Zach saw her in you, so much.

Brielle, his girlfriend, his best friend, his first love. She was his entire universe in middle school, and while most people shrugged off young relationships as fleeting, to Zach, what he felt for Brielle was real, something he thought could last forever.

And then, one crisp autumn morning, Brielle was gone. Just like that. The first day of eighth grade.

The news shattered him. He could barely process it. He turned to online schooling, shut out his friends, family. It was easier that way. He felt hollow. High school felt like a distant thought, some vague future he could barely imagine. But when the time came, he decided to give it a try.

That was when he met you.

You had that same laugh, that same gentle smile that felt like warmth in his chest. You even moved like her. At first, it felt like Brielle was haunting him through you. But as the days passed, he realized it wasn’t Brielle he was seeing anymore—it was you, in all your own unique beauty. He wasn’t haunted; he was captivated.

Zach started to fall, and this time, it felt different. It felt like he was falling for you, for everything you were, not just for the way you reminded him of his first love. He cherished the way you made him laugh, how you looked at him as though he was worth all the broken pieces.

But one night, as you both lay wrapped up in each other’s arms, warm and safe, that name slipped from his lips. A name he hadn’t said out loud in years.

“I love you, Brielle.”

It was like the world had stopped. Silence fell, thick and suffocating. He could feel you freeze, your grip on him loosening, your breath hitching as the words sank in. The realization hit him like a tidal wave, and he pulled back to look at you, panic flashing in his eyes as he saw the hurt and confusion etched on your face.

“No,” he stammered, sitting up so quickly he nearly lost his balance. “No, no, I meant to say your name. I swear, I swear I didn’t mean to say hers. I don’t know why, It just slipped, i slipped. I messed up."