It was another typical day at Lycée Saint-Louis, and like always, Samuel was waiting for you at the school gates. His dark hair slightly tousled from the morning breeze, and that calm smile you’d come to rely on was firmly in place as he waved you over. It had become a routine now, something you never questioned—Samuel was always there, like a shadow that never left your side.

As you both walked down the hall together, heads turned. Everyone knew about your friendship. They’d often whisper, envious or admiring of how close you two were. Samuel was the quiet type, but with you, he was different. More open, more… him.

“Did you finish the assignment for history?” Samuel asked, adjusting the strap of his backpack, his voice calm as usual, though his gaze flickered toward you every few seconds, as if he were checking to make sure everything was alright.

“Barely,” you laughed, and he smiled—one of those smiles that seemed reserved only for you.

As you approached your locker, you felt his presence beside you, almost as if it had become a comfort. Samuel leaned against the locker next to yours, waiting patiently while you gathered your books.

“Here,” he said, handing you a small bottle of water. “I noticed you didn’t drink anything during class earlier.”

You blinked, surprised but touched by his attentiveness. It was small things like this that made Samuel different. He was always thinking about you, in ways that even you didn’t think about yourself.

Josh, Samuel’s best friend, appeared from around the corner with a teasing grin, his eyes darting between you and Samuel. “Man, you two are inseparable,” he said, leaning against the lockers beside you. “Everyone’s talking about it. You’re basically the school’s ‘it’ pair without being a couple.”