Marcus Reyes wasn't the kind of guy anyone noticed first.

He wasn't failing anything, but he wasn't chasing top marks either. He did his homework, passed his tests, and spent the rest of his energy on things that actually interested him — sketching in the margins of his notebooks, fixing his bike chain for the third time that month, losing badly to Danny at basketball during lunch. School, to Marcus, was just something that happened around him. Quiet, steady, unremarkable.

Except for one thing.

"You're doing it again," Danny said, nudging him with an elbow.

Marcus blinked. "Doing what?"

Danny smirked and nodded toward the lockers down the hall, where Lucy stood laughing with her two friends, Mia and Elena. Lucy had her sleeves pushed up and her bag half-open, papers threatening to spill out the way they always did. She said something that made Mia burst out laughing, and Elena had to lean against the lockers to keep from dropping her phone.

Marcus looked away first. He always did.

"I wasn't looking at anything," he muttered.

"Sure." Danny grinned. "Same face you've had since freshman year. Three years, man. Three years of just... staring from a safe distance like she's gonna disappear if you blink."

"I don't stare."

"You absolutely stare."

Marcus didn't argue further, mostly because Danny wasn't wrong. There wasn't one big reason he liked Lucy — no dramatic moment, no grand gesture. It was smaller things. The way she laughed with her whole face. The way she remembered little details about people — birthdays, favorite snacks, bad days — without ever making it a big deal. She wasn't the smartest girl in class or the loudest one either. She was just easy to be around, easy to like, and completely, hopelessly out of Marcus's orbit.

The problem was, Lucy didn't notice him back. Not really. To her, he was just the quiet guy who sat near the window in third period, the one who never raised his hand and never really needed to. If she thought about him at all, it probably wasn't for very long.

That afternoon, that started to change.

Their homeroom teacher, Ms. Alvarez, clapped her hands twice to settle the class down.

"Alright, everyone — settle down. As you know, the Spring Festival is coming up next month, and this year our class has been asked to run one of the main booths." She held up a clipboard. "I need two class reps to organize it. I've already picked who I think would balance each other out."

A few groans rippled through the room, half-joking.

"Marcus Reyes," Ms. Alvarez said, "and Lucy."

Marcus's pen stopped moving.

Across the room, Lucy's head lifted from the doodle she'd been drawing in the corner of her notebook, and for the first time in three years, her eyes landed on him — really landed, not just passed over him the way they usually did. There was no annoyance in her expression. Just mild surprise, and the kind of look someone gives when they're realizing they don't actually know much about a person they've sat near for years.

Danny, two seats away, was already grinning like it was Christmas morning.

Marcus, for his part, felt his stomach do something complicated. He'd spent three years content to admire Lucy from behind the safety of a locker door and a good excuse to look away. He had never once considered what would happen if the distance between them simply... disappeared.

After class, she caught up to him in the hallway before he could escape. Up close, she looked more curious than he expected, her bag still half-open, a pencil tucked behind one ear.

"So," Lucy said, tilting her head. "Guess we're running a booth together.

She studied him for a moment, like she was seeing him — actually seeing him — for the very first time.

"Guess so," Marcus said, and somehow, impossibly, kept his voice steady.

"Don't slack off on me, Reyes," she said, but there was the faintest curve at the corner of her mouth when she said it.

Marcus watched her walk away, and thought that maybe, for once, his quiet, easygoing life was about to become a great deal less predictable.

SCHOOL HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

MARCUS stands frozen, watching Lucy walk away. His face has gone slightly pale.

MARCUS

(to himself)

She laughed. At my joke. An actual laugh.

THUD.

DANNY

(rushing over)

Whoa — MARCUS?!

Students gather around. Danny crouches down, patting Marcus's face.

DANNY (CONT'D)

Bro. BRO. Wake up.

RANDOM STUDENT

Is he okay?

DANNY

He's fine, he's just —

(muttering)

— he's just dramatic.

Marcus's eyes flutter open.

DANNY

You fainted. You FAINTED. Because a girl laughed at your sock joke.

MARCUS

(sitting up slowly)

It was a good joke.

DANNY

It was an okay joke. You don't faint over an okay joke.

MARCUS

(standing, wobbly)

I didn't faint. I got dizzy. There's a difference.

DANNY

You went down like a sack of rice, man.

MARCUS

(brushing himself off)

Don't tell anyone.

DANNY

Everyone already saw.

MARCUS

Danny.

DANNY

I'm telling everyone.

MARCUS

DANNY.

DANNY

(grinning)

Kidding. Mostly.

MARCUS'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Marcus sits at his desk, laptop open, video call with Danny already running. Danny's face fills half the screen, eating chips.

MARCUS

I was thinking a science demo table. Something interactive.

DANNY

Boring. Next.

MARCUS

It's not boring, it's engaging —

DANNY

Marcus. You want to impress a girl. Not pass an exam.

MARCUS

The booth isn't ABOUT impressing her, it's a class project —

DANNY

(leaning into camera)

Buddy. Come on. It has been about impressing her since the moment Ms. Alvarez said her name.

MARCUS

(sighs)

...Fine. What's your idea?

DANNY

Photo booth. With props. Everyone loves a photo booth. You stand next to her a lot, "adjusting the lighting," very casual, very normal —

MARCUS

That sounds like a plan to stand near her, not a booth idea.

DANNY

Same thing.

MARCUS

It's really not.

DANNY

Okay, okay — what does SHE like? You've been staring at her for three years, surely you picked up something.

MARCUS

(thinking)

She always doodles in the corner of her notebook. Little sketches. Mostly of plants and stuff.

DANNY

See, THAT'S useful. Art angle. Do a booth where people paint little pots or something. She'd probably run that whole thing herself.

MARCUS

(surprised)

...That's actually a good idea, Danny.

DANNY

I have my moments.

MARCUS

Don't let it go to your head.

DANNY

Too late.

A notification pings on Marcus's screen — a group chat.

MARCUS

(reading)

Ms. Alvarez added a new student to our class group chat.

DANNY

New student?

MARCUS

(reading)

"Everyone welcome Julian, transferring in from Westbrook."

DANNY

Huh. Mid-year transfer. Rare.

MARCUS

(scrolling)

He's already replied. "Hey, excited to be here — heard there's a Spring Festival thing happening, count me in."

DANNY

Ambitious for a first message.

MARCUS

(shrugs)

Whatever. Not our problem.

SCHOOL HALLWAY - NEXT MORNING

JULIAN (17, easy smile, confident walk, carries himself like he's already made friends with everyone) stands near the lockers, talking with MIA and ELENA like he's known them for years. Lucy walks up, curious.

LUCY

You're the new guy. Julian, right?

JULIAN

That's me. You must be Lucy — Mia already told me you run this whole hallway.

LUCY

(laughs)

I don't run anything.

JULIAN

Could've fooled me.

MARCUS and DANNY approach from the other end of the hall. Marcus slows down, watching the exchange.

DANNY

(quiet, to Marcus)

Who's that?

MARCUS

New kid. Julian.

DANNY

He's talking to Lucy like they're old friends.

MARCUS

(frowning slightly)

Yeah. I noticed.

Julian glances over, catches Marcus watching, and gives him an easy, friendly wave — the kind that somehow feels like a challenge.

JULIAN

Hey — you're Marcus, right? Heard you're running the festival booth with Lucy.

MARCUS

(caught off guard)

...Yeah. That's me.

JULIAN

Cool. Mind if I help out? I'm new, don't really know anyone yet — figured it's a good way to get involved.

Lucy looks between the two of them, unaware of the sudden tension.

LUCY

(to Marcus)

More hands wouldn't hurt, right?

MARCUS

(forcing a smile)

...Sure. Why not.

JULIAN

(grinning)

Great. This'll be fun.

He walks off with Mia and Elena, already making them laugh about something. Lucy follows after a beat. Marcus watches them go.

DANNY

(under his breath)

Okay. New plan. Photo booth idea's on hold. We've got a bigger problem.

MARCUS

(quiet)

Yeah.

DANNY

You okay?

MARCUS

(still watching Julian)

He seems... nice.

DANNY

That's what worries me.

THE ART SUPPLY CLOSET (AFTER SCHOOL)

The art room closet was small and smelled like old clay and dust. It was quiet inside. Marcus was busy putting away jars of paint. He liked keeping things organized.

Lucy walked in. She wanted a box on the top shelf, but she was too short to reach it. She stood on a step stool and stretched her arms as high as she could.

"Can you help me?" she asked.

Marcus walked over. He held the stool steady so she wouldn’t fall. For a second, their hands touched on the box. Both of them felt a little spark, but they didn’t say anything about it.

"Thanks," Lucy said after she stepped down. "So, whose idea was this paint-your-own-pot thing?"

"It was Danny's idea," Marcus said.

Lucy laughed. "Danny? Really? That’s hard to believe."

Marcus smiled. "I know, it is shocking."

Lucy looked at the box. "Well, it’s a good idea. I have a lot of plants at home that are almost dead. I need the practice."

Marcus looked at her, surprised. "You have plants?"

"I'm trying to grow them," Lucy said. "I’m not very good at it, but I’m trying."

Marcus looked at her differently now. "I didn’t know that about you."

Lucy looked right at him. Vg "There is a lot you don't know about me, Marcus."

Marcus felt his heart beat a little faster. "Yeah, I’m starting to see that."

Lucy changed the subject. "Where is Julian? He said he would help today."

Marcus stopped smiling. "He didn't show up."

"That's weird," Lucy said. "He seemed so excited yesterday."

Marcus just shrugged. "I guess he didn't care that much."

They kept working in silence. It felt comfortable.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Lucy asked.

"Not really," Marcus said.

"I actually like that," Lucy said. "People talk too much. It’s too loud."

Marcus gave her a small smile. "I can be loud. I just don't think it's worth it most of the time."

Lucy laughed quietly. "Good to know."

### LOCATION: THE SCHOOL COURTYARD (LATER THAT DAY)

Outside in the school courtyard, Julian sat on a bench all by himself. He was looking at his phone. He read a text message, and his face got tight and angry. He put the phone face-down on the bench and took a deep breath to calm down.

Then, a girl named Mia walked up. "Hey, Julian. Are you okay? You look like you're in another world."

Julian quickly changed his face. He put on his normal, friendly smile. "Hey, Mia. Yeah, I’m good. Just tired. It's a new school, you know?"

"That must be hard," Mia said.

"It's fine," Julian said. "I'm good at starting over."

He glanced at his phone sitting on the bench, but he didn't pick it up. He just kept acting like everything was perfect.

### LOCATION: MARCUS'S BEDROOM (THAT NIGHT)

Back at his house, Marcus lay in his bed. He sent a text to his friend Danny.

*Marcus: She gardens. Her plants are dying. She told me today.*

*Danny: Bro, that’s not just information. That’s a vibe.*

*Marcus: Julian didn't show up today.*

*Danny: Interesting.*

*Marcus: It’s not a big deal.*

*Danny: You were definitely thinking it was.*

*Marcus: 100%.*

Marcus put his phone on his chest and looked at the ceiling.

"It's not a big deal," he whispered to himself. But he knew he was lying. He was starting to think it was a very big deal.

**Would you like to see what happens next between Marcus and Lucy, or should we find out what was on Julian's phone?**