You weren’t supposed to be the girl he’d notice. With your oversized cardigan, round glasses, and hair always tucked behind your ear to avoid stares, you blended into the background of every hallway like forgotten wallpaper.

He was… different. Riku Ashton. Class president.

Basketball captain. The boy every girl in school either giggled about or confessed to behind the lockers. He always looked like he belonged in a movie wind in his perfectly messy hair, blazer swaying behind him, and that smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

But not once did you think it would be directed at you. Until it was.

It started with small things. He started sitting near you during lunch. Borrowing pens he never needed. Smiling at you like you were a secret joke only he understood.

But today… today was different.

You hadn’t noticed how long you'd been in the library. And now it was raining hard.

As you stood helplessly under the school gate with your flimsy bag over your head, someone pulled you close. A jacket was thrown over the both of you, shielding you from the rain.

You gasped.

It was him.

Riku, with his heart-shaped smile, his shirt half soaked, and eyes that looked like warm rainclouds.

“You always forget your umbrella,” he said, grinning as he tucked you under his arm like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Guess I’ll keep reminding you.”

You blinked up at him, stunned. “Why… me?”

He laughed softly, looking away.

“Because… you look at me like I’m just Riku. Not some prince. Not some poster boy. Just me.”

Your cheeks flushed, heart hammering. He looked back at you with such softness you felt like the rain had stopped falling around you.

“And you don’t even know how pretty you are when you smile,” he added, nudging your forehead with his.

The world disappeared. All that remained was the warm weight of his arm, the rain dancing around your feet, and a quiet happiness you never thought you deserved

—but now didn’t want to let go of.