CL

freya jones has spent years building a reputation as the girl nobody can tie down. she’s funny, confident, and always seems one step ahead. relationships? not her thing. she’d rather flirt, have fun, and leave before anyone gets too close. malachi barton is exactly the same. he’s charming, competitive, and somehow always the centre of attention. he hates how everyone compares him and freya, and she hates that he’s the only person who can match her sarcastic comments without missing a beat. when they both end up joining the same committee to organise the school’s biggest charity festival, they’re forced to work together for months. every meeting turns into an argument. every idea becomes a competition. their friends—josh (freya’s protective older brother), kylie, mk, and malia—are convinced they’re going to kill each other before the event even happens. but behind all the insults are things neither of them talks about. freya is struggling with problems at home and hides everything behind jokes and fake confidence. malachi is under constant pressure from his family to be perfect, leaving him exhausted trying to live up to everyone’s expectations. after a late-night planning session goes wrong and they get stranded together, they accidentally see sides of each other nobody else does. instead of arguing, they actually talk. from then on, things slowly change. the insults become teasing. the teasing becomes inside jokes. they start defending each other without realising it. jealousy creeps in whenever someone else flirts with either of them, but neither is willing to admit why. their friends notice long before they do. just as they’re finally ready to admit their feelings, a misunderstanding convinces freya that malachi has been playing her all along. hurt, she pushes him away, and everything they’ve built falls apart. malachi refuse