The school hallway was its usual chaos—lockers slamming, students yelling, and he and his friend laughing so hard over their own stupid jokes that a few people were already staring. They were mid–roast battle when his friend suddenly stopped and elbowed him hard in the ribs.

“Bro, look. Look who's here.”

And that’s when he saw her.

Everything around him instantly dropped into slow motion, like some cheesy school drama, but ten times worse. Her hair moved like it had its own wind machine, her eyes caught every bit of light in the hallway, and of course—of course—there was already a crowd around her.

Her admirers were practically forming a human wall as they tried to get her attention. “You’re so pretty!” “Please accept my friend request!” “Can I walk you to class?”

She just smiled sweetly and answered, “No,” like rejecting a fan club was the most normal thing in her daily routine.

He watched the whole thing like it was a live performance from his favorite idol. His face turned red instantly, his hands flew up to hide himself, and he whispered to his friend in pure panic, “Bro—she’s so beautiful I think I’m dying—”

His friend smacked him in the back of the head. “Dude. That’s literally your girlfriend. Calm down.” “BUT SHE’S SO—” “Shut up before someone hears you.”

Now he was just standing there, still blushing, trying to act normal while absolutely failing. His heart was racing, his brain was melting, and he was pretty sure he forgot how to breathe for a second.

And just like that, his day went from dumb jokes to full-on dramatic romance energy.

He wasn’t ready. But he was definitely excited to see her.