Morning light streamed faintly through the windows of the classroom, brushing golden streaks across the wooden desks. I stared at the blank page in my notebook, my pen hovering over the margin. No matter how hard I tried, my thoughts wouldn’t settle.
The smile I had seen yesterday kept intruding bright, uninvited, unforgettable.
Danielle.
The name echoed in my head like a secret.
“Oi, window boy.”
I blinked and turned. Blake was leaning over his desk, balancing a pencil across his upper lip like a mustache. “You’ve been zoning out for, like, ten minutes. Don’t tell me you’re writing a love poem in your head?”
I scoffed softly. “Hardly.”
Aizen, sitting diagonally, raised an eyebrow. “If Jade is distracted, it’s unusual. He usually listens like a machine.”
Skyler chuckled, his voice gentle as always. “Maybe he’s just tired. Don’t pressure him.”
But Blake wasn’t done. “Nah, nah, I smell something. Look at him! He’s smiling to himself. Jade, don’t tell me you finally found someone to crush on?”
I quickly looked back at my notebook, ears warming. “You’re imagining things.”
“Uh-huh,” Blake said, smirking knowingly. “You can’t lie to me. I know the look of someone bitten by Cupid.”
Aizen sighed, closing his book. “You’re ridiculous, Blake. Just because you think everyone’s life revolves around romance doesn’t mean Jade’s does too.”
Still, his sharp gaze lingered on me for a beat longer than usual, as if he could see through me.
When classes ended, the three of them insisted we eat together in the cafeteria. For once, I didn’t argue. My stomach had been unsettled all morning, but I didn’t want to fuel their suspicions by slipping away again.
The cafeteria buzzed with chatter, trays clattering against tables, laughter echoing through the air. Blake talked loudly about failing a quiz (“It was sabotage, I swear!”), Skyler patiently tried to explain the lesson again, and Aizen watched silently, occasionally adding a sarcastic comment that made Blake groan dramatically.
I tried to focus on them, on the warmth of their presence. But my mind wandered again.
That’s when I saw him.
Across the cafeteria, in a white uniform, Danielle entered with a group of MedTech students. He was carrying his tray with an easy smile, listening intently to a friend’s story. My chest tightened instantly.
Blake followed my gaze and nearly dropped his spoon. “Well, well, well. Now it makes sense.”
“What?” I asked too quickly.
“That MedTech guy,” Blake whispered loudly enough for Skyler and Aizen to hear. “You’re staring at him like he’s the last piece of cake on earth.”
“Blake,” Skyler said gently, though even he was trying not to smile.
Nics tilted his head, observing Danielle. “Interesting. So that’s what’s been distracting you.”
Heat climbed up my neck. “I—I don’t even know him.”
“Then get to know him,” Blake said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
I wanted to argue, to shut down the conversation completely. But Danielle turned his head just then—and his eyes caught mine. For a second, his expression brightened in recognition. He raised his hand slightly in greeting.
And before I could think, my hand lifted in return.
“OOOOH,” Blake howled, drawing stares from nearby tables. “HE WAVED BACK. This is destiny!”
I buried my face in my hands. Skyler was chuckling, Aizen shook his head with a smirk, and Blake looked like he’d just uncovered the greatest scandal of the year.
Later that afternoon, I was at the library, trying desperately to focus on reading. My friends had scattered—Aizen had another book to hunt down, Skyler went home early, and Blake got distracted by a basketball game. I finally had silence again.
But silence didn’t erase the echo of Danielle’s voice from yesterday.
The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted my thoughts.
“Jade, right?”
My head snapped up. Danielle stood there, holding a book against his chest. His smile was softer this time, quieter, but still radiant.
“I thought that was you,” he said. “We met at the clinic yesterday.”
“Yeah,” I said, my voice more fragile than I wanted.
“Mind if I sit?” he asked.
I nodded, and he slipped into the chair across from me. For a few moments, neither of us spoke. The silence wasn’t heavy, though—it felt strangely… comfortable.
“I didn’t know you were in Education,” Danielle said finally, tilting his head. “You seem more like the literature type.”
I hesitated. “I am, actually. English major.”
“Ah, makes sense,” he said. “You have that… quiet, thoughtful vibe. Like you’d be the guy writing in cafés while the world passes by.”
I looked away, embarrassed. “You’re exaggerating.”
“Maybe,” Danielle said with a laugh. “But I think I’m right.”
His ease unsettled me. Most people made me feel cornered when they got too close, but Danielle… his presence wasn’t demanding. He just existed beside me, like sunlight streaming in through a window.
He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice. “You looked like you wanted to disappear during lunch earlier.”
My heart stopped. “You saw that?”
“Hard not to,” he said. “Your friends are… loud.” His eyes sparkled with amusement.
I groaned softly. “Blake.”
“That his name? The loud one?”
“Yeah. The other two are Aizen and Skyler. They mean well, though.”
Danielle smiled again. “It’s good you have people like that. Not everyone does.”
His words sank deeper than I wanted. I closed my notebook quickly, afraid he’d see too much written between the lines.
“I should…” I started.
But Danielle’s hand tapped the book he had brought. “Before you go this might sound weird, but… do you want to study together sometime? MedTech’s heavy on reading too, and honestly, I could use some help with the literature parts.”
I blinked at him. The logical part of me screamed to say no. To protect myself. To not let him in.
But the other part—the part that had started the moment I saw his smile spoke first.
“…Sure.”
Danielle’s face lit up. “Great. Then it’s a deal.”
That night, lying in bed, I stared at the ceiling again. The cracks seemed smaller somehow, the shadows less heavy.
But beneath the quiet, my chest still ached. Not from him. From me. From the secret I carried alone.
And I wondered, for the first time, what would happen if Danielle ever found out.
ns216.73.216.136da2
and then Add to home screen.