Chapter 6 - Back Then, They Were Idiots

NYU - Senior YearThree Weeks Before Graduation

The campus courtyard was buzzing with energy, half the student body sprawled out in the grass, soaking up the early May sunshine. Sophia sat cross-legged under a tree, laptop balanced on her knees, furiously typing her capstone project edits while Priya sipped a bubble tea beside her.

"You need to chill," Priya said, nudging her gently. "You already have the highest grade in class."

"That was before Bobby Knight decided to 'borrow' my mentorship program idea and spin it like it was his," Sophia muttered.

Priya groaned. "Ugh. Him again."

"It always is him."

"He's like that one roach you can't kill."

Sophia grinned despite herself. "I have to outshine him at the final pitch no matter what. No tie. No draw. Just me winning."

"Spoken like a woman scorned."

Sophia's smile faltered. "I'm not scorned."

Priya gave her the look. The one best friends reserve for when you're blatantly lying to yourself.

"Fine," Sophia muttered. "Once. I liked him. Freshman year. Before I knew what a cocky, entitled jerk he was."

Priya gasped. "You liked him? You never told me that!"

"It lasted like five minutes."

"Still counts." Priya wiggled her brows. "Did something happen?"

Sophia flushed. "There was…almost a kiss."

Priya nearly spilled her bubble tea. "You've been sitting on that for three years? Oh my God, you two are literally enemies-to-lovers fanfiction."

"Not lovers," Sophia corrected. "Enemies to slightly less homicidal rivals."

"Details." Priya waved her off. "What happened?"

Sophia was spared answering by the arrival of Drew Gallo, in all his prep school swagger. "Ladies," he said, dropping onto the grass beside them like he owned the lawn.

"Drew," Priya greeted flatly.

"Priya." He tipped his imaginary hat.

They'd known each other since freshman year and had been sniping at each other just as long. Priya always thought Drew was a little too smug for his own good, and Drew thought Priya was too smart to be so terrifying. Somehow, it worked.

"Where's your shadow?" Priya asked. "Or does Bobby only appear if you say his name three times?"

Drew grinned. "He's inside, charming his way into Professor Reynolds' good graces."

Sophia's jaw clenched. "Of course he is."

Drew's smile widened. "You're obsessed with him."

"I am not."

"Sure." He leaned back on his elbows, totally relaxed. "Funny thing, though. Bobby thinks you're obsessed with him."

Sophia's eye twitched. "He what?"

"Oh yeah." Drew shrugged. "Whole freshman dorm knew about it. 'Sophia Reyes queen of academic overachievers, Secretly in Love with Bobby Knight.' It was practically all over campus ."

Priya's mouth dropped open. "He actually said that?"

"Not in those exact words, but the vibe was there."

Sophia anger starts to rise. "Why that arrogant--"

"Oh, speak of the devil," Priya said, nodding toward the pathway.

Bobby strolled into view, surrounded by his usual entourage of finance bros and future venture capitalists. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, tie loose around his neck, sunglasses carelessly in his hair. He looked like money and confidence and trouble.

He looked right at Sophia.

Sophia looked right back.

And then

"Hey, Sophia !" Bobby called. "Still mad about the internship?"

Sophia shot to her feet, laptop forgotten. "You stole that internship, Bobby."

"I won that internship," he corrected, but his grin was way too pleased. "If you were less busy glaring at me in class, maybe you would've seen the posting first."

"I saw it first," Sophia snapped. "You just happen to have a last name that makes people sit up and listen."

Bobby's smile faded just for a second. "Believe it or not, some of us work hard too."

"Oh, really?" She stepped closer, heat rising in her face. "Must be exhausting, all that 'hard work' from your penthouse."

Bobby's jaw tightened. "You think you know everything about me, don't you?"

"I know enough."

"Do you?" His voice dipped low, something dangerous curling beneath it. "Because the last time I checked, the girl who couldn't stand me sure spent a lot of time staring at me."

Sophia's face went molten. "You are impossible."

"And you're obsessed with me," Bobby said, all cocky grin and reckless charm.

"Obsessed with kicking your ass," Sophia retorted.

"I'd love to see you try."

It was so stupidly familiar, this dance between them. The anger, the attraction neither of them would admit, the fact that they were both too proud to ever attempt break the cycle.

But then Bobby's smile faltered. Just a flicker. Just enough for Sophia to remember that night freshman year the almost kiss. The way he'd looked at her, right before she panicked and said something cutting to push him away.

Before anyone could say anything else, Priya stood and clapped her hands. "Great! Love the unresolved sexual tension, guys, but some of us are trying to graduate without witnessing a murder."

Drew, still lounging, snorted. "No promises."

Bobby's entourage was already pulling him toward the lecture hall, and Sophia turned sharply on her heel, heading the opposite direction.

Priya jogged to catch up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Sophia muttered.

"You know he's still into you, right?"

Sophia shot her a glare. "He is not."

"He is so." Priya's grin was infuriatingly wide. "And you're still into him too."

Sophia groaned. "We hate each other."

"Hate is just love with extra steps."

Sophia didn't answer. Because the truth—the truth she barely admitted to herself—was that Priya wasn't wrong.

Present Day

Sophia sat at her desk, staring at the Easton proposal on her screen, but her mind was stuck in the past. That stupid day under the tree. Bobby's smirk. The way her pulse had jumped when he stepped too close.

She could still feel it now, every time he leaned over her shoulder or argued about slide transitions like their lives depended on it. The rivalry hadn't faded it had matured, sharpened into something more dangerous.

Her phone buzzed. A text from Priya.

Priya: Just remembered the time you said you'd rather eat glass than work with Bobby Knight. LMAO.

Sophia sighed, but she couldn't stop the smile.

Sophia: Past Sophia was a sweet summer child.

Priya: So…what's it like now?

Sophia hesitated, then typed.

Sophia: Complicated...

Bobby sat on his couch, phone balanced on his knee. Drew's name popped up on his screen.

Drew: Remember when you said you'd never speak to Sophia Reyes again unless it was to gloat?

Bobby: I was young and dumb.

Drew: You're still dumb. And you're still into her.

Bobby didn't answer.

Because the truth— the truth he barely admitted to himself was that Drew wasn't wrong either.