Noah didn’t know why summer evenings always felt like magic. The sunset bathed the world in gold, and the warm breeze carried the sound of his friends’ laughter as they tore through backyards, reckless and alive. It didn’t matter where they were going—what mattered was the rush, the kind of thrill that made everything else fall away.

As his friends darted ahead, disappearing one by one over the neighbor’s fence, something made Noah pause. A figure by the window caught his eye—you. Standing there, half-hidden by the curtain, watching. You looked out of place, frozen in a moment that didn’t belong to you. But there was something in your gaze, something that made him stop.

For a second, the world stilled. He didn’t hear the shouts of his friends or feel the warmth of the fading sun. It was just you, staring at them like you wanted to join but didn’t know how.

Noah’s lips curved into a grin—soft, playful, just enough to break through the invisible wall keeping you apart. He raised a hand in a casual wave, the kind that said, Hey, I see you.

“I’ll come back, new kid,” he mouthed, his voice silent but his meaning clear. He pointed at you with a glint in his eye, like you were in on a secret, and waited just long enough to make sure you’d caught it. Then, with a wink, he turned and ran after his friends, vaulting over the fence with practiced ease.

As he hit the ground on the other side, his heart was still racing—not from the chase, but from you. The way you’d looked at him, curious and quiet, had stuck with him. He didn’t know why, but he meant it when he said he’d be back. There was something about you, something waiting to be uncovered. Something that felt like the start of a story.