Helping My Enemy Date Me

Help. My nemesis is fighting dirty. What do I do?

I created a burner account immediately. What kind of dirty tricks?

She drenches her hair in gardenia perfume. She wears this shiny stuff on her lips. It is despicable. A low blow.

I stared at the new shampoo bottle in my hand.

The next day, I walked right up to him.

I winked.

Hayes, the guy who usually walks around like he owns the place, turned bright red.

He didn't just leave. He scrambled away like his life depended on it.

That night, a new thread popped up.

URGENT. I need a strategist. She is out of control.

Chapter 1

My phone buzzed against the nightstand. It was Piper. She sent a link.

Check this out. The CS department launched a new internal forum. Rumor has it the guys are posting thirst traps.

I clicked the link. I wasn't expecting much. Maybe a leaderboard of the hottest guys on campus.

I scrolled past the selfies. The number one trending post was text-only.

Help. My nemesis plays dirty.

I clicked on it.

The comment section was a zoo. One hundred replies in three minutes. The first few were standard unhinged advice.

Slash her tires.

Throw manure at her.

Pants her in public.

Then Comment 111 changed everything.

Quick question. Is the nemesis a guy or a girl?

OP: She is a girl. I am a guy.

Comment 113: Oh, boy. Is this an enemies-to-lovers trope?

OP: Absolutely not. We are mortal enemies. Pure hatred. That will never happen.

I created an account. I couldn't resist.

What kind of dirty tricks?

OP: The smell. She sprays this gardenia scent on her hair.

My heart stalled.

My hair was still damp against my neck. I could smell it. The heavy, sweet scent of gardenia oil. I just switched shampoos last month.

The comments exploded.

OP, are you allergic?

OP: No. It is just potent. It messes with my head. I lose focus.

Comment 118: Bro

Comment 119: He is down bad. He is breathing that stuff in like oxygen.

OP: I am not a pervert. But that is not all. She wears this lip gloss. It catches the light.

My blood ran cold.

I narrowed my eyes at the default avatar. I checked the username. It was a string of random characters ending in four numbers.

The last four digits of a phone number.

Chapter 2

I realized it the second I signed up.

If you don't pick a username, the system assigns you a random string followed by the last four digits of your phone number. I know Hayes's number by heart. Unfortunately.

So this Poster. This victim of dirty tricks. It is Hayes.

He has a problem with my lip gloss?

I typed a reply.

What did the lip gloss do to you?

Hayes replied instantly.

It is too bright. It affects my visual field. It is a despicable tactic.

Comment 131: Is this guy for real? Can someone translate this for me?

Comment 132: Translation: I am obsessed with her. But I am pretending I am annoyed.

Comment 133: Wake up, man. She is playing you like a dog.

Hayes went on the defensive.

Do not be rude. It is a pure physics issue. The mirror reflection from the gloss compromised my vision. I took several kicks because of it. I made this thread for strategy. I need to win a round.

Comment 137: Aw. You got kicked by wifey?

Hayes: Nemesis. Not wife.

Love_Lack: Bro, I support you. Kick her back. Crush the darkness with thunder!

Hayes didn't reply to that one.

I lay back on my pillow and stared at the ceiling. The world had officially gone mad.

Hayes likes me?

I opened my text history with him. I needed a reality check. Our last conversation was a week ago.

Me: Are you free this weekend?

Hayes took thirty minutes to reply.

Hayes: Trying to chase me? You'd have to fly to Paris just to find the end of the line.

Me: We need to submit the debate materials together, dumbass.

Hayes: Oh. The dumbass acknowledges.

That is us. Other people have childhood sweethearts. We are childhood disasters. If we go one day without roasting each other, I assume one of us is terminally ill.

Maybe he was hacked.

The next day, I deliberately walked right up to him.

I rolled over. My thumb slipped on the screen. I accidentally tapped his avatar.

Leighton nudged Hayes.

Hayes replied in a second.

I clicked my tongue. I had to commit now.

Me: Asleep?

Hayes: Yes.

Liar.

I sent twelve stickers in a row. The most obnoxious ones I could find.

Me: Did that wake you up? Then get up and go back to sleep.

Hayes: You are sick.

Good. It is definitely him.

Chapter 3

Maybe it was the secret I discovered right before bed. I, a person who could sleep through an earthquake, had insomnia. Rare insomnia.

The next day, I stood in the debate hall. My concealer was working overtime to cover the dark circles under my eyes.

Piper looked at me like I was a walking corpse. "Did you find something good last night?" She grinned. "Share the wealth. Without that forum, who knew the nerdy CS guys were hiding that?"

Not far away, Hayes lifted his eyelids. He looked over.

The 'Opposition' tag on his chest caught the glare of the spotlight. But it was his face that held the real edge. Sharp. Aggressive. Undeniably pretty.

My teammate sighed next to me. "Damn it. Why did we have to match against Hayes? He is the Second Speaker. The main attacker. We are screwed."

"Seriously. Hayes is venomous. Who can out-talk him?"

"Relax," another teammate whispered. "We have Leighton. They grew up fighting. We might not lose."

Piper tapped my 'Proposition' name tag. She had that look on her face. The one that said she was ready for a show. "Princess, you are up against Hayes again. Try not to physically fight him."

I looked up at the big screen.

The topic: Knowing a romance has no future, should you still begin it?

I laughed. "Don't worry. He is going to lose."

We took our seats. Hayes sat directly across from me. He was bathed in the stage lights. One eyebrow quirked up, carrying a hint of a lazy, uninhibited smile.

Hiss. Since when did this jerk look so enchanting? Like a male siren. Is he giving those smiles away for free?

I refused to look weak. I stared him down. Death glare style.

Hayess eyelashes trembled. As the host walked onto the stage, he shifted his gaze away. Smoothly. Without a trace.

We had prepared for this debate for a long time.

The match started. The First Speaker laid out the arguments step by step. The Opposition's First Speaker responded with the style and pacing we expected.

But I was waiting. I was waiting for the free debate section.

When Hayes stood up, the atmosphere in the room tightened. He chuckled softly. He leaned into the microphone.

His voicecool, clear, the quintessential sound of youthrang through the hall.

"The Proposition's argument for pursuing love regardless of consequences is, in my view, worthless. In the emotional world, avoiding a relationship that is known to be high-risk and destined for failure is responsible. For both parties. This is not choking on food because you are afraid to eat. This is survival wisdom. It is risk assessment"

I hit my mic button. I shoved my stack of prepared materials to the side.

"Opposing debater. If the girl you are secretly in love with confessed to you right now, would you accept?"

Hayes stopped mid-sentence.

It was abrupt. Violent silence.

His peach-blossom eyes reflected my smiling face. He narrowed them.

I smiled wider. "I admit, you are extremely rational. But right now, knowing there might be no result, tell me. Would you fall in love with her?"

It was the first time in Hayes's debating history that his mind went blank.

Five seconds of dead air.

Chapter 4

His eyes went vacant. He looked like he was mentally picking out names for our firstborn child.

Five seconds later, Hayes snapped back to reality. The smile on his face didn't reach his eyes. "Opposing counsel, I feel your question is too personal. I suggest we return to the topic at hand."

"This is the topic."

I smiled at him. "You hesitated. You thought. You racked your brain for five seconds and drew a blank. That silence proves that rationality cannot kill the human instinct for love."

I leaned forward. "If you don't even have the ability to resist love, what gives you the right to say retreating is a survival strategy? Is this love a benefit or a harm to you? You don't know, do you?"

Piper wouldn't shut up about the debate all night.

"Leighton, you are a legend."

"I have never seen anyone render Hayes speechless. He was a statue."

I collapsed onto my beanbag chair. I pulled out my phone and refreshed the forum.

Sure enough, ten minutes ago, Hayes had posted an update.

This woman is a master manipulator. Urgent. I need a strategist.

The peanut gallery gathered quickly.

Comment 221: Oh? What kind of manipulation?

Comment 222: Probably nothing high-level. Considering OP folds at the smell of shampoo, she probably just winked at him.

I had to give it to Comment 222. They were spot on.

After the debate, I did wink at him. Hayes didn't make a snarky comment. He didn't roll his eyes. He pretended he was blind and scrambled away.

Hayes replied with a bombshell.

Hayes: She asked me in front of everyone: If she dated me, would I accept?

The internet showed no mercy.

Comment 224: Zero surprise. You are getting played like a fiddle, bro.

Comment 225: Woman: Says something random. OP: Tosses and turns all night.

Comment 226: Someone is down bad. I wonder who.

I had seen enough. It was time to intervene.

Me: So, what do you think?

Hayes replied instantly: We are enemies. What is there to think? I need a method to eliminate her influence on me.

I typed back: Simple. Go to her.

Comment 229: LOL. The love guru has arrived. Straight to the point.

I was grinning so hard my face hurt. I continued to brainwash him.

Me: Ignore them. This is Exposure Therapy. Does your heart race when you see your nemesis?

Hayes: How did you know?

Me: That is anger. Pure rage. Starting tomorrow, stay by her side every day. Obey her. Get used to her existence. Do it until you are desensitized. Next time you face her, you will be immune.

Hayes: That makes logical sense. Strategist, I salute you.

Comment 234: The blind leading the blind. One dares to teach, the other dares to learn.

Love_Lack: Bro you promised to crush the darkness with thunder. Now the wild dog is becoming a house pet.

Chapter 5

The semester grind finally ground to a halt. Winter break was looming. The air was thick with the scent of freedom. The debate team organized a dinner. We chose an open-air gastropub off campus.

7 PM. We walked in.

The place wasn't empty. A familiar figure sat in a camping chair by the window. The orange light from the fireplace danced over him. It carved deep shadows into his sharp, pretty features.

Of course. Hayess team had picked the exact same spot.

The two groups stared at each other. The atmosphere curdled.

"Captain I knew there were other guests when I booked, but I didn't think"

Hayes kicked a chair out with his foot. He didn't look up. "Whatever. Push the tables together."

The team hesitated. I didn't.

I pulled out a chair. I dropped right next to Hayes.

I saw it. In my peripheral vision, his jaw clenched tight. His spine snapped rigid against the back of the chair. He was radiating a physical heat that had nothing to do with the fireplace.

Naturally, the teammates took the hardest hit. They exchanged looks. They studied the floor. Within thirty minutes, they vanished.

"Bathroom break." "Phone call." They fled the tension.

Only one person remained. A junior from Hayess team. Sawyer. He sat diagonally across from us. He was knocking back hard cider like it was water.

He slammed the glass down. The silence shattered. "Leighton"

His face was flushed crimson. His voice wobbled.

Hayess head snapped up. He shot a glare that could peel paint. Territorial instinct. Pure and simple.

Hayes sneered. A low, dangerous sound. "Leighton? Watch yourself. Next competition, she will crush you until you are dust."

Sawyer didn't back down. His face turned a deeper shade of red. He fumbled in his pocket. He pulled out a letter folded into a heart shape.

"Leighton. I know we are on opposite sides. In the future we will probably be rivals. But but I have watched your debates. You gave me strength. You gave me conviction. I am sitting here because of you."

He took a breath. "I like you, Leighton. I don't care if you say yes or no. I just wanted to be brave. I wanted you to know."

Hayes moved.

It was a blur of motion. His hand clamped over Sawyer's mouth. His fingers dug into Sawyer's cheeks. The tendons on the back of Hayes's hand stood out in stark relief.

Hayes shook Sawyers head back and forth gently. Mockingly. He smiled. It was terrifying. "Sawyer. I suggest you stop drinking. Listen closely. Do you hear that hollow echo? That is the wind whistling through your empty skull."

Sawyer struggled. He clawed at Hayess iron grip. "Mmph! Boss! You don't date why can't anyone else? Leighton! My heart is Mmph!"

Hayes didn't let go. He stood up. He dragged Sawyer out of the chair. He hauled him toward the mens restroom. He threw him inside.

Click.

The lock engaged.

I followed them, peeking around the corner. "I think Sawyer is kind of cute."

Hayes froze. His back muscles bunched under his black shirt. He turned around slowly.

He stepped into my space. He didn't stop until he was looming over me. He reached out.

He didn't grab me.

He pressed the tip of his index finger against the center of my forehead. One point of contact. His skin was burning hot. Rough.

He pushed. A firm, physical barrier keeping me away from the door. Keeping me away from Sawyer.

His voice dropped an octave. A gravelly rumble that vibrated in his chest. "Don't touch my team member."

The hallway was empty. From behind the locked door, Sawyer was still pounding. Confessing his undying love to the tiles.

Chapter 6