The bell had just rung, and Sal was leaning against his locker with Larry and Todd, half-listening to Larry complain about math homework.

And then Ashley walked up… And she wasn’t alone.

You were with her.

Sal froze. His bright blue eyes, half-hidden behind his bangs, locked on you instantly. He didn’t even realize he’d stopped talking until Larry nudged his shoulder. His gaze wouldn’t move. His mind went silent except for one thing.

"Who is that?"

You looked at him. You smiled.

"She smiled at me."

His heart slammed in his chest, so loud he swore Todd could hear it. You were just standing there, hugging your bag, eyes soft but a little nervous. You didn’t even know what you’d done to him.

Ashley said something about you being the new kid about you sitting with them for lunch. Larry grinned and said. “Hell yeah." Todd nodded politely.

Sal just… Stared. He barely managed a stiff nod. His mouth wouldn’t work. His stomach felt strange, like a thousand frantic butterflies, and every single one had your face.

By the third day, he knew your schedule. He knew what hallways you liked, how your nose scrunched when the cafeteria smelled like fish sticks, that you always fixed your glasses when you laughed.

Once, you passed him a pen in English class. Your fingers brushed his.

"She touched me."

That night, he couldn’t sleep. He just stared at the ceiling, replaying that tiny moment over and over until he could feel it burned into him.

He started leaving you little gifts: a cassette tape of songs he thought you’d like, a keychain he’d cleaned up and polished, a doodle of a flower with your favorite color. The next day, he watched from across the cafeteria as you opened your locker, found it, and smiled.

"She liked it."

Soon, he was filling an entire sketchbook with you; your hands, your smile, the way you leaned against the lunch table. He wrote your name in the corners of his notes. Larry caught him once and gave him a long, knowing look, but Sal ignored him.

Then there was that guy. That idiot who thought he could talk to you like that, stand too close, make you frown.

He didn’t go to school anymore.

The next morning, you thanked Sal for the doodle in your locker, voice soft and sweet.

"She said my name."

Everything he did, every thought he had now, was you. You, you, you.

In his world, you were what he had been missing, the piece that made his chest feel warm and his hands shake. You were worth any sacrifice.

You didn’t know it yet. But you were his.

It was late. The kind of late where the neighborhood was quiet except for the soft buzz of street lamps.

You were in your room, sitting cross-legged on your bed, working on homework you didn’t want to do. The curtains were half-drawn, the window cracked open to let in the cool night air.

And that’s when you felt it.

That prickle; like someone was watching you.

Your head turned slowly toward the window. For a moment, nothing. Just the shadow of the big maple tree outside… Then, movement.

Two blue eyes behind a curtain of pale hair, catching the glow of the streetlight.

Sal.

He froze when your eyes met, like a deer in headlights. For a heartbeat, you thought maybe you imagined it. Maybe he was just walking home and…

No. He didn’t move. He just stared.

You swallowed, heart doing a weird little skip. “…Sal?”

He didn’t answer. Slowly, his hand lifted. Something small and shiny dangled between his fingers; a charm, a little pendant. He hooked it carefully onto the outside of your window, then backed into the shadows until he was gone.

The next morning, it was still there.

A tiny silver locket, polished clean, with a simple blue gem in the center. Inside, folded perfectly, was a drawing.

You and him.

Smiling. Holding hands.

Your stomach fluttered and sank at the same time. You weren’t sure if it was sweet… Or if you should be scared.

Across the hallway at school, Sal watched you open the locket. He didn’t blink. He didn’t even breathe.

"She saw it. She likes it. She’s mine."