Devi Vishwakumar paced back and forth in the hallway of Sherman Oaks High, her mind racing faster than her feet. She had her phone in hand, nervously scrolling through texts from her two best friends, Fabiola and Eleanor. She glanced up at the school's trophy case, where a picture of Ben Gross, her academic arch-nemesis and current… complicated love interest, smirked back at her.

"Big reputation, big reputation," Devi muttered, quoting the chorus of Taylor Swift's "End Game." The lyrics had been playing in her head on repeat ever since her morning freakout. It seemed fitting—she felt like she was in the middle of some epic, dramatic love triangle. Only this triangle had more sides than she was prepared to handle.

Just as she was about to spiral even further into her thoughts, her phone buzzed.

Fabiola: "Girl, why are you so stressed? Just talk to him!"

Eleanor: "Devi, if you don't stop acting like a chaotic whirlwind, I will physically drag you to Ben's locker myself. Love you tho! "

Devi sighed. "Talk to him?" she muttered. "Yeah, sure, that'll go great. What am I supposed to say, 'Hey Ben, remember when we kissed after fighting for a solid year? Do you wanna discuss our feelings now or continue pretending it didn't happen?'"

She rolled her eyes at her own sarcasm and shoved the phone into her backpack. She had bigger problems to solve—like how to win the debate team championship this weekend while not looking like a total loser in front of Paxton Hall-Yoshida, the dreamy boy she'd been crushing on forever. Well, until recently.

"Ugh, why does my life always feel like a rom-com that's been stretched into a five-season show?" she groaned as she leaned against her locker.

At that moment, Ben Gross strolled down the hallway with his signature confident walk, a backpack slung over one shoulder and his phone glued to his hand. Devi felt her heart do that stupid flutter thing it did whenever she saw him lately.

"Hey, Vishwakumar," Ben said, giving her a smirk as he stopped beside her. "Ready for the debate? Or are you too busy plotting my downfall?"

Devi blinked, caught off guard. "What? No, no plotting here," she stammered. Then, catching herself, she straightened up and crossed her arms. "Unless you count planning to totally crush you at the debate team finals."

Ben chuckled, leaning casually against the locker next to hers. "Wow, you're so confident. I love how you act like I'm not going to completely annihilate you."

Devi glared at him, but inside, she was already spiraling. There it was again—the playful banter that somehow always ended with them in awkward situations. And ever since their kiss, things had been weirder than usual. Was this flirting? Or was he just being a cocky jerk like usual? Why was she even overthinking this?

Before she could respond with a sharp comeback, Eleanor appeared out of nowhere, clutching her drama club script and practically bouncing with excitement.

"Devi! Ben! Guess what? I just got cast as the lead in Sherman Oaks High: The Musical!" she exclaimed, her excitement contagious.

Devi smiled, momentarily distracted from her mental drama. "That's amazing, Eleanor! You'll totally crush it!"

Ben nodded in approval. "Yeah, congrats. You're definitely the only one who could handle that level of extra."

Eleanor beamed. "Thank you, thank you! I am beyond ready for this role. Oh, and I heard from Fabiola that you two have been spending a lot of time together lately." She raised an eyebrow and gave them a sly grin.

Devi's face turned bright red, and Ben shifted uncomfortably, both of them suddenly very aware of how close they were standing.

"Eleanor!" Devi hissed. "Not. Now."

Ben scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, so, um, I have to get to class. See you at the debate, Vishwakumar. Try not to choke." With that, he gave her a small smile and walked off, leaving Devi with Eleanor, who was clearly brimming with excitement.

"Spill, Devi!" Eleanor exclaimed, grabbing her arm. "What is going on with you and Ben? You guys have this undeniable chemistry, and it's getting harder to pretend it's just 'academic rivals.'"

Devi let out a dramatic sigh, leaning against her locker. "It's complicated, okay? We kissed, and now everything is confusing, and I don't know what we are. Plus, Paxton's still… Paxton, and I just don't want to mess anything up."

Eleanor nodded seriously. "You're living your own Taylor Swift song, Devi. 'End Game.' You want that big love, the one that's worth all the drama and chaos."

Devi blinked. "Wow, that's… surprisingly insightful, Eleanor."

"I have my moments," Eleanor said with a proud smile. "Now, let's go to lunch before you overthink this more than you already have."


Later that afternoon, Devi was sitting in the quad, trying to focus on her debate notes. Fabiola joined her, sipping on a smoothie. "So, are you going to talk to him? You know, figure out this Ben situation?"

Devi groaned, putting her notes down. "Fab, I don't know! It's not like I can just go up to him and say, 'Hey, what's our deal? Are we enemies, friends, or something more?'"

"Why not?" Fabiola asked, genuinely curious.

"Because it's weird!" Devi exclaimed. "We've been rivals for so long, and now it's like… there's this whole other layer, and I don't know how to navigate it."

Fabiola shrugged. "Sounds like you're letting your reputation get in the way. You care too much about how it's going to look to everyone else, but honestly, Devi, just do what feels right for you."

Devi looked at her friend, surprised at how right she was. "Wow. You've been dropping truth bombs today."

Fabiola smirked. "It's a gift."

Before Devi could respond, Paxton Hall-Yoshida walked by, giving her a nod. "Hey, Devi," he said casually, sending her heart into a mini tailspin.

"Paxton," she squeaked, completely thrown off her game. "Hey."

Paxton smiled at her before continuing on his way. Devi stared after him, feeling the familiar rush she always got when he was around. But then her mind wandered back to Ben. Ugh, her brain was a mess.

"I can't deal with this!" Devi exclaimed, dropping her head into her hands. "I'm torn between Paxton, my forever crush, and Ben, my academic nemesis slash confusing maybe-something-more. Why can't my life be simple?"

Fabiola patted her on the back. "Because you're Devi Vishwakumar, and nothing is ever simple with you."


The next day, Devi stood in front of Ben's locker, trying to psych herself up. "You can do this. Just talk to him," she whispered to herself. "Be brave. Channel Taylor Swift confidence."

Just as she was about to knock on his locker to get his attention, Ben appeared, looking a little surprised to see her. "Vishwakumar, what's up?"

Devi took a deep breath. "Okay, here's the thing. We kissed. And now everything's weird, and I don't know what we are or what's going on. But I'm tired of overthinking it, so I'm just going to ask you straight up—what do you want from this? Us? Whatever this is?"

Ben blinked, taken aback by her directness. Then a slow smile spread across his face. "Wow, you really don't hold back, do you?"

Devi glared at him. "Ben. I'm serious."

He chuckled softly. "Okay, okay. Look, Devi, I don't know what we are either. But I know I don't want to go back to being just rivals. I… I kind of like where this is going."

Devi's heart did a little flip, but she kept her cool. "So, what? You're saying you're into me?"

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Are you into me?"

Devi rolled her eyes. "Don't turn this around on me!"

Ben laughed, the tension between them easing. "Okay, fine. Yes. I'm into you. And I think we'd make a pretty good team if you stop trying to destroy me all the time."

Devi stared at him, her mind whirling, but for once, she didn't feel the need to overthink it. She smiled, a little uncertain but excited all the same. "Well, I guess I could try to stop plotting your downfall. For now."

Ben grinned. "Good start."


As Devi walked away from Ben's locker, her heart still racing, she couldn't help but smile. For once, things weren't as complicated as they seemed. Maybe she didn't have all the answers yet, but she knew one thing for sure—she had a pretty great end game in sight.

And maybe, just maybe, she was ready for it.