Assuming

I was left standing there, completely confused by how fast everything had happened.

Was this real?

SOMEONE KISSED ME!

Who in their right mind would kiss someone as plain and nerdy as me?! I had to find out who it was. I needed to chase him down!

But my body refused to move—I was still too shocked to process what had just happened.

When I finally snapped out of it and rushed out of the janitor's room, I scanned the hallway for the guy who had stolen my first kiss.

I didn't care if he was a serial killer or whatever. He was not getting away with this.

Then, I saw someone walking away, his back turned to me. I ran after him and shouted—

"Hey, YOU!"

The moment he turned around, my eyes went wide. No way.

THEODORE WHITMORE?!

HE kissed me?

He was the only person here—there was no way the guy from earlier had just disappeared into thin air. It felt like something heavy crashed down on me.

No. No way. My first kiss could not have gone to him!

To someone so arrogant, so rude, so infuriating—To a bad boy.

"Charles' sister! What's your problem, huh?" He was actually asking me that?! Was he messing with me?!

"WHY DID YOU KISS ME?!"

His eyes went wide—like he'd just seen a ghost.

And then—He burst out laughing. Loudly.

He was laughing?! He even clutched his stomach, like he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. "ME? Kiss you?"

"STOP LAUGHING!" I snapped. "You dragged me into the janitor's room! And then, and then—" I wanted to say you kissed me, but I couldn't get the words out. Just thinking about it sent shivers down my spine. "You're the worst!" I clenched my fists and punched him in the chest—

Ouch!

It was like punching a brick wall. I think I hurt myself more than I hurt him. I was so frustrated, so furious, that I felt my eyes welling up with tears.

This jerk—this horrible excuse of a human being— "Hey, ugly nerd! Stop crying in front of me!" he scoffed. "As if I'd ever kiss you! You wish!"

I didn't care what he said. I knew what happened. He was the one who kissed me. I wasn't wrong. I couldn't be.

"What's going on here?"A familiar voice cut through the tension— My brother, Charles, walked up to us.

Theo smirked. "Talk some sense into your sister, Charles. She's seriously delusional."

Charles' expression darkened the second he saw me crying. No matter how much we fought like cats and dogs, he hated seeing me upset. He pulled me toward him, gripping my arm protectively. And when I looked up at him, still crying like an idiot—

He was furious. "What happened, Ellie?"

"It's Theo! He kissed me!" The words burst out of my mouth before I could stop them. And that's when I realized—

Everyone was there. Not just Charles. Not just Theo. All four of them. Along with their classmates.

Great. What was this, a live show? I hoped no one heard me. But judging by the way their laughter echoed through the hallway—

They definitely heard me.

"Ellie, are you sick or something?" My brother pressed his palm against my forehead. "Come on, I know Theo's type, but there's no way he'd kiss you. He only goes for hot girls. Maybe you're just hungry and imagining things."

…Oh.

Oh, so that's how it is? I don't even have the right to be kissed? Just because I look like this?!

I HATE YOU, CHARLES!

I ran off, tears stinging my eyes. They were awful. All of them. Why would I even lie about something like this?! It's not like I was one of Theo's desperate fangirls, out here making up stories just to get his attention.

I didn't want to see him ever again. I despised him.

And Charles— I knew we weren't exactly the closest siblings, but he of all people should've believed me!

Before I knew it, I was already on my way home.Didn't even realize I'd ditched class. Well. What a great day.

Nice one, Ellie.

The moment I stepped inside the house, my chow chow, Cholo, came running to me. He licked my hand, his fluffy tail wagging like crazy. And just like that, some of my anger faded away. "Hi, baby!" I crouched down to hug him.

My mom's voice called out from the kitchen. "You're home early! Where's your brother?" She peeked outside. "Where's the car? Did something happen?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but instead, I almost started crying again. "Mom, my first kiss." Before I could stop myself, I ran to her and hugged her tight. And then, I really started crying.

She stroked my hair gently. "What's wrong, baby?"

"It's gone! And Theo was the one who took it!"

She pulled back to look at me. "Ellie, honey," she said, her tone gentle, "that's Theo. He would never do something like that."

…What?

Even her?! "So what?" I snapped, pulling away. "Just because I'm nerdy and ugly, I don't deserve to be kissed by someone hot?"

"Sweetheart, that's not what I—"

"Mom, you know he's a bad boy!" I spun around and stormed upstairs, slamming my bedroom door shut. I threw myself onto my bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

No one believed me. No one. Did they really think it was that impossible for a guy to kiss me? Was I that ugly?

A knock on the door. "Ellie, open up, honey."

"Leave me alone!" I grabbed my phone and turned it on. Might as well scroll through Facebook to distract myself. And that's when I saw it. A notification.

You've been tagged in a video.

I clicked on it. The moment it started playing, my heart stopped.

"It's Theo! He kissed me!"

The video was of me. Who the hell recorded this?! And they tagged me? Seriously? Why did they even have to video it? Now, thanks to them, everyone at school knows what happened earlier. I scrolled down. Thousands of likes. Hundreds of comments.

"As if! There's no way Oppa Theo would kiss her!"

"She's so ugly! Ew!"

"She must be daydreaming with her eyes open!"

…Great.

I flopped back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. I had publicly declared—in front of so many people—that Theodore Whitmore had kissed me. What kind of horrible luck was this?! Please, let this just be a bad dream.

My head was starting to ache. I mean, let's be real. Why would Theo even kiss me?

Theo Whitmore. The school's bad boy. The Theodore Whitmore..

And me? A nobody.

Theo, who girls chased after, who could get anyone he wanted.

And me? Ugly. Nerdy.

I used to have such a peaceful life at school. During lunch breaks, I'd hide out in the library because it was quiet. I avoided people because I hated drama.

For three years, I had no friends. Just my older brother. And the teachers. Since I loved studying, most of them liked me. And honestly? I didn't mind.

Being alone was fine. I wasn't like my classmates, but that was okay. I was happy. I was Eleanor Winslow, the ultimate nobody.

But now—

That was all gone. Now, everyone saw me as some delusional freak because of that video. As if I had ever dreamed about being kissed by Theo, the jerk.

I mean, maybe if it was Seb… Even if my life became a mess, I'd gladly accept it.

But Theo?!No, thanks.

What the hell was I supposed to do tomorrow?Crap. I didn't wanna go to school.

—

The next morning…

Way too early, my brother was already banging on my door. So annoying! I got ready as fast as I could and rushed to his car.

The moment I got in, Charles shot me the nastiest glare. "Listen, Ellie," he snapped. "Don't embarrass me in front of my friends today, okay? Quit your delusions already."

"Whatever! All of you can go to hell," I wishpered.

He sighed. "Also, if you're gonna talk to yourself, don't say it so loud. I can hear you, you know. And for the record, I'm not an asshole, little sis." He even winked at me.

Ugh. I turned to stare out the window, ignoring him. What did it matter if he heard me? I was just speaking the truth.

"I told you not to get delusional," Charles said, smirking. "Wait—do you like Theo or something?"

I whipped my head around to glare at him. Did he hear himself?! "Me? Like Theo? Even if he were the last guy on Earth, I still wouldn't like him!" I had no idea where I got the courage to yell that out loud, especially in front of them. I mean, compared to them—the popular crowd—I was a nobody.

My brother, of course, had to make it worse.

"Oh wow, my sister is so picky," Charles laughed.

I scowled and stormed off, heading straight to my classroom.

—

The moment I walked in, I felt their glares. Especially from the girls.

"Ugh, so many delusional people in the world, huh?"

"Did she really say Oppa Theo kissed her?"

"As if! She acts like she's all that!"

I ignored them. This was exactly what I feared.

Before, my life was peaceful. No one bullied me. No one noticed me. But now? That was gone.

Congratulations, Ellie! You've officially graduated from nobody status and landed straight into delusional freak territory.

—

As soon as the lunch bell rang, I bolted out of the room. But outside, I noticed something.

A huge crowd had gathered. And at the center of it all—

"Hey, Ellie!"

I froze.

"Did you really think I'd let you get away with what you did?"

I turned around slowly. Oh, great. Stacey Summer. The it-girl of our school. Gorgeous. Hot. Head cheerleader. Campus queen bee.

And apparently—Theo's girlfriend.

"You're fantasizing about my boyfriend?" Stacey sneered.

I blinked. "I have no idea what you're talking about." I tried to walk away. I hated this. I hated being the center of attention. All of this.

All of this— Was Theo's fault.

Like hell I was sticking around for it. But before I could escape.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Stacey grabbed my hair and yanked it back. "Don't you dare turn your back on me!"

I winced. "L-Let me go!"

Her grip was tight. I never got into fights. I didn't do drama. I wasn't used to this.

"Let you go?" Stacey smirked. "Sure—after I make you bald!"

HELP. SOMEBODY. ANYBODY. PRINCE CHARMING, WHERE ARE YOU?!

"Stacey! Let her go!"

…Huh?!

Did my prayers just get answered?! I turned—And my eyes widened.

Him?!