Eighteen Below Him

Samira's POV

The moment I stepped into Novia's house, I knew trouble was waiting for me. The air was thick with the scent of vanilla candles and the kind of high octane energy my friends only radiated when they had a scheme.

"Finally!" Novia exclaimed, practically dragging me into the living room by my elbow. "I thought you would never get here. You looked like you were surviving a battlefield out there."

"I was." I muttered, dropping my heavy backpack by the door with a satisfying thud. "Hallways should come with hazard pay, especially when Ashley is involved."

Amanda laughed, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder as she crossed her legs on the couch. "You are being dramatic, Sam. She is just annoying, and honestly, completely irrelevant."

"Annoying is putting it lightly." I said, flopping into the velvet armchair. "She is like a human paper cut. Persistent, painful, and impossible to ignore."

Novia leaned in, her eyes glinting with a mischievous light. "That is why we are here. To help you survive the rest of senior year and your big eighteenth birthday."

I blinked, suspicious of the sudden change in tone. "Wait, what do you mean 'help me'?"

"You need guidance." Amanda said slowly, carefully choosing her words like she was handling a fragile artifact. "Because, let's face it, Sam, you have no experience at all."

I groaned, leaning my head back against the chair. "I know. I do not need a lecture."

Novia tilted her head, a stray curl falling over her eye. "No, it is not a lecture. It is strategy."

I raised an eyebrow, my skepticism mounting. "Strategy?"

"Yes!" she said, practically bouncing on the edge of the cushion. "You have been saying all year that you want someone, but no attachment. Someone fun, no strings, just a little experience before we head off to university."

"That is exactly what I have been saying." I muttered. "And it is not your business to help me pick someone."

Amanda's lips curved into a small, knowing smile. "Oh, but it is our business because we already know the perfect candidate."

I blinked, my mind racing through a list of acceptable classmates. "And who would that be?"

Novia leaned back, smirking like she was about to reveal a master plan for a heist. "Calvin Simms."

I almost choked on the water I had just sipped. "Excuse me?"

"Yes, him." Novia said, unfazed. "Think about it. He is hot, smart, and famously unattached. Commitment free. Best of all, he is the last person who could ever get emotionally attached to you."

My stomach flipped in a way that had nothing to do with the burrito from earlier. "You want me to use Calvin?"

Amanda shrugged. "Call it controlled chaos."

Controlled chaos. Fantastic. My two best friends had officially lost their minds.

"I do not use people." I said slowly, trying to ground the conversation back in reality. "That is not me."

"Exactly!" Novia countered, pointing a finger at me. "That is why this is perfect. He will not try to trap you, you will not get emotionally involved, and you get the experience you're looking for. It is a win-win."

I stared at her as if she had grown a second head right before my eyes. "You really think he would go for that? You do not know him."

"Yes, we do." Amanda said, wagging a finger. "We have watched him. Studied him from afar. He does not do commitment, he does not get emotionally attached, and he is Calvin Simms. He's the gold standard for a temporary distraction."

I laughed bitterly, the sound sharp in the quiet room. "You are insane. Absolutely insane."

Novia leaned closer, her eyes sparkling. "No, we are brilliant. You are just stubborn, but you are smart enough to make this work if you are careful."

I buried my face in my hands, the heat of a blush starting to bloom. "This is ridiculous."

"You know it is not." Amanda said softly. "You have already spent years hating him. You know exactly how he behaves, and you can handle it."

I peeked through my fingers at them. "You do realize this is morally questionable, right?"

"Morally?" Novia laughed, a bright, carefree sound. "Sam, we are talking about surviving senior year with style, grace, and a little fun. Calvin Simms is the perfect foil for that."

I groaned again. "Fun does not usually involve glares, insults, and endless teenage angst."

"Exactly." Amanda said, smiling widely. "That makes it perfect."

For the next hour, they outlined their plan. It mostly involved me projecting a sense of casual interest, testing his boundaries, and refusing to let my guard down for even a second. They even made me rehearse a few lines to use if Calvin gave me that look, the one that made me want to punch him and melt into a puddle at the exact same time.

"Do not look at him like you care." Novia instructed, pacing the floor. "Smile, roll your eyes, tease him, but stay in total control. If he tries to corner you, escape immediately."

I tried not to groan as the absurdity of the situation sank in. "I cannot believe I am taking advice on this."

"Yes, you can." Amanda said. "Because you want it. You want to be prepared for college, for the next step in your life, and you want to prove that you can handle Calvin Simms without falling apart."

I frowned, the word sticking in my throat. "You make it sound like a game."

"It is a game." Novia said smugly. "High school is a battlefield, and you are about to learn the art of war."

I groaned again and buried my face in a decorative pillow.

"Look." I said finally, sitting up and trying to find my resolve. "Even if I wanted to do this, it is going to be complicated."

Amanda tilted her head, her expression serene. "Complicated makes it fun."

I rolled my eyes. "Fun? You mean stressful, humiliating, and emotionally exhausting."

Novia leaned back, her smirk widening. "Exactly. That is the point. You get all the thrill without the messy attachment."

"Attachment." I muttered. I thought of Calvin, the way his eyes lingered on the back of my head in English class and the way his smirk made me want to scream.

I shook my head vigorously. Do not think about it. Do not think about it.

Novia's grin widened. "You see? You cannot help thinking about him. That is why it will work. You just have to keep your wits about you."

I glanced out the window, watching the clouds drift lazily over the suburban rooftops. Two weeks until I turned eighteen. Two weeks until I could technically do this fully, until I could test myself without worrying about crossing some invisible line.

But I knew it would be harder than I was letting on.

Calvin was not just popular or infuriating. He was smart, observant, and dangerous in a way that made me hyper aware of my own heartbeat whenever he was within a five foot radius. The thought of being near him made me curious, not in the way my friends wanted, not yet, but enough that I had to fight the heat creeping across my cheeks.

Novia elbowed me, breaking my trance. "Earth to Sam. You are thinking about him again, aren't you?"

"Shut up." I muttered, hiding my face behind my hair.

Amanda laughed, a gentle sound of victory. "Exactly why this is perfect. You get to test the waters, Sam. No emotions, just fun."

I groaned again, burying my face back into the pillow. "You two are truly insane."

"Maybe." Novia admitted. "But you are going to love it."

By the time I left Novia's house, I had a plan, or at least a rough sketch of one. Keep Calvin guessing, do not let him see me flinch, and have fun, whatever that actually meant in practice. Two weeks. That was all I had to prepare.

Walking down the quiet, tree lined streets toward my own home, I could not shake the nagging feeling that this plan might backfire spectacularly. Calvin Simms was too unpredictable, too sharp, and dangerous in ways I did not yet understand.

And yet, my pulse raced every time I imagined him looking at me, even for a fleeting second, as if he already knew more than he let on.

Two weeks. The clock was ticking, and the game had already begun.