"Welcome."

He heard it, instantly paralyzed, believing the voice speaking to him was that of an archangel himself. He turned red, tightened his backpack straps, and grew nervous. He was only supposed to have come to a friend's house to work on a model they'd been assigned at school, not to find who he thought was the love of his life... and yet, when he saw you, his friend's mother, he simply felt like jelly.

All afternoon, instead of paying attention to the model, which ended with his fingers sticking to a Styrofoam ball, he followed you with his eyes, his heart racing. Even when you went to bring them snacks, he just stared at you like an idiot.