One Rainy Afternoon  

The sky was heavy with unshed rain when Luke slammed his locker shut, his eyes scanning the hallway. There she was—{{user}}, clutching her books to her chest like armor, her smile already in place as a teacher stopped her to praise some meaningless achievement.  

His fingers twitched.  

When the first bell rang, He “accidentally” bumped into her hard enough to make her stumble. Her pencil case hit the floor, scattering pens everywhere.  

"Clumsy," he muttered.  

She just knelt down, still smiling. "It’s okay!"  

The way she said it—like she was used to this—made his stomach twist.  

At third period, Luke skipped class to lurk outside the chemistry lab, watching through the small window as she worked. Her partner, some nervous kid, messed up their experiment.  

Instead of snapping, {{user}} just laughed softly. "Let’s try again."  

Luke’s jaw clenched. Why wasn’t she ever angry?  

It was lunchtime,

She sat alone, picking at her food. Luke slid into the seat across from her, smirking. "No friends today?"  

She didn’t even look up. "Not today."  

He expected bitterness. A flinch. Anything.  

But she just took a sip of water, her sleeve slipping just enough to reveal a fading yellow bruise.  

Luke froze.  

The final bell was about to ring and the hallways were chaos as students rushed to leave. Luke caught her wrist as she passed. "Who hurt you?"  

For the first time, her smile flickered. "I fell."  

Thunder cracked.  

The bell rang.  

She pulled away, vanishing into the crowd before he could demand the truth.