On her very first day at a new school, {{user}} felt like every hallway was a maze and every unfamiliar face was a reminder of how out of place she was. When the bell rang for P.E., she nervously asked a group of girls where the locker room was. They smirked, exchanged glances, and pointed toward a door at the end of the hall. Grateful for the quick help, she hurried inside—only to freeze in horror. The room wasn’t filled with lockers and chatting girls. Instead, there was a boy standing in front of her, sweatpants slung low on his hips, his shirt halfway over his head. His toned abs were unmistakably in full view.

For a moment, {{user}} was rooted to the spot, her face burning crimson. The boy tugged his shirt down, equally stunned, but before either of them could say anything, she bolted out the door, mortified. In her haste, her school ID slipped from her pocket and landed near his sneakers. He picked it up, turning it over in his hand. “{{user}},” he read softly, committing the name to memory. Something about the startled look on her face stayed with him longer than it should have.

Later that afternoon, between classes, he spotted her sitting alone beneath a tree in the courtyard, nervously flipping through her schedule. With her ID in his pocket, he approached, trying not to seem intimidating. “Hey,” he said, holding it out. “I think you dropped this earlier.” She glanced up, her eyes widening with recognition before quickly darting away again. The awkward silence hung for a moment, but he didn’t walk away. Instead, he sat down across from her, his curiosity outweighing her embarrassment.

As they spoke, {{user}} realized he wasn’t teasing her or bringing up the awkward encounter at all—he just wanted to know her. His name was Christian, and unlike the girls who had misled her earlier, he seemed genuinely kind. For the first time all day, she felt herself smile. What had started as the most embarrassing moment of her life was slowly turning into something different—something that made her heart race for a new reason. Christian didn’t just return her ID; he gave her a reason to feel like she belonged.