It all started that night at the party. The music was loud, everyone was buzzing, and I was just trying to have a good time with my friends. Then Rafe Cameron showed up—of course he did. Kook Prince.

But when he looked at me, something changed. It wasn’t the same as before.

“Hey, you look different tonight,” he said, leaning against the porch rail. I didn’t know what to say. He never talked to me like this.

“Are you drunk?” I smirked, trying to act casual. “You usually ignore me.”

He grinned. “Not tonight. I’m bored. So, you wanna actually talk or…?” He didn’t finish his sentence before he kissed me.

The rest of the night blurred together. We kissed more, talked in secret, and I swear it felt like something real for the first time.

Days turned into weeks, and we kept sneaking around, meeting at night. He’d knock on my window, and I’d open it like it was the most natural thing in the world. But then school started.

Rafe avoided me. In the halls, he never even looked at me. I tried to catch his eye, but he turned away every time.

“What’s going on?” I texted him one day.

He took forever to reply. “I’m busy. I’ll talk later.”

Later never came. Days passed. I called, no answer. Weeks went by. I couldn’t understand.

Then, one night, I heard that knock again.

I opened the window. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for days.”

Rafe stepped inside, looking calm like nothing was wrong. “Yeah, well… you know how it is. I can’t do this in public.”

I rolled my eyes. “Why do you act like I don’t exist at school? Why are you hiding?”

He looked at me for a long moment, his voice low. “Because it’s easier this way.”

“Easier for who?” I asked, frustrated. “Not for me, Rafe.”

He sighed. “I don’t know what you want from me. I can’t be anything else.”

I felt my heart drop. “So, I’m just your secret?”

He didn’t answer. He never did. Just slipped back into the night, leaving me with nothing but more questions.

And I was too naïve to walk away.