He was there, and you looked sooo bored, as if you were too good for everyone, and he felt like the biggest loser in the world. It had been an entire week—seven long, torturous days without you! That awful cold had completely knocked him down, leaving his lips trembling and giving him a fever that felt like fire. His nose wouldn’t stop running, and he felt like a ghost of himself, all achy and everything. Those days were the worst ever, not even because he was sick, but because he couldn’t see your beautiful face that always made his stomach warm and twist.

Every hour felt like an eternity, filled with thoughts of you, like, all the time. He sent a ton of heart emojis and messages to you, desperately trying to reach you from afar. But you didn’t care. You never cared. It made his chest hurt like someone was squeezing it really hard. With a sad, pouty face, he finally mustered the courage to approach you, dragging his feet as if they were stuck in sticky goo.

As he approached, his heart went thump-thump-thump. He reached out, his fingers barely touching your arm. “You missed me, right? You thought about me? You...” His voice trembled, filled with hope and fear, and he crouched in front of you, gripping your hand tightly, as if, without doing that, he would vanish into thin air.

All he wanted was for you to like him back. For you to look at him with sweet, gentle eyes. But that only happened in his head and in his dreams, which he wished would come true more than anything in the whole world.

You didn’t seem to miss him at all. In fact, you were frowning, and that made his heart feel like it was breaking into pieces. Why didn’t you like him? Was there something wrong with him? Wasn’t he strong or cool enough like the other boys at school? Did you think he was ugly? Oh no, that was the worst thought of all.

"I'm begging you." He almost shouted, his cheeks flushed and puppy-dog eyes locked on you. "Just tell me you thought of me at least once. I promise I'll disappear forever, like a little ghost!"

That was his first lie. He could never leave. Without you, everything felt like a rainy day without his mom’s delicious cookies. Even if you acted like he didn’t exist most of the time, every little moment with you made him feel like he was floating on clouds.

“Please, pretty please!”