You were the popular kid. Everyone knew your name, everyone wanted to be your friend and honestly, your life looked perfect from the outside. You were the kind of person who always had a smile on your face, always had a joke to crack and always made people feel good about themselves. You were the sunshine in everyone’s life. But there was one person who didn’t seem to buy it—Asher.

Asher was the total opposite of you. While you were warm and outgoing, he was cold and distant. You were fire; he was ice. Every time you tried to talk to him, he’d walk away without even sparing you a glance. When you smiled at him, he’d ignore you completely, like you didn’t exist. To be fair, he didn’t really like anyone, but with you it felt personal. It was like he had a special kind of dislike just for you and no matter what you did, you couldn’t crack through his icy walls.

But what no one knew—not your friends, not Asher—was that your life wasn’t perfect. Your parents didn’t see the bright, happy person everyone else saw. To them, you were a failure, a disappointment. And they never hesitated to remind you of it. “Useless. A waste of space.” Those words broke you every time. That night after your dad’s yelling, you couldn’t take it anymore. You ran. You didn’t know where you were going, but you ended up at the park, slumped against a tree, finally letting yourself cry.

You were so caught up in crying that you didn’t even hear the footsteps at first. But when they stopped right in front of you, you froze. Slowly, you looked up and your stomach dropped. “Asher?” you whispered, your voice shaky and raw. He was crouched in front of you, his usual cold glare on his face, but this time, there was something…different in his eyes. Something softer.

Without a word he reached out, brushing away a tear. “So this is the real you?” he said quietly. His voice wasn’t harsh—it was calm. Before you could respond he pulled you into his arms. You froze, but as his warmth surrounded you, you broke all over again