It was lunchtime, and the courtyard buzzed with idle chatter and spring sunlight. Students sprawled across benches and grassy patches, enjoying the break between classes. I sat at the edge of the old stone fountain, fiddling nervously with the straw of my drink.
Aaron sat next to me, sketchbook balanced on his knee. He wasn't drawing today, just flipping absently through pages of shadows and rooftops.
I took a breath. "Aaron…"
He turned to me, blinking. "Yeah?"
"I've been thinking about this for a long time. And I can't keep holding it in anymore."
He closed his sketchbook gently. "What is it?"
I faced him, heart thudding. "I like you. I mean, I've really liked you for a while. And I don't want to be stuck in this in-between. I want to be with you. Like… officially."
His lips parted slightly, surprised.
"So," I continued, voice softer now, "will you be my boyfriend?"
For a second, the world paused. Then, he smiled—a quiet, tender smile that made my chest flutter.
"Yeah," he said. "Yes. I want that too."
The air shifted between us, warm and real. He reached out and held my hand, lacing our fingers together.
"I thought I was the one supposed to ask," he added playfully.
"Well, I beat you to it," I laughed, wiping a tear from my cheek.
Neither of us noticed the figure who had turned the corner a moment too early—and heard everything.
Kane stood frozen just behind the tall courtyard hedge, his body rigid. His breath hitched.
She chose him.
The words rang in his ears like bells underwater. Something cracked deep in his chest, and before he could stop himself, he turned and walked away. Fast. Then faster. Until he was running—away from the courtyard, away from class, away from them.
He burst into the old storage room tucked behind the east wing of the school. It was mostly forgotten—lined with broken chairs, old trophies, dusty shelves stacked with old event supplies. The dim light flickered overhead.
Kane collapsed to the floor, his back hitting a stack of plastic boxes. He buried his face in his hands.
"Of course she chose him..." he muttered.
He wasn't sure how long he sat there, but the door creaked open not long after.
Footsteps.
He stiffened, not looking up.
"I thought I'd find you here," Sammy's voice said softly.
Kane said nothing.
She stepped inside, letting the door shut behind her. "You told me about this place once. Said it was your 'silent corner.'"
"Shouldn't you be in class?" he mumbled.
"So should you," she replied gently.
Silence.
Sammy finally sat down beside him, leaving a respectful gap between them. She didn't try to touch him, or even look at him too hard.
"I heard about Lily," she said after a moment.
His hands tightened.
"I'm not gonna say I understand what you're feeling," she continued. "But... I know what it's like when someone you care about makes a choice you weren't fully ready for."
Kane turned his head slightly.
She stared ahead at the shadows of them across the floor. "My mom is a single mother so she started working a lot to keep up with my needs.Just always gone or busy. I hated her for it—for a long time."
Her voice dropped.
"But love doesn't just stop when someone hurts you and my mother did it all for me although I needed her a lot. Even if it feels like I don't want any of those stuff anymore."
She turned her head toward him now, voice low but steady.
"People are really hard to understand sometimes. So if they do something that feels wrong... maybe we just forgive them. Because they're still our loved ones. Like my mother..."
A pause.
Then she added, very gently, "...Like Lily was to you, Kane?"
Kane's throat worked, but he said nothing. Not yet.
Sammy didn't press him. She simply sat there, her presence a quiet comfort in the dim room.
And slowly, something in Kane's expression softened. Just enough.