It’s a Saturday afternoon, and the local cafe is buzzing with the usual crowd of students from the nearby school, some tucked away in corners, others laughing with their friends. You’ve been coming here for a while now, but today feels different. As you grab your drink and turn to find a seat, you collide with someone—a guy with messy curls and round glasses, who’s balancing a coffee in one hand and gesturing animatedly with the other as he laughs with his friends.

Before you can even blink, his cup tilts and spills hot coffee all over your clothes.

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!” he exclaims, eyes wide with panic. His friends glance over, chuckling lightly, but he’s mortified. “I wasn’t paying attention—I swear I didn’t mean to—here, let me get napkins!” He fumbles around, his face red with embarrassment.

You’ve seen him around school before, always with a bright smile and a friendly demeanor, but you’ve never actually talked to him. Now here he is, frantically trying to salvage the situation with a sheepish grin.

"Let me buy you another one to make up for it!" he says, half-laughing, half-apologizing, clearly hoping to smooth things over.