CHAPTER 3:
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Keiran sat at his desk the next morning, chin resting on his hand, eyes half-closed as the math teacher scribbled equations across the board. Numbers weren't the problem—it was sleep. He hadn't gotten much of it last night.
Rain still tapped at the windows outside. Not heavy, just enough to make the world look softer. Keiran had always liked gloomy weather. It gave him space to think. But lately, his thoughts had been busier than usual.
And most of them kept circling back to one person.
"Psst."
Keiran turned slightly. Alric leaned toward him, holding out his notebook, open just enough for Keiran to see the margin.
It was a sketch of a boy with dark hair, sitting by a window with headphones in—expression blank, but somehow thoughtful. It didn't take a genius to realize it was him.
Keiran blinked.
Alric mouthed: Too much?
Keiran shook his head slowly, and for a second, his lips twitched—like they wanted to smile. He picked up his pen and wrote on a scrap of paper:
"Do I really look that bored?"
He passed it back.
Alric stifled a laugh, then scribbled underneath:
"Bored, but kinda cool. I like drawing you."
Keiran stared at the words for a long moment, the ink on the page blurring slightly in his mind. Not because of the handwriting. Because of what it meant.
No one had ever said something like that to him before.
Not like that.
Not him.
After class, they walked to the cafeteria together, something unspoken starting to settle between them—like a thread being quietly tied.
As they sat down with trays of uninspiring school food, Alric asked, "You're quiet. Do you hate attention?"
Keiran shrugged. "I'm just not used to people... noticing me."
Alric played with his fork, looking thoughtful. "Well, I notice you."
The words hit harder than Keiran expected.
He looked away, heart doing that thing again. That weird stutter that made breathing feel slightly off rhythm.
"Sorry," Alric added quickly. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"You didn't," Keiran replied, almost too fast. Then quieter: "Just… not used to it."
Alric smiled at him again—genuine, soft, no pressure behind it. "Well, get used to it. I'm not going anywhere."
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Keiran didn't know what was happening to him.
All he knew was that he didn't want this feeling to stop.
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