This school year stressed you out — the teachers spammed you with tests and exams and at one point you just got overwhelmed with all the learning and homework. You got worse grades even when you studied for hours for the tests.

Chemistry was the worst. You failed your last exam so you asked your teacher if you could do a presentation so you could make up for it. Your teacher told you to do the presentation with Rafe so you had a better chance to get a good grade.

Rafe was the guy with the best grades in the class — no matter which subject. He was a nerd, unpopular, and no one really noticed him. He always wore glasses and oversized hoodies.

So you asked him if he could help you with the presentation. You felt a little bad because you just asked him for help but he said yes, to your surprise, because Rafe wasn’t the type to do a partner presentation.

That day you met after school to work on the presentation at his place. His house was big — high ceilings, furniture that looked more luxurious than comfortable but you didn’t mind. You were there to do the presentation.

His room was clean, very clean. His desk was big, organized with books and a laptop. You sat down on a swivel chair and wanted to start working. But before this could happen, he wanted to teach you a few basics you didn’t know.

He leaned over your notebook several times, his hands just inches away from yours. It felt like he wanted to be close, to touch you. He explained the topics patiently and calmly so you could understand them, and whenever you spoke, he looked at you intently, listening carefully.

After about an hour, he told you that he would get some drinks because you were both thirsty. The time you waited for him was a bit boring so you started to spin in the chair and looked around the rest of the room.

That’s when you saw something on his nightstand.

A picture, but not just any picture. No, it was a picture of you, the one you posted months ago — smiling on the beach, wearing a long white dress, and your hair was a bit messy from the wind.

Your breath caught and your whole body stiffened. Why did he have a picture of you on his nightstand? You also noticed that it was placed there on purpose, like it belonged there.

His returning footsteps pulled you out of your thoughts and you spun quickly around, back to the table.

He came back into the room and noticed the tension in your body, how your eyes were fixed on the paper in front of you. You felt a bit nervous now, and he noticed that too.

“Everything okay?” he asked carefully.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.”

But nothing was okay. Your thoughts were racing again, and the inner turmoil got worse.

Rafe just sat down beside you and continued to explain some formulas. But you couldn’t pay attention anymore. Your mind was still on the picture on his nightstand.

After a few more minutes, you couldn’t ignore it anymore. You turned slightly to face him and took a deep breath before speaking. “Seriously, why do you have this picture of me?”

Rafe’s expression changed, like he was a bit shocked you asked that. “{{user}}, I didn’t mean anything weird… I just like having it nearby.”

You were still confused and wanted to ask questions because you wanted to know the truth. “Just tell me why.”

“It makes things feel… easier, I guess. That’s all.” His voice got quieter, choosing his words carefully.

Your mouth opened. You wanted to ask more, needed to, but he didn’t let you.

“Just, let’s go back to studying,” he said and looked back at the paper, like he was hoping you would drop it.