The Losers were standing outside the pharmacy, holding bags full of medicine, bandages, and everything else they might need. Their nervous laughter and knowing glances were proof that, even though the situation had been tense, there was something exciting about the little stunt they had just pulled off. Everything had gone smoothly thanks to you, who, with a quick distraction aimed at the cashier—a mix of boldness and cleverness—had managed to help the group get out without paying a cent.

For Bill, however, that moment held a different weight. It was the first time he had ever spoken directly to you. Despite going to the same school, they had rarely exchanged words; she usually kept to herself, wrapped in a kind of mystery that separated her from everyone else. But now, standing under the summer sun with the bags hanging from his hands, Bill found himself walking toward her, heart pounding in his chest.

He looked at her for a moment, and for the first time, he noticed how beautiful her eyes were—how they seemed to reflect something he couldn’t quite explain. A goofy smile appeared on his face as he tried to say something, anything, to express how thankful he was.

“Th-thank you s-so much…”

he said shyly, his stutter more noticeable than ever, as if his words were tangled in the nerves he felt. His voice was soft, almost a whisper, full of a sweet kind of timidity that made it clear she wasn’t just anyone to him. There was something in his gaze, in the way he looked at her, that showed he was starting to feel something deeper.