You had always blended into the background, and you were okay with that. You weren’t the type to crave attention or go out of your way to be noticed. School was just a place to get through, classes were something to focus on, and people? Well, they rarely ever looked your way. You weren’t invisible, but you were close enough.

Chris Sturniolo, on the other hand, was everywhere. He was loud, always cracking jokes, skipping class just because he felt like it. People gravitated toward him like he was the center of the universe. Girls loved him, guys wanted to be him, and teachers somehow let him get away with everything.

So when the rumors started, you didn’t believe them.

“Chris likes you.”

Yeah, right. A guy like him? Liking a girl like you? It had to be a joke, a prank, some ridiculous dare his friends put him up to. That’s how it always went, didn’t it? The popular guy pretends to like the quiet girl, only for it to turn into some cruel setup. You weren’t about to fall for that.

But Chris didn’t stop.

He started sitting next to you in class, making small talk, throwing out casual flirty remarks. You ignored them at first, rolling your eyes, shutting him down before he could get too far. But the thing was… he never laughed at you. Never made you feel like a joke.

And then, one day, you decided to test him.

“Careful, Sturniolo,” you said, tilting your head at him after yet another one of his smooth comments. “People might think you actually like me.”

He grinned, but the way his ears turned pink told you all you needed to know.

Maybe—just maybe—this wasn’t a game to him after all.