sitting cross-legged on her bed with a notebook open, furiously scribbling math problems. The tension in the air is thick, and Melanie, for once, feels a little nervous as she lingers in the doorway.

Melanie hesitant. "Hey, Pheebs..."

Phoebe doesn't look up, keeping her eyes locked on her notes.

Phoebe coolly. "Oh, look who decided to show up."

Melanie guilt-ridden. "I know, I know—I bailed on you today, and I shouldn't have. I just... got caught up. But I'm really sorry for not being there when I said I would be."

Phoebe finally glances up, arms crossed. "Why'd you even ditch in the first place?"

Melanie sighing. "Max saw how stressed I was and just wanted to do something nice for me. It wasn't some evil plan to ruin your day, I swear."

Phoebe narrows her eyes, still unconvinced. "So what, now Max is suddenly your best friend or something?"

Melanie eyes widening. "What?! No, Phoebe—no one could ever take your place. You're my best friend, always."

Phoebe softens a little at that, but she still gives Melanie a skeptical look. "Then what's going on with you two?"

Melanie hesitates, the truth sitting heavy on her tongue. She wants to tell Phoebe that she and Max are working on being a couple, that things are changing—but looking at Phoebe, she just can't bring herself to say it. Not yet.

Melanie forcing a small smile "He was just being a good friend today. That's all."

Phoebe studies her for a moment before sighing, finally letting go of the tension in her shoulders. "Fine. But if he starts trying to steal my official best friend title, I will be filing a complaint."

Melanie grins, stepping forward and wrapping Phoebe in a tight hug. "Not happening. You're stuck with me forever."

Phoebe hugs her back before pulling away, giving her a pointed look. "Good. Because the Mathletes are coming over in an hour to study for the Math Bowl, and you better be ready this time. No sneaking off to "clear your mind" with Max."

Melanie mock-offended. "Oh, come on, I would never—"

Phoebe raises an eyebrow.

Melanie laughing. "Okay, fine, I would, but I won't. I promise."

Phoebe smirks, flipping back to her notebook as Melanie flops onto the bed next to her, finally back in sync with her best friend.

The doorbell rings just as Phoebe straightens up the last of her study materials on the table. She takes a deep breath, mentally preparing for what's about to be a long night of intense studying—if she can keep everyone on track, that is.

"Alert, alert. Math nerds approaching."

She swings open the door, revealing Evan, and Ashley, standing there, notebooks in hand. Behind them, Sarah is bouncing excitedly.

Evan grinning. "Hey, Phoebe."

Ashley waving. "Thanks for letting me fill in for Sarah tonight."

Phoebe smiling. "Of course. Sarah must be really sick to miss the Math Bowl."

Ashley shrugging. "That's what she gets for sharing a compass with Tyler."

Right on cue, they hear a distant, exaggerated sneeze from down the street. Sarah off-screen, sneezing loudly. "AH-CHOOO!" Sarah beaming. "Don't worry, I'm fine now!"

Everyone turns to stare at Sarah.

Phoebe suspiciously. "Wait... if you're sick, then why are you here?"

Sarah swooning dramatically. "I'm love-sick. And the only cure... is being on Max's team."

Before Phoebe can respond, the doorbell rings again. She sighs, already knowing who it is. Phoebe muttering. "Oh, great."

She opens the door to reveal Max, grinning smugly with his arms outstretched. "What's up, brainiacs?"

He high-fives Evan, fist-bumps Ashley, and smirks at Phoebe, who just glares at him. Phoebe flatly. "What are you doing here?"

Max mock offense. "Wow, so welcoming. I'm just here to check in on my adoring teammates."

Phoebe groaned. "You mean steal my teammates."

Max mocked him. "Potato, potahto."

Sarah practically pushes past Phoebe, making a beeline for Max. Sarah dreamily. "Let's go hit your lair, Max. I mean, Captain Max."

Evan nervous, whispering to Phoebe. "Did she just say lair? Should I... call my mom?"

Phoebe pinching her nose. "This is definitely going to be a long night."

Max's lair – neon lights, futuristic gadgets, and a general air of definitely not Math Bowl studying energy. Melanie, already sensing disaster, claps her hands loudly. Melanie firmly. "Alright! Focus up, people! We are here to study, not to turn this into Max's personal fan club."

Max grinning, leaning back in his chair. "Too late for that."

Sarah sighs dreamily while Ashley rolls her eyes.

Phoebe gritting her teeth. "Max, some of us actually care about winning."

Max shrugging. "And some of us care about having fun."

Melanie crossing her arms. "You do realize you have no idea what you're doing, right?"

Max grinning at her. "That's where you come in, Mel. Maybe you could assist me?"

Melanie hesitates, narrowing her eyes. "I'm not choosing between you and Phoebe."

Max raising an eyebrow. "And why not?"

Melanie swallows, suddenly flustered. Melanie stammering. "B-because Phoebe's my best friend, and y-you're about to be—uh—y-you're—ugh, never mind!"

Max smirks, catching her slip-up, while Phoebe glances between them suspiciously. Max teasingly. "I'm about to be what, Mel?"

Melanie quickly. "Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Let's do math now."

Phoebe, still suspicious, eyes Melanie before shaking her head.

Phoebe pointing at the whiteboard. "Fine, whatever. Just get ready, Melanie. The Mathletes are coming over to study, and I need you focused."

She shoots a glare at Max. "That means no messing around with Max."

Melanie awkwardly laughing. "Ha-ha! Yeah, totally. No messing around. Nope."

Max just grins, leaning in close to whisper to Melanie. Max softly. "Too late for that."

Melanie's face turns red as she buries her head in a math book, while Phoebe groans, knowing she's in for one chaotic night.

The Math Bowl study session drags on, but for Melanie, it feels like an eternity. Every time she tries to focus, she catches Sarah shamelessly flirting with Max. And what does Max do? Nothing. Not even a half-hearted "Hey, Sarah, maybe focus on the math?" Instead, he just smirks, enjoying the attention. Meanwhile, Melanie is stuck sitting there, stewing in silence, gripping her pencil so tight it might snap in half.

Finally, after what feels like hours, the study session ends. One by one, everyone gathers their things and heads out, leaving just Melanie and Max alone in the lair. Max leans against the table, casually tossing a stress ball in the air, completely oblivious to the storm brewing beside him.

Max grinning. "Sooo, that went well, huh? I'd say Team Max is looking pretty strong—"

Melanie flatly. "Don't talk to me."

Max freezes mid-toss, the ball dropping into his hands as he looks over at her. "Uh... what?"

Melanie sharply. "I said, don't talk to me."

Max raises an eyebrow, finally realizing something's wrong. Melanie is staring straight ahead, arms crossed so tightly it looks like she's physically holding herself back from doing something drastic—like, say, punching him in the face.

Max cautiously. "Oookay, so, clearly, someone's mad."

Melanie snapping. "Oh, you think?!"

She finally turns to him, eyes blazing, her voice raising with every word. "You embarrassed me in front of everyone! You sat there, grinning while Sarah practically threw herself at you, and did you say anything to stop it? No! But earlier, you're the one pulling me aside, asking if we can do more couple things, acting like it's already official."

Max blinks, caught off guard by the sudden outburst. "Whoa, hold on—Mel, I wasn't trying to—"

Melanie cutting him off, sarcastically. "Oh, please, spare me. You know we were keeping this thing between us a secret—"

Max yelled. "You wanted it to be a secret!"

Melanie seething. "That doesn't matter! What matters is you were acting like this was some kind of joke, and I just sat there looking like a total idiot."

Max sighs, running a hand through his hair. He knows she's right. He really wasn't trying to embarrass her, but yeah... maybe he didn't exactly help, either.

Max genuine. "Look, Mel, I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean to—"

Melanie clenching her fists. "I need to cool my head before I smack you in the face."

She huffs, turning on her heel and storming toward the exit. Max watches her go, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh.

Max muttering to himself. " ...So, that's a no on holding hands again anytime soon, huh?"

Melanie stops at the door, shooting him one last glare before slamming it shut behind her. Max exhales, shaking his head.

Max grinning to himself, under his breath. "Yeah... she's definitely gonna be my girlfriend."

☆

The clock on her nightstand reads 2:47 AM. Her desk is covered in textbooks, loose papers, and a very concerning amount of empty coffee cups. She's hunched over a notebook, furiously scribbling equations, her eyes slightly bloodshot but still determined. She mumbles formulas under her breath as she flips through her notes.

Melanie muttering. "Quadratic equations, binomial theorem... stupid Pythagorean theorem—"

There's a soft knock at her window. Melanie jumps, nearly sending her notebook flying. She turns, narrowing her eyes, before cautiously opening the window. A familiar smirking face pops in.

Max grinning. "Knock knock."

Melanie groaning. "Max, it is almost three in the morning. Go away."

Max effortlessly swings inside like it's no big deal, landing on the floor without a sound. He holds up a thermos, shaking it lightly. "Yeah, but I come bearing gifts."

Melanie eyes the thermos suspiciously as Max plops into her desk chair, spinning lazily. "If that's another cup of coffee, I swear—"

Max interrupting. "First of all, you're welcome. Second of all, I know you're not stopping anytime soon, so I figured I'd keep your caffeine levels up before you start seeing numbers float in the air."

Melanie grumbling, snatching the thermos. "Too late for that."

She takes a sip, sighing as the warmth spreads through her. Max leans forward, resting his chin on his palm as he watches her. "You do realize you're overworking yourself, right?"

Melanie not looking up. "I have to. I already let Phoebe down by skipping out today. I need to make sure I actually contribute."

Max raising an eyebrow. "Okay, but if you pass out mid-Math Bowl, I don't think that really counts as 'contributing.'"

Melanie exhales sharply, rubbing her temples. Max watches her for a beat before standing up and gently taking the pencil out of her hand.

Melanie scowling. "Max."

Max groaned. "Mel."

Melanie firmly. "Give. That. Back."

Max explained. "Nope. You need sleep. And don't say you're fine, because I know what fine looks like, and this is not it."

Melanie crosses her arms stubbornly, but her body betrays her with a small yawn. Max smirks, proving his point.

Max mockingly. "Oh yeah, totally fine. Super sharp. Could totally beat Einstein in a math-off right now."

Melanie grumbling. "Shut up."

Max takes her by the shoulders and steers her toward her bed. She sighs but doesn't resist too much. He grabs a blanket from her chair and drapes it over her as she settles under the covers.

Max softly. "Look, I know today was... not great. And I know you're mad at me. But I'm still gonna look out for you, okay?"

Melanie blinks sleepily at him, her expression softening just a little.

Melanie muttering. "...You're annoying."

Max grinning. "Yeah, but you like me anyway."

She groans, rolling over to face away from him, but he catches the small smile tugging at the corner of her lips before she does.

Max turns off her desk lamp before heading toward the window. He pauses, glancing back at her one last time.

Max quietly. "Night, Mel."

Melanie, already half-asleep, murmurs something incoherent. Max chuckles to himself before slipping out the window, leaving her to finally get some well-earned rest.

The buzzer sounds, signaling the five-minute break. The teams step away from their podiums, stretching and discussing strategies. Melanie, looking well-rested and confident, grabs a water bottle from the table and approaches Max, who is rubbing his temples dramatically. "This is exhausting. I thought Math Bowl was just, like, a glorified trivia night, not a full-on brain Olympics."

Melanie smirking. "You mean you thought you could coast by on charm and distractions?"

Max grinning. "Well... yeah. But turns out, numbers don't care how good my hair looks."

Melanie chuckles, shaking her head. Phoebe walks over, arms crossed, her expression skeptical. "Melanie, you've been weirdly quiet this whole time. Are you okay?"

Melanie shrugging. "I'm fine. Just focusing."

Sarah flipping her hair. "She's probably just in awe of how well Max is holding his own. It's kinda... impressive."

Sarah winks at Max. Melanie's jaw tightens, but she says nothing. Max, oblivious, just gives Sarah a lazy thumbs-up.

Mr. Pines claps his hands to get everyone's attention. "Alright, teams! Time for the tiebreaker round! One final question to determine our Math Bowl champions!"

The room falls silent. Evan, who has spent most of the competition doodling numbers in his notebook, straightens up. Mr. Pines dramatically presses a button on his tablet, revealing the final equation on the big screen. "Solve for X: If 4X + 7 = 3(2X - 1), what is X?"

Both teams stare at the problem. The seconds tick by. Melanie glances at her teammates, then at Max, who is pretending to think very hard but is clearly just hoping someone else will answer. She rolls her eyes before slamming the buzzer. "X = 5."

There's a pause. Mr. Pines checks his tablet, then looks back up.

Mr. Pines grinning. "That is... CORRECT!"

The Algebrats erupt into cheers. Phoebe pumps her fist in victory. Evan and Ashley high-five. Meanwhile, Max just gapes at Melanie. "Wait... you could've answered these questions the whole time?!"

Melanie smugly. "Yup."

Max yelled. "And you just let me flounder like a lost toddler?!"

Melanie grinning. "Yup."

Phoebe bursts out laughing and throws an arm around Melanie's shoulders. "That's my girl!"

Max shakes his head, finally realizing she totally played him. Mr. Pines clears his throat and gestures toward the scoreboard. "And with that, the Algebrats are the winners of the first round this year's Math Bowl!"

More cheers. Sarah sighs, flipping her hair dramatically. "Well, at least Max looked cute doing math."

Melanie's eye twitches slightly. Max, finally noticing, smirks.

As the teams begin to disperse, Max nudges Melanie with his elbow.

Max teasing. "So, since you're clearly a genius, you wanna tutor me sometime? Maybe over milkshakes?"

Melanie rolling her eyes, but smiling. "Max, I swear, if this is your way of asking me on a date—"

Max grinning. "Who, me? Never."

Melanie shakes her head, muttering something about how she should've let him embarrass himself longer, but there's an undeniable warmth between them as they walk out together.

The gymnasium is buzzing with energy as the teams take a short break before the final tiebreaker round. Melanie walks over to the refreshment table, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a deep breath. She rolls her shoulders, trying to keep her mind sharp. Max, who has been watching her from across the room, makes his way over, hands shoved in his pockets.

Max smirking. "Okay, I'll admit it..."

Melanie raising an eyebrow. "Admit what?"

Max grinning. "That I should've never gone up against you. You're way too good at this."

Melanie takes a sip of her water, clearly pleased. She tilts her head at him, considering. "You know what? That's probably the smartest thing you've said all day."

Max pouted. "Hey, don't rub it in too much. My ego's already bruised."

Melanie laughing softly. "Good. You needed that."

She reaches for his hand, intertwining their fingers as they casually walk toward the hallway near the restrooms, away from the crowd. Max glances down at their joined hands, a little surprised but definitely not complaining.

Max teasing. "So, does admitting I was wrong come with any perks?"

Melanie rolls her eyes but steps closer, looking up at him with a playful smirk. "Just this once."

Before he can react, she leans in and presses a quick kiss to his cheek. Max's cocky smirk falters for a second, his eyes widening slightly. Melanie pulls away just as quickly, releasing his hand and turning on her heel to walk back into the gym.

Max still standing there, dazed. " ...Huh."

He touches his cheek where she kissed him, a slow grin spreading across his face. Shaking his head in amusement, he follows her back into the gym, ready for the final round.

☆

The tension in the gym is thick as the final tiebreaker question looms over both teams. Melanie is sitting straight, hands clasped together on the table, eyes laser-focused. She's been answering almost every question for the Algebrats, and it all comes down to this. Meanwhile, Max leans back in his chair, arms crossed, looking far too relaxed for someone about to determine the fate of his team.

Teacher grinning. "And that sound means it's time for the sudden death round!"

The crowd murmurs in anticipation. Sarah and Evan exchange nervous glances, while Phoebe shoots Max a warning look.

Sarah whispering. "Max, do not mess this up."

Max grinning smugly. "Relax, Sarah. I got this."

Teacher explained. "Now, this question can only be answered by the team captains. Answer correctly, and you win. Answer incorrectly..."

He pauses dramatically.

Teacher fake ominous tone. "You die."

The crowd gasps. Sarah clutches Evan's arm. Melanie doesn't even blink, too focused on the game to be phased by dramatics.

Teacher chuckling. "Just kidding! You just lose. That's all that happens."

Max smirks, but Phoebe glares at him. He straightens up slightly as the teacher continues. "Now, for the final question..." A timer graphic appears on the projector screen, counting down as the question is revealed. "How many Newtons of thrust does it take for a standard 1,000-kilogram rocket to achieve escape velocity?"

Phoebe and Melanie exchange a quick glance. Melanie already knows the answer—she's practically mouthing it to herself. But before she can even react, Max confidently slams the buzzer.

Teacher asked. "Max?"

Phoebe whispering urgently. "You know this!"

Max taps his chin, stalling as everyone watches him expectantly. Melanie's eyes widen slightly as she sees him falter. "It's... perfect."

Silence. The tick-tock sound effect from the scoreboard grows louder. "Max, we need an answer."

Max nervous chuckle. "Right. The answer is..." He pauses dramatically, flashing his signature smirk. Melanie tightens her grip on the table, silently willing him to say the right number. Then— "Eleventy-seven?"

A stunned silence falls over the gym.

Phoebe in disbelief. "Eleven—what?! That's not even a thing!"

The buzzer sounds, signaling an incorrect answer. The crowd erupts as the scoreboard flashes: Algebrats WIN! "Which means... the Algebrats are the winners!"

The Algebrats cheer, and Melanie finally allows herself a smile as she high-fives Phoebe. Sarah jumps