Just a Crush or Something More?

The first time I noticed him, he was late for class. Not the cute kind of late where a boy walks in slowly, apologizes to the teacher, and takes his seat like nothing happened. No. He came rushing through the door with messy hair, a half-open bag, and a piece of bread in his mouth. And somehow, everyone laughed. Including me. I didn’t know his name yet. I only knew that he looked completely unbothered by the attention, as if making an entrance in front of thirty students was part of his daily routine. “Mr. Reyes,” our teacher said, adjusting her glasses. “Would you care to explain why you’re late on the first day?” He swallowed the last bite of bread. “My alarm clock betrayed me, Ma’am.” The class burst into laughter again. Our teacher tried to look serious, but even she had to turn away to hide her smile. “Go sit down before I change my mind about letting you in.” “Yes, Ma’am. Thank you, Ma’am. I promise my alarm and I will have a serious conversation tonight.” More laughter followed as he walked toward the empty seat beside mine. I immediately looked down at my notebook. Why? I had absolutely no reason to be nervous. He was just a boy. A random boy who happened to be funny and had the confidence of someone who had never worried about what other people thought of him. At least, that’s what I told myself. “Is this seat taken?” he whispered. I glanced at the empty chair. “No.” “Great.” He dropped into the seat, placed his bag on the floor, and turned toward me. “Hi. I’m Adrian.” I looked at him for half a second before answering. “Isabella.” “Nice to meet you, Isabella.” He smiled. It was an ordinary smile. Nothing special. Nothing that should have stayed in my mind for the rest of the morning. But it did. And I hated that. ──────── By lunchtime, I had already heard three different stories about Adrian Reyes. According to the girl sitting in front of me, he was the school’s unofficial heartthrob. According to my best friend, Mia, he had dated someone from another section last year. And according to the boy who sat behind us, Adrian was terrible at math but somehow always managed to pass his exams. “Why are we talking about him so much?” I asked while opening my lunchbox. Mia gave me a look. “Because he’s handsome.” “That’s your reason for everything.” “Not everything. Sometimes a boy has nice hair, too.” I rolled my eyes and took a bite of my sandwich. Mia leaned closer. “So, how was it sitting beside him?” “Normal.” “Did he talk to you?” “He introduced himself.” “And?” “And I introduced myself. That’s how introductions work, Mia.” She gasped dramatically. “Oh, my gosh. You two already have a connection.” “Please stop.” She laughed so loudly that two girls at the next table turned around. I was about to tell her to lower her voice when someone stopped beside our table. “Hey, Isabella.” I nearly dropped my sandwich. Adrian stood there holding a bottle of water, looking like he had every right to interrupt my lunch. “Hi,” I answered, trying to sound normal. “Do you understand the homework our teacher gave us? I missed the last part because I was busy trying to convince her that my alarm clock was the problem.” Mia pressed her lips together, clearly fighting a smile. I ignored her. “It’s just the first activity on the worksheet,” I explained. “We have to answer the questions on the last page.” He looked relieved. “Thank goodness. I thought I’d have to ask someone smarter.” “You could just read the instructions.” He placed a hand over his chest. “Wow. You’re honest. I respect that.” I couldn’t help laughing. It happened before I could stop myself, and when I looked up, he was smiling at me. Not the big, playful smile he had given the class earlier. A smaller one. A quieter one. For some reason, that made me look away first. “Anyway,” he said, stepping back, “thanks. See you later, seatmate.” Seatmate. It was such a silly word. So why did it sound different when he said it? The moment he walked away, Mia grabbed my arm. “Seatmate?” “Don’t.” “He called you seatmate!” “Mia!” She laughed, and I covered my face with both hands. I wanted to tell her she was being ridiculous. That Adrian was probably friendly with everyone. That a boy asking about homework meant absolutely nothing. But deep down, a tiny, embarrassing part of me wondered whether he would talk to me again tomorrow. And that was the beginning of my problem. ──────── The afternoon passed slowly. Our teacher discussed classroom rules, introduced the upcoming activities, and reminded us that senior high school wasn’t going to be as easy as we thought. I tried to focus. I really did. But every few minutes, Adrian would tap his pen against his desk, ask to borrow an eraser, or whisper a question about something the teacher had already explained. At one point, he leaned toward me. “Is she always this serious?” I kept my eyes on the board. “Only when students don’t listen.” “So, basically, I’m in danger.” “Definitely.” He laughed under his breath. I bit back a smile. When the final bell rang, everyone started packing their things. I was putting my notebook inside my bag when I noticed that Adrian was still sitting beside me. “Are you going home?” he asked. “No, I’m planning to live here.” He blinked. Then he laughed so hard that I started laughing, too. “Okay,” he said, shaking his head. “I didn’t expect that from you.” “Expect what?” “A sense of humor.” I narrowed my eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Nothing. Nothing at all.” He stood up and swung his bag over one shoulder. “See you tomorrow, Isabella.” I watched him walk toward the door, where a group of boys called his name. He turned to answer them, laughing as he disappeared into the hallway. I stayed in my seat for a moment longer than necessary. Then I shook my head and gathered my things. It was ridiculous to think about someone I’d met only a few hours ago. I didn’t know his favorite food, his favorite song, or whether he was the kind of person who replied quickly to messages. I didn’t even know if he had a girlfriend. All I knew was that he was funny, a little annoying, and unexpectedly easy to talk to. That wasn’t enough to mean anything. Right? ──────── That evening, I was lying on my bed when Mia sent me a message. MIA: GIRL. ME: What? MIA: Adrian followed you. I sat up so quickly that my pillow fell onto the floor. ME: What are you talking about? MIA: i********:. CHECK IT. I opened the app and searched my notifications. There it was. Adrian Reyes had followed me. I stared at his profile picture, then at his name, then at the notification again, as if it might disappear if I blinked. My account wasn’t private, so it wasn’t a big deal. He could have followed me because we were classmates. Maybe he was adding everyone from our section. Maybe he was simply being friendly. There were a hundred reasonable explanations. Unfortunately, my heart wasn’t interested in any of them. I opened his profile. His posts were mostly pictures with friends, basketball games, and random moments from school. In one picture, he was laughing so hard that his eyes had almost disappeared. I smiled at my phone. Then I immediately stopped smiling because I realized what I was doing. “Oh, no,” I whispered to myself. I was in trouble. Not serious trouble. Not the kind that ruined lives or made people cry in the rain. Just the beginning of a crush. The harmless kind, I thought. The kind that made you check your phone more often than usual. The kind that made an ordinary school day feel a little more exciting. The kind you could laugh about with your best friend and eventually forget. I had no idea how wrong I was. Because the next morning, Adrian would do something that would make me question every single thing I had told myself. And before this school year ended, I would learn that sometimes the person who begins as nothing more than a crush can become the person you are most afraid to lose. But that was a story for another day. For now, I put my phone down, turned off my bedside lamp, and told myself one last time that Adrian Reyes was just a boy. Just my seatmate. Just someone I happened to meet on the first day of school. Just a crush. Nothing more. At least, not yet.