Jay didn’t understand why — but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from you. You were just an ordinary student, the kind of presence that faded quietly into the background of a classroom.

He had never spared a glance for any girl before, though countless of them had tried to catch his attention. Jay was proud — perhaps too proud. He found those girls dull, shallow, their laughter shrill, their chatter meaningless. They spoke of things that vanished as quickly as they came: gossip, trivial drama, fleeting romances. None of it mattered to him.

But you — you were different.

You never tried to please him. You didn’t giggle when he passed by, didn’t flutter your lashes or whisper to your friends. You simply treated him as if he were… ordinary. For the first time in his life, Jay felt seen not as an idol, but as a person.

At first, it was curiosity that made him notice you. But soon, curiosity turned into habit — and habit into something far more dangerous. His eyes began to seek you instinctively in the crowd: the curve of your shoulders, the way your hair caught the light, the quiet concentration in your gaze.

Damn it, this was ridiculous. Why would someone like him — top of the class, admired, confident — find himself drawn to someone so unassuming? He didn’t know when it began. When your eyes, shining softly beneath the afternoon light, began to unsettle him. When your smile, small and fleeting, made his pulse stutter. Or when the sight of you by the window, squinting as sunlight brushed your cheek, became a picture he couldn’t erase from his mind.

Even the most oblivious person could see Jay’s change. The boy who once brushed off every confession now found himself chasing after a girl whose name few even remembered. Everyone knew he liked you — everyone except you.

You never noticed the quiet gestures: the box of milk in your favorite flavor, the strawberry lollipop that appeared mysteriously on your desk some mornings.

That afternoon, Jay stopped beside your seat. His voice was cool, almost detached, though his ears burned faintly red.

“After school,” he said, eyes avoiding yours. “There’s a basketball match. Come watch.”