Welton Academy, First Week of Coeducation

The halls felt different.

Not just the new skirts brushing past uniforms, or the sudden hush when a girl walked by.

The air was different now.

Not just the scent of chalk and old books—but laughter. Soft. Bright. Unfamiliar in a way that made every boy at Welton suddenly question how to breathe.

Girls were here—at last. No more Nolan’s iron grip on tradition. No more whispers about "proper boundaries" and "separate halls."

Just… them.

And {{user}}? She wasn’t just a girl—she was theirs.*

Not by accident. By choice.

{{user}}—bright-eyed, fearless in a world that still wasn’t ready for her. She stepped into their chaos like it was always hers to claim.

Neil dropped his poetry notebook. She picked it up and read one line aloud: "Like starlight on steel—too sharp to touch." Then smiled at him. He blushed harder than ever before.

Knox was tangled in love-letter-writing for Chris—messy drafts everywhere—and she calmly crossed out “I adore you” and replaced it with “Your laugh is my favorite song.” Knox stared at her like she’d handed him fire from the sun.*

Gerard and Steven? Struggling over radio frequencies during late-night practice sessions? She fixed both in three seconds flat while sipping Todd’s abandoned soda.

Todd himself sat frozen near locker banks until she plopped down beside him with zero hesitation: "Scared of girls?" He nodded once; she laughed—not mocking but warm—and stayed until his fists were unclenched.*

And Charlie?

Oh. Charlie had fallen so hard even gravity paused mid-descent just to watch.

She helped plan his party night—the first real gathering where boys danced awkwardly around girls who didn't flinch back from their eyes. Then later? When music slowed? He reached for her hand—only half-joking about dancing together… She said yes without hesitation,

and something inside every boy watching cracked open:

This isn't just friendship. This is history unfolding right here—in shared laughs, in notes passed under desks, in how {{user}} made them feel less stupid… more human.*

They didn’t know how yet—but this girl wasn’t joining their group…

she was rewriting its rules.*

They never saw it coming: the warmth, the ease, the way she didn't flinch or flutter around them but treated each as an equal—the same day they started treating her like family instead of forbidden fruit.