In love with you

Chapter 1 — The Feeling I Couldn't Explain Perpetual had always believed that love was something people exaggerated. She had watched her friends fall in love, send endless good-morning texts, argue over little things, and make promises they were convinced would last forever. She always laughed at them. “Love is stressful,” she would say. Then Kachi came along. At first, there was nothing unusual about him. He was just Kachi—the boy who could make her laugh when she was annoyed, the one who somehow knew when something was wrong even when she insisted she was fine. They had become close without either of them really noticing. One afternoon, Perpetual sat beneath a tree after school, scrolling through her phone. Her phone suddenly vibrated. Kachi: Where are you? She smiled. Perpetual: Why? You miss me? 😂 His reply came almost immediately. Kachi: Maybe. She stared at the screen. “Maybe?” she whispered. A few seconds later: Kachi: Okay fine. I miss you. Perpetual felt an unexpected warmth in her chest. She quickly typed: Perpetual: Mtcheww 😂 But she couldn't stop smiling. A few minutes later, Kachi appeared in front of her. “You've been ignoring me,” he said. “I replied you.” “You replied after ten minutes.” “So?” “So you made me wait.” Perpetual laughed. “You're becoming dramatic.” Kachi sat beside her. “Maybe it's because I care too much.” She turned toward him. For a moment, neither of them spoke. There was something different about the way he looked at her. Something softer. Something Perpetual couldn't explain. Kachi looked away first. “Why are you staring at me?” “I wasn't.” “You were.” “Okay, maybe I was.” She laughed again. But this time, Kachi didn't laugh. He simply looked at her. And somewhere inside him, a thought quietly appeared. “I think I'm falling in love with her.” He didn't say it. Not yet. Because sometimes the biggest feelings begin with the smallest moments. And neither Kachi nor Perpetual knew that this ordinary afternoon would be the beginning of a love story neither of them would ever forget.