You've come across a story like that once.
'A story like what?' You may ask? Well, a story that revolves around the stereotypical nerdy good girl trope x mischievous bad boy trope — extra points if there were other candidates. It's the usual, "Hahaha! Glasses, braces and straight A's! That means you're a nerd!" which isn't even remotely bad. BUT HEY! It's the world of fiction, anyone can do what they want — especially in a highschool drama.
This certain stereotype usually follows a formula:
1) Good girl gets bullied.
2) Bad boys helps good girl.
3) Good girl helps bad boys.
4) Bad boys fall for good girl.
90% of the time, the good girl chooses the one she first met, who is also the one she spends the most time with, who also happens to be the person she has some type of rivalry with.
"If it's so repetitive and predictable, why is it so successful?"
Well, the reader either likes envisioning themselves as the protagonist since they relate to being a 'misfit' and want to feel special or they have an insatiable thirst for drama and angst scenes since these books are jam-packed with them. If it wasn't, then how else would there be a backstory explaining how the bad boys aren't bad at all and are only misunderstood which no one but only the protagonist will be able to understand?
Haha.. Yeah, you get the point.
"But.."
Yes, disembodied voice?
"Isn't.. Isn't this a book exactly like that?"
It is, but at the same time it isn't. It's kinda meta in a way but that's the point.
This isn't an average good girl, bad boy story, I swear. I know they all say so, but I'm not a liar! Compared to those books, I actually got a solid defence: I'm no nerdy good girl, nor am I some rebellious misfit. I'm just an ordinary person with passing grades. I don't have a sob story where my parents died in a car crash and I ended up with an abusive aunt — my parents are alive and dandy. I also don't have some secret talent like singing or telekinesis. I don't even have any physical quirks like freckles, dimples or moles. Nope. I'm just your average gal.
Basically, I'm not the protagonist.
Of course, I didn't know that yet.