oh," Lila sang, "this is going to be fun."
The library was supposed to be quiet.
Keyword: supposed.
Maya Fujimoto prided herself on punctuality, so she arrived at three o'clock sharp with her notebook, textbooks, and a color-coded lesson plan.
Kai Tanaka, naturally, strolled in fifteen minutes late, twirling a basketball under one arm like he was arriving at a party.
"You're late," she said, not looking up from her notes.
"You're bossy," he replied, dropping into the chair across from her. The basketball rolled onto the table with a heavy thunk.
Maya's eye twitched. "This is a library."
"Relax, Princess. It's not like the ball's gonna yell."
"It's dirty."
"Like me?" He smirked.
Her jaw clenched. "Exactly. Now put it away."
He leaned back in his chair, studying her like she was some kind of puzzle. "You're fun when you're mad, you know that?"
"I'm not mad," she snapped, furiously scribbling equations in her notebook. "I'm responsible."
"Same thing."
Maya slammed the notebook in front of him. "Do these."
Kai glanced at the page. Math problems. Lots of them. His face soured instantly. "Wow. You really know how to kill a guy's spirit."
"Your spirit doesn't need killing, it needs discipline."
"Harsh." He picked up his pen like it was a foreign object. After two minutes of silence and what looked suspiciously like him doodling a dragon in the margin—he shoved the notebook back. "Done."
Maya raised an eyebrow, scanning his answers. Every single one was wrong. Impossibly wrong. Like he'd tried to fail with artistic flair.
"You didn't even try," she accused.
"I did. I tried to make you laugh. Look, the dragon's breathing fire on question three."
Sure enough, the doodle had engulfed the equation in flames.
Maya pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're hopeless."
Kai leaned forward, his voice dropping. "Maybe I just need the right teacher."
Her stomach did an annoying flip. Too close. Way too close. She shoved her chair back, only for the legs to catch on the carpet and nearly send her sprawling.
Kai's hand shot out, steadying her elbow. Warm. Firm.
For a moment, their eyes locked. His usual teasing grin softened into something unreadable, and Maya suddenly forgot how breathing worked.
Then, just as quickly, he let go, smirk sliding back into place. "Careful, Princess. Can't have our class rep falling for me on the first lesson."
Maya's face burned. "In your dreams, Tanaka."
"Every night."
Her mouth dropped open, words failing her completely.
Kai leaned back in his chair, satisfied, while Maya vowed silently to never, ever let him see how fast her heart was racing.
Time passed by
Passed by
Passed
Really
Really
Slowly
By the end of the so-called "study session," Maya was convinced of two things:
1. Kai Tanaka had the academic attention span of a goldfish.
2. He enjoyed tormenting her far more than he enjoyed breathing.
She gathered her notes with sharp, precise movements, ignoring the way his gaze lazily tracked her every step.
"That's it," she snapped, stuffing papers into her bag. "If you don't want to learn, fine. Fail your exams. But don't waste my time."
Kai stretched, hands laced behind his head. "Feisty. I like it."
"I'm serious!"
"So am I." His grin widened. "You're a better show than TV, Princess."
Maya's blood pressure spiked. "Stop calling me that!"
"Not a chance." He pushed his chair back with a loud scrape, standing with infuriating ease. "See you tomorrow, Rep."
"I'm not coming back."
"Oh, you will." He gave her a wink. "Your precious sense of duty won't let you quit on me."
And just like that, he was gone, leaving her fuming in the silent library.
Lila was never going to let her live this down.
Later that evening, when most students had already gone home, Maya climbed the stairs to the rooftop again....this time to check the lock herself. No way was she letting Kai Tanaka turn this into his personal kingdom.
But when she shoved the door open, her breath caught.
He was there. Again.
Leaning against the fence, tie undone, headphones in, sketchbook balanced on his knee. He didn't notice her at first, pencil moving quickly across the page.
For one unguarded moment, his expression was… different. Focused. Almost gentle. Nothing like the smug troublemaker who drove her crazy all day.
Maya's fingers tightened on the doorframe. What is he… drawing?
Then he looked up. Their eyes met. And just like that, the mask slid back into place. The smirk returned, lazy and sharp.
"Couldn't stay away, huh, Princess?"
Her heart gave an infuriating jolt. She straightened her spine. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm here to check the lock."
"Sure you are."
He closed the sketchbook with a snap, tucking it under his arm before she could glimpse the page. As he strolled past her, he leaned close enough that she caught the faint scent of mint on his breath.
"Careful, Rep," he murmured, lips curving. "The higher you climb, the harder you fall."
And then he was gone, leaving her alone on the rooftop, pulse hammering in her ears.
Maya Fujimoto told herself she hated him.
Absolutely, unquestionably hated him.
So why did it already feel like this was just the beginning?