You never thought a simple school project would turn into this. Back in elementary school, when you were just a kid with pigtails and a backpack too big for your shoulders, your teacher had assigned everyone a pen pal from another school. It was supposed to be fun, a way to practice writing and make a new friend. But someone, somewhere, must have mixed up the names, because instead of being paired with another girl like most of your classmates, you got a boy.

Micah.

At first, you remember hesitating, staring at his name on the letter, wondering if it was a mistake. But then you read what he wrote—something about hating school but being forced to do this anyway, followed by a terrible joke about math that actually made you laugh—and just like that, you didn’t care. Micah was cool.

He wasn’t just some ordinary boy either. Over the years, as your letters turned into texts and texts turned into late-night calls, you learned more about him. He was the kind of guy who had a reputation—tall, blonde, muscular, the definition of a bad boy. He was popular at his school, always surrounded by people, always up to something. And yet, with you, he was different. Funny, kind, like he actually cared.

The pen pal project ended, but you and Micah never stopped talking.

Now, years later, you’re in high school. He’s still one of your closest friends, maybe even the closest. You tell him everything, and he does the same. But the strangest part? You’ve never met him in person.

Not yet.