Mariah, Angelo, and the rest of the group were deep into their drinks and easy laughter when someone—no one later remembered who—mentioned the day they first met. The words landed heavier than expected. Conversation thinned, then stopped altogether. For a heartbeat, time seemed to stall, and in that fragile silence, memory surged forward. Faces, voices, and feelings long buried rose to the surface, each of them watching the past unfold behind their eyes, vivid and unavoidable.

Flashback

The memory returned to Angelo with startling clarity, as if no time had passed at all. He could still remember the first moment he saw her—the way the world seemed to narrow, the way everything else faded into the background.

It was November 2017, back when Mariah and Angelo were nothing more than strangers sharing the same school, their paths never crossing. They lived in separate corners of the same world, unaware of each other’s existence… until fate intervened in the most ordinary way.

Angelo’s best friend, D’ray, met a girl.

A girl who just happened to be Mariah's classmate.

And in that small, almost forgettable coincidence, the first thread of connection was woven—quietly, unintentionally—setting everything else into motion.

Reality

The present rushed back in with a burst of laughter.

The group erupted, memories colliding with the moment. D’ray and Julie doubled over, laughing harder than anyone, caught up in the absurdity of it all.

“Yeah,” Julie said between laughs, pointing at D’ray and Angelo, “I remember when you two kept showing up in our classroom like you owned the place.”

More laughter followed, warm and unrestrained, the past no longer heavy—just shared, cherished, and alive.

Flashback – Early November

Julie had met a guy from another class—D’ray. They chatted on Facebook every day, and their entire friend group—the popular crowd—knew about their situationship. Yet, the two never officially called it dating, which made teasing them irresistible.

At first, Mariah didn’t care. She heard the jokes and whispers, but she barely gave them a second thought. She minded her own business, buried herself in her studies, and went about her days quietly, as always.

That was, until the day they came by.

The first time, they were standing outside her classroom, lingering in the school corridor. Mariah’s class—Class 4, Year 9—was tucked in the corner of the school, and the corridor outside ran long, with sunlight spilling through the windows that lined the path toward the stairway.

Laughter and teasing drifted down the far side of the corridor. Julie and her friends, along with D’ray and his crew, were hanging out near the homeroom, joking and laughing like the world belonged to them.

Mariah was walking toward her classroom during lunch break, having just finished eating. She wanted only to drop her things inside before heading to the restroom. But the crowd outside made her stomach twist. She wasn’t comfortable around so many people—years of bullying over her body size had made her painfully self-conscious. Her gaze dropped to the floor as she tried to navigate through the throng.

Then—

Someone bumped into her. She stumbled and fell.

Looking up, she froze. It was him. Angelo—D’ray’s best friend.

He reached out immediately, his hand steady, helping her gather her scattered things. “Sorry about that,” he said.

Mariah nodded, murmuring a quiet, “It’s okay,” and practically bolted into the classroom, cheeks burning and heart racing

Though no one had actually teased Mariah, a flush of embarrassment swept over her. Years of being bullied had taught her to expect ridicule at every glance, every accidental bump. Even when no harm was intended, her mind filled in the worst.

So when Angelo reached out to help her, steady and kind, it was almost unbelievable. She froze for a fraction of a second, her hands fumbling for her scattered things. Gratitude, confusion, and a strange flutter of something else tangled inside her chest.

Before she could process it, instinct took over. She grabbed her belongings and bolted into the classroom, cheeks burning, heart pounding. Being helped—it shouldn’t have felt extraordinary, but for her, it was nothing short of astonishing.

Angelo brushed his hair back, watching her disappear into the room.

His friends called for him, still laughing and joking nearby, but he barely heard them.

....

Something about her—

That shy, quiet girl.

.........

Angelo couldn’t stop thinking about that moment—the moment he saw her. The moment he turned around while playing around with his friends and accidentally bumped into a girl who stumbled and fell.

His friends laughed and teased him, expecting him to join in or shrug it off. Julie and her friends exchanged concerned glances toward Mariah, unsure whether to step in. They weren’t her friends, exactly, but they still had the decency to make sure she was okay. They moved to help, assuming Angelo wouldn’t—after all, the other boys in his group were still joking, oblivious to her.

But Angelo saw her. Really saw her.

In that brief second, he noticed something that no one else did—something quiet, fragile, and undeniably real about her. And it struck him harder than anything he had expected.

That hesitant, nervous smile.

He couldn’t get her out of his mind.

.......

Not through the rest of the day. Not even after he got home.

That girl had left a mark on him he didn’t yet understand.

.............

To be continued…

The Next Day""

The next day, Angelo, D’ray, and the rest of their friends were back where they always were—outside Class 4’s room, lingering in the corridor during lunch break. Laughter echoed as they talked over each other, trading stories, shoving shoulders, killing time the way they always did.

But Angelo wasn’t really there.

Without realizing it, his eyes kept drifting toward the classroom door. Again. And again. He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for—only that something felt unfinished.

Then he saw her.

Mariah stepped into view, and before Angelo could think better of it, his feet were already moving.

She froze when he suddenly stood in front of her, clutching her books tightly, eyes wide with surprise. Angelo opened his mouth, then stopped.

“Uh… ah—” He paused, rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry about yesterday.”

Another pause. “For bumping into you. I just—yeah. Sorry.”

Mariah blinked, clearly unsure what he meant. “Y-yeah,” she muttered, then hurried past him and slipped into the far corner of the classroom—the same place she always stayed.

Angelo stood there, stunned.

Behind him, laughter erupted.

“Wow,” one of his friends said. “That wasn’t your style, man.”

“Yeah,” another added. “Since when do you get nervous around girls?”

Angelo laughed awkwardly, brushing his hair back as he rejoined them. That wasn’t how he’d planned it. Not at all. Still, his eyes flicked back to the classroom, hoping for one more glimpse—but Mariah was already gone.

The routine stayed the same after that.

Every lunch break, Angelo and his friends hung out by Class 4’s room with Julie and her group. And every day, without fail, Angelo watched the door. It was the only time he ever saw Mariah—passing by quietly, eyes down, always disappearing too quickly.

He wanted to approach her again more times than he could count.

But he didn’t.

He was afraid of scaring her. Afraid of embarrassing her. Afraid of being just another reason she looked down at the floor.

Five Days Later**

It started like any other day—until one of his friends noticed.

“Hey, man,” someone said loudly, grinning. “You keep staring inside. You got your eye on someone?”

That caught everyone’s attention. The teasing started immediately.

Angelo scratched the back of his head and smiled, that easy charm slipping out before he could stop it. “Well… yeah. That cute, chubby girl.”

The group erupted.

Julie raised an eyebrow. “You mean Lyzette?”

Before Angelo could answer, Julie called her name. Lyzette—confident, pretty, unapologetically herself—stepped out of the classroom, clearly annoyed.

Angelo’s smile vanished.

“Uh… no,” he said quickly.

D’ray frowned. “You said chubby and cute, right?”

“Not that you aren’t cute,” Angelo said, a little flustered. “You are. But… I meant the other chubby girl.”

His gaze drifted down the hallway.

“Steph?” someone guessed.

“Steph?” Angelo repeated, curious.

And then—there she was.

Mariah walked toward the classroom beside Steph.

The teasing grew louder as Steph was pulled away by Julie and the others. Mariah slowed, suddenly alone.

Angelo turned to her without thinking. “Is your name Steph?”

Confusion spread across everyone’s faces.

“No,” Steph said from behind them. “I’m Steph.”

Silence.

“Oh,” someone said. “You mean Mariah.”

Angelo looked back at her. “Is that your name? Mariah?”

She nodded faintly, eyes fixed on the floor, and slipped past him into the classroom.

Angelo didn’t stop her. He could only watch her go, brushing his hair back as his friends burst into laughter again.

“Bro, you like her,” they teased.

But Angelo barely heard them.

His eyes stayed on the classroom door—on the place where Mariah had disappeared—knowing, without a doubt now, that this wasn’t just curiosity anymore....

Mariah's POV scene

Lunch break was supposed to be quick.

In, out, and gone.

That was always the plan.

........

Mariah walked back toward Class 4 with her books held close to her chest, her steps careful as she approached the corridor. She heard them before she saw them—laughter, loud voices, the kind that filled space without asking permission. Julie and her friends. D’ray’s group. Too many people.

Her chest tightened...

No one was teasing her. No one was even looking at her.

But years of being laughed at had taught her that attention—any kind—was dangerous.

She kept her eyes on the floor.

She almost made it.

Then...

....

someone stepped back suddenly, and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground. Her books scattered. Her heart pounding so loudly it drowned out the laughter around her.

She looked up.

It was him.

The boy from yesterday.

The one who had bumped into her.

...

Before she could scramble away, he was already reaching out, his hand steady, his voice soft. He apologized. He helped her pick up her things.

That was what scared her most.

.....

Not the fall.

Not the people watching.

But the kindness.

She wasn’t used to that.

Her hands shook as she grabbed her books. She muttered something—she wasn’t even sure what—and rushed into the classroom, cheeks burning. She hid in the far corner, where she always sat, where no one noticed her.

But.....

.....

her heart wouldn’t slow down.

The next day, she tried to forget.

She told herself it was nothing. Just an accident. Just another face in the crowd.

Then she saw him again.

........

He was standing outside the classroom during lunch, laughing with his friends. She hesitated at the doorway, debating whether to turn back.

Too late.

He noticed her.

And then he was in front of her.

Too close.....

“Sorry about yesterday,” he said, fumbling over his words. “For bumping into you.”

Mariah blinked, confused. She hadn’t expected him to remember. She hadn’t expected him to care.

“Y-yeah,” she managed, then hurried past him before her legs could give out.

She escaped into the classroom and went straight to her seat, heart racing, head spinning.

Why was he talking to her?

....

Why?

Days passed.

Every lunch break, she felt it—his presence outside the room. She never looked directly at him, but she knew. Somehow, she always knew when he was there. When she passed by, she felt his eyes on her back, warm and heavy, and it made her walk faster.

Part of her wanted to disappear.

Another part—small and dangerous—wanted to look.

She never did.

....

Five days later, the corridor was louder than usual.

Mariah walked beside Steph, her only real friend, when voices rose ahead of them. Laughter. Teasing.

Then she heard it.

“That cute, chubby girl.”

Her stomach dropped.

It couldn’t be her.

It was never her.

She slowed without realizing it.

Names were thrown around. Lyzette. Steph.

And then he turned toward her.

“Is your name Steph?”

Mariah froze.

“No,” Steph said from behind her.

“Oh,” someone laughed. “You mean Mariah.”

Her heart stopped.

He looked at her again, softer this time. “Is that your name? Mariah?”

She nodded, unable to speak.

Then she walked past him, straight into the classroom, her face burning, her thoughts a mess.

Why her?

Why now?

...

Why?

Why..... her?

She sat in her usual corner, staring at her desk, trying to steady her breathing—but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t forget the way he

said her name.

Like it mattered....

To be Continued.....

**That evening in Angelo's room***

Angelo told himself it was nothing.

Just a girl....

Just a moment in a hallway....

But that night, alone in his room, the quiet was too loud.

He lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, replaying it all—the way she froze when he spoke, the way she held her books like they were a shield, the way she never quite met his eyes. He’d seen confidence before. He knew loud, fearless girls. Mariah wasn’t like them at all.

And somehow, that was what stayed with him.

He remembered the way she flinched when he got too close, how quickly she apologized even when she’d done nothing wrong. That look she wore—like she was always bracing for something to hurt.

It bothered him.

Not in a way he could explain. Not in the way his friends joked about. This was different. Quieter. Heavier.

He rolled onto his side and exhaled slowly.

When she nodded at him in the corridor, when she said nothing and walked past, he’d felt it—a strange ache in his chest. Like he’d missed something important without even knowing what it was.

He wondered what made her like that.

Who had taught her to look down instead of forward.

Who had made her believe she wasn’t worth being looked at?

The thought tightened his jaw.

Angelo wasn’t sure when it happened, but somewhere between the laughter of his friends and the silence of his room, he realized the truth.

He didn’t just notice her.

He cared....

And that scared him more than anything else.

Because for the first time, he didn’t want to be the loud one, the charming one, the guy who joked his way through everything.

He wanted to be careful.

With her.

**At the same time in Mariah's Room**

At first, Mariah thought she was imagining it.

She wasn’t the kind of person people noticed—not the kind they watched over. So when she began to feel it, that quiet awareness, she dismissed it as paranoia. Years of being bullied had taught her to expect the worst, not… this.

But it kept happening....

In the corridor, when laughter grew too loud and bodies pressed too close, she noticed him step closer—not enough to draw attention, just enough to be there...

When someone brushed past her too roughly, his voice cut in, easy and casual, pulling the attention away before it could turn into something worse.

She never heard him say her name.

But she felt it anyway.

Once, she dropped her pen in class and watched it roll beneath another desk. Before she could bend down, it was already in her hand. Angelo didn’t say anything—just placed it there and walked back to his seat like it was nothing.

It wasn’t nothing.

Another time, she overheard a snide comment—low, careless. Her shoulders tensed, waiting for laughter. It never came. Instead, she heard Angelo laugh louder, redirecting the conversation, drowning it out before it could reach her.

That night, she lay awake wondering why.

Why him?

....

Why now?

...

No one had ever done that for her before—not without expecting something in return. And that scared her. Kindness always came with strings. She knew that.

Still… she started to look for him.

Just once....

Just to check.....

And every time she did, he was already looking her way—never staring, never obvious. Just there. Like he was making sure she was okay.

It made her chest ache in a way she didn’t understand.

For the first time, Mariah wondered what it would feel like…

to....

not be alone.....