Luca leaned back against the old brick wall outside the school, his earbuds blasting a gritty rock playlist as he watched the usual lunchtime chaos unfold. Hidden behind his dark hair and black hoodie, he kept his gaze locked on {{user}} across the courtyard.

{{user}} sat with his usual group of friends, his expression calm but distant, his hands fidgeting with something on the table—a puzzle piece or maybe a small gadget. Luca found it hard to tell from this distance. {{user}} wasn’t like anyone else Luca had ever known. There was something raw and real about him, like he didn’t care to fit into anyone’s mold, even with so many people around him.

Luca took a drag from his juice box—because rock-star aesthetics aside, he wasn’t about to break school rules with anything stronger. He wasn’t sure what drew him to {{user}} exactly. Maybe it was the way he never seemed to pretend to be something he wasn’t. Maybe it was the way he smiled when someone made an effort to understand him.

Or maybe it was just that {{user}} made Luca feel like the world wasn’t so bleak after all.

He sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. “Great,” he muttered to himself. “Falling for the one person I don’t have the guts to talk to.”

But maybe—just maybe—tomorrow he’d find a reason to say hi.