How hard is this supposed to be? All I have to do is carry the gift-laden tray up the stage and present it to the headmistress for the prize-giving part of the assembly. All Sandev is supposed to do is watch me do it.

I stiffen my neck to prevent instinctual swiveling towards the school uniform-clad Indian boy pressed close to me.

What we are not supposed to do is get crammed up beside each other in the stage wing.

I curse silently, knowing full well that my face could now be mistaken for a ripe bell pepper. I close my eyes to compose myself, though the thudding in my chest has overpowered the sound of the voice of the teacher out onstage making an announcement to the assembled pupils.

Omg he is right beside me... Is he using patchouli oil?

It was a nightmare and a dream come true at the same time. I try not to inhale too much of his earthy, intoxicating scent, for the more I do, the redder my complexion becomes. It does not help at all that my mind conjures up wilder thoughts at each breath taken.

Sharp jawline, broad shoulders, firm body shape... Okay, I think he can read my thoughts. Deep breaths, deep breaths... Oh coconuts he thinks I'm a creep!

Entirely focused on seeming nonchalant, I sneak a peek at him out of the corner of my eye.

Sandev is completely quiet, either completely focused on the teacher's words over the sound system or completely attuned to the tense discomfort backstage. He does not shift to look at me and his chin points firmly outward.

And that chin... so pointy-

"Girl? Can you come here?"

In that single span of time, everything bumps into motion. Sandev finally inclines his head towards me, his signature expression of confusion and exasperation on display. His fierce eyes imprison mine, and I feel my chest begin to tighten.

I know somethin' about loveee...

Sandev nods at me. "I think the teacher is calling you."

I blink and look over my shoulder. I see my English teacher, Madam Mira, holding a tray of three colourfully-wrapped presents. She smiles and gestures for me to take it.

"Right." I spring to my feet and reach out for the tray. My long fingers grasp its cold, rusty handles as I bring it out onstage. The headmistress is already waiting by the time I reach her, the prefect on emcee duty scrabbling for the prize-winners' names.

"In third place for the poster-designing competition, Afiq Hisham bin Ahmad Hanan."

"Second place, Aina Syariza binti Amir Hassan."

"And finally, in first place, Pawan Kumar A/L Praveen Kumar."

My mouth drops open at the last name. My fingers still grip the handles, although I do not have that much faith in my balance anymore.

Pawan? Designing posters?

Pawan steps up towards the headmistress, and she whirls to me in order to take his prize. Instantly, our eyes are drawn to one another, and Pawan quirks an eyebrow. As soon as the headmistress turns back to him, he breaks eye contact and delivers a winning smile to her.

I force myself to close my jaw.

As Pawan stalks off the stage, he side-eyes a corner of the stage where I know Sandev is sitting. He grins triumphantly, and I turn around just in time to see Sandev clench his jaw.

What is going on with those two? Indigestion?

I settle back into the space between Sandev and an unused wooden rostrum in the left wing as another teacher steps onstage to announce another round of prize-giving. It will take at least five more minutes before the teacher is done with her lengthy explanation about her pupils' competition.

I bravely nudge Sandev.

"What?"

I lean in. Perhaps he will think that I am doing so to ensure we do not bother the rest of the teachers bustling backstage, and not that I just need a closer whiff of his scent. "What was that about?"

It is his turn to blink. "What are you talking about?"

I knit my eyebrows in genuine confusion. "You and Pawan. You two behave like mortal enemies."

Sandev laughs it off. "I don't know what you mean. It's just the way we are."

I shrug, grateful for an honest explanation. "Okay then."

Sandev shifts in his place. "Is this always going to be boring? Backstage during the assembly?"

I nod, but I veil my words thinly. "We are always assigned in pairs."

Sandev tilts his head in acknowledgement, but does not speak any further.

Okay, Alyce, now it's up to you to strike up conversation... Make sure it's something witty and sharp... witty and sharp...

"Tell me about Zendaya," I blurt out. I shoot him with what I hope seems to be a sultry look, with my eyes squinting half-liddedly and lips carefully pursed out. I can only pray that my pulsing redness adds to the appeal.

Sandev's entire left eyebrow rockets down, utterly baffled. "... Zendaya?"

I keep squinting and pursing my lips. "You know, your sister."

It's not easy to talk like this...

The eyebrow lifts back into its place gently. "You mean Sandhia?"

I nod, struggling to maintain the look.

Sandev begins to prattle, but I notice that he is looking at me with a very stunned look in his eye, probably because of my seductive sultry look. I hold my features in place, arching my neck towards the faint light to emphasize on its slenderness.

Also to minimize view of the blush, as per Google.

"Hurry, girl!"

The spell I cast on Sandev is broken as Madam Mira's voice cuts through the curtain, and I obediently scurry out with another tray of prizes, blushing redder and redder each time I think of how I managed to enrapture Sandev Kumar.

♡♡♡

"You can't seriously like him, Aly-cee!" Wynsa throws her hands up in the air. Her expression is one of disbelief and exasperation, as if she cannot fathom how I can fall for a boy like Sandev.

"He looks like a wolf," adds Jory, shuddering. "Especially those large, piercing eyes."

I smile wistfully. "He does, doesn't he?"

Alpha Sandev...

Crystal waves her hands to grab my attention. "Alyce, she means wolf, as in the one with big pointy teeth that tears out your innards and swallows you whole."

Wynsa lets out a dramatic gasp. "Oh god, she was thinking about hot werewolves!"

I grin guiltily. "You got me."

Tasya, another one of my friends, drops her jaw in shock. "But he's younger than you!"

Wynsa shrugs for me. "At least she likes a guy taller than her this time." The girls chime in agreement.

"Oh, remember when she had a huge crush on Pawan when we were thirteen?" Crystal giggles. "He was so tiny!"

"And he always followed her around, going, 'Aly, Aly, Aly'!" Wynsa adds, bursting in a fit of laughter.

"By the way, Alyce," Jory's hands latch on to my clothes like a raccoon's paws, "I put your name in for the interclass handball competition tomorrow."

Handball?

My mouth falls open. "Why?"

Wynsa snorts. "What do you mean, why? Long limbs and long legs give you a slight advantage in playing."

Jory winks at me. "Plus, I can arrange for Wolf-boy to be there watching you."

Tasya blinks at her, impressed. "How?"

The small-framed girl shrugs. "I have my ways."

"You have your ways with Hareet, you mean," Wynsa remarks. "I'll bet you have him around your finger now, mentor."

Jory whirls to her so fast her hair whips out. "It's not like that!"

"I think it is," Wynsa declares in a sing-song voice. She turns to me. "As for you, you play well and good tomorrow, okay?"

Suddenly a shipper now, is she?

Nevertheless, I do not miss the glint in her evil little eyes. She opens her mouth again to speak.

"Because even if I was only joking around before, my primary ship is now AliDev."

A/N: A filler part towards the end, had a few things to establish, even if we all already know the details. Oh, and for you tempurungs out there who actually thought Alyce managed to pull off the sultry look, think again.

Signing off for this beautiful moonlit evening,

-Scarlet