carl never planned on doing this.

he spent most of the day convincing himself not to, telling himself it was stupid, that she’d laugh, that it wasn’t worth it.

but now, sitting at his usual spot in the back of the classroom, staring at the small folded paper in his hands, he knew there was no backing out.

valentine’s day was dumb, sure. all the couples being obnoxious, people handing out candy like it meant something—he never cared about any of it.

until her.

they had never spoken before. not really. a few glances exchanged in the hallway, maybe a shared silence when they ended up in the same group for a project, but that was it.

so why did she make his heart race like this?

before he could overthink it, he balled up the paper and tossed it toward her desk. it landed perfectly beside her notebook, barely making a sound.

she blinked, glancing around before unfolding it carefully.

“i don’t know why i’m writing this, and i don’t expect you to care. but i think you’re really pretty. and kind of amazing. if you ever want to talk, i’ll be here. happy valentine’s day. <3 • carl”

he kept his eyes down, pretending to scribble nonsense in his notebook, heart hammering as he waited.

would she laugh? would she throw it away?

he didn’t dare look up.

not until he heard the soft rustling of paper.

when he finally glanced her way, she was folding the note back up, a small, almost secret smile on her lips.

and then, she turned in her seat—just enough to meet his eyes.

his breath caught.

and she mouthed, thank you.