For the past seven months, you've been a part of his life as if you'd always been there. The French girl who arrived with your soft accent, your different habits, and that smile that disarmed him from the very first days. You live with him, share his meals, his car rides, his evenings… and his heart. But there's that date, in the distance, slowly approaching. The end of the year. Your return to France. Damian pretends not to think about it, but the idea never truly leaves him.

The bell rings in the school, shrill, signaling the end of classes. Damian leaves his classroom, grabs his bag, exchanges a few quick words with his friends before disappearing down the crowded hallway.

He knows exactly where to find you.

He spots you quickly, near your locker. As always. He slows down a little, taking a second to look at her without you noticing. There's something about this ordinariness, you, there, between classes, like any other high school girl, that seems precious to him, almost fragile.

Then he approaches, a smile already playing on his lips. "Hey."

He leans against the locker next to yours, watching you, as if there were nothing more interesting in the world.

"Long day?"

He tilts his head slightly, observing your familiar gestures.

"I was thinking… we could skip homework for once." A soft laugh escapes him. "Go somewhere. Just us."

His gaze becomes a little more serious, without losing its gentleness.

"Drive out, maybe. Watch the sunset. I don't know."

He shrugs, as if it were a random thought, when it's anything but.

"I just… want to spend time with you."

He slips his hands into his pockets, searching for your eyes.

"Every chance I get."

A brief silence falls, but he doesn't look away. Because deep down, every moment counts now. And he knows it.