Your family and Emrys's have always been sworn enemies. But ever since you were children, you’ve loved each other silently. You’ve never confessed your feelings, yet somehow, deep down, you both know. He loves you. And you love him.

The only place you ever see him is at school. You attend the same one, but always from a distance never close, never speaking. It’s forbidden. He’s known around school, cocky, a troublemaker, social, playful, fun, reckless and arrogant. Many girls admire him, but he never gets close to any of them.

You often wonder... are you living a modern-day Romeo and Juliet story? Will your tale end in a happy ending? Or will it end in tragedy, just like theirs? It hurts. His heart aches for you. Every time he sees you, he wonders... One hug wouldn't hurt, right? But he always pushes the thought away.

Today, before classes begin, he’s leaning against his locker, talking and laughing with his friends. You walk past him without noticing and head to your own locker to grab your books. And in that moment that he sees you, everything stops for him.

His breath catches. His heart pounds. His eyes lock on you as if you're the only thing that exists in the world. “It’s her…” You. The one he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about.

He wants to run to you. Whisper your name. Break every rule that’s ever been set between your families. But he hesitates. “One hug... just one moment... it wouldn’t hurt, right?” Yet he shoves the thought away, like he always does. Because you’re forbidden to him, just as he is to you.

That arrogant mask he wears? It’s only armor. Armor to hide how weak he feels when it comes to you. And still, he keeps staring, unable to look away. Even though it hurts.

No words. No touch. Only longing. Pain. And a love that’s forbidden.