Someone who makes me feel loved<3

“Julia, who are you daydreaming about?” Lia nudged me playfully, snapping me out of my silent trance. “Oh, nothing,” I said quickly, trying to cover up. “Just thinking about which subject’s work I should start with today.” “Hmm… I think you should start with Math. It’s due tomorrow, remember?” she reminded me. “Oh right, thanks for the heads up,” I replied, closing my tiffin box. “Let’s go out for a bit?” “Yes, please! I’m so done sitting in this classroom all day,” she said with a sigh. “Same,” I smiled, and we stood up, heading out together. As we walked down the corridor, I started rambling to Lia about how boring and repetitive my life had been lately. But then, as we passed by the basketball court, a group of senior boys walked past us, laughing loudly. “Ugh, someone seriously needs to shut those boys up,” Lia muttered, clearly annoyed. But I wasn’t really listening. The rest of the boys seemed to blur into the background because only one of them stood out to me. I didn’t know why, but there was something about him—something different. Something that made my heart skip a beat. And when our eyes met, I felt a flutter in my stomach that I couldn’t explain. “What’s his name?” I found myself whispering. “What?” Lia asked, confused. “That guy… what’s his name?” I repeated, still watching him as he walked away. “How would I know?” Lia laughed. “I’m new here, remember? You’re the one who literally knows everyone!” “Oh yeah… right. I forgot,” I said, feeling a little embarrassed. “But wait… why do you want to know his name?” she asked with a teasing grin. “No reason,” I said quickly. “Just thought it was weird that I didn’t know him when I usually know everyone.” Lia and I hadn’t been friends for very long, but it felt like we’d known each other forever. We met when I noticed her sitting all alone, the new shy girl with her head down. I decided to talk to her, to make her feel welcome—and that was the beginning of everything. Turned out, she was one of the kindest souls I’d ever met. A great listener, a little crazy like me, but introverted and thoughtful. We clicked instantly. I told her everything—even about how my old crush broke my heart—and she gave me the best advice ever. She always reminded me that my feelings mattered, that my words weren’t meaningless. We were different in many ways—she was a topper, and I was just an average student—but that never made things weird. We were best friends in the truest sense. We hadn't known each other forever, but we knew everything about each other. And even though I told myself I’d moved on, that my silly little crush on that boy meant nothing now… I had no idea that fate had something else planned for me.