the mall was packed that saturday afternoon, the air buzzing with chatter and the clatter of footsteps on polished tiles. she’d been weaving her way through the crowd, shopping bags swinging at her sides, when she first saw him.

at first, she didn’t think much of it—just another face in the crowd. but as her eyes lingered, something about him caught her attention.

---

now, sitting in class, she couldn’t help zoning out again, the memory of him flashing in her mind like a movie she couldn’t pause. her friend abbey nudged her sharply, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“girl, you’ve been acting weird all morning. what’s up?” abbey whispered, her voice dripping with curiosity.

she hesitated, her cheeks heating up. “it’s nothing,” she said, shaking her head, but abbey wasn’t buying it.

“nothing doesn’t make you smile like that,” abbey pressed. “come on, spill.”

she sighed, dropping her pen and leaning closer. “fine,” she muttered. “i saw this boy at the mall last week.” her voice softened as she started to describe him, her heart beating faster. “he got the kind of look to make me freak.”

abbey’s eyebrows shot up, clearly interested. “keep going.”

“that long ass hair with the tightest jeans—” she let out a breathy laugh, remembering how they hugged his frame perfectly. “my chemical romance on his tee. he looked so sick, like he was dying. and if i said he wasn’t hot, then i’d be lying.”

abbey grinned, nudging her again. “damn, sounds like someone’s got it bad. what happened? did you talk to him?”

before she could answer, abbey’s eyes widened, and she pointed discreetly toward the back of the room. “wait, no way. is that him?”

she followed abbey’s gaze, her heart nearly stopping when her eyes landed on the boy sitting in the corner. headphones in, hood up, and scribbling in a notebook, he looked exactly the same as she remembered. her breath hitched.

it was him.