The Time I Wrote a Message in a Bottle

I like things perfect. Not kind of perfect. Not almost perfect. Perfect. The kind where every strand of hair falls exactly where it should, where your uniform sits just right, where your future is a straight, clean line with no mistakes, no detours. Because if everything is perfect... nothing can go wrong. Right? "Cass, you've been staring at that mirror for like ten minutes." I blink. My reflection stares back at me-tie straight, blazer smooth, skirt aligned, hair tucked neatly behind my ears. Everything looks right. And yet- I reach up and fix my collar again. "It's uneven," I mutter. "It's not uneven," Kaylee says from behind me, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. "It's you." I shoot her a look. "Excuse me?" "You overthinking everything again." She walks over, gently swatting my hands away from my uniform. "You look fine. Actually-scratch that. You look amazing. Like always." I hesitate. "...You really think so?" Kaylee sighs, softer this time. "Cass, not everything has to be perfect all the time." I look back at the mirror. Not everything has to be perfect. Easy for her to say. "You don't get it," I whisper. "If I mess something up, even something small... it could ruin everything." Kaylee studies me for a moment, her expression unreadable. Then she smiles, light and teasing. "Or maybe," she says, nudging my shoulder, "it could make things more interesting." I roll my eyes, but a small smile tugs at my lips. "Come on," she adds. "You don't want to be late. It's a special day, remember?" Right. My heart skips. Anniversary. The walk to school feels lighter than usual. Maybe it's the breeze. Maybe it's Kaylee talking non-stop beside me. Or maybe it's the thought of him. I glance toward the front gate- -and there he is. Andy Gardner. Leaning casually against the fence like he owns the place, hands in his pockets, a black beanie sitting lazily on his head. His tie is loose, shirt slightly untucked, blazer hanging off one shoulder like he didn't even try. Skater-boy energy. Completely effortless. Completely wrong. My eye twitches. "Wow," Kaylee whispers beside me. "Your boyfriend looks like he just walked out of a music video." "He looks like a disaster," I mumble. But I'm already walking toward him. Andy notices me and grins, pushing himself off the fence. "Morning, Cass." I stop right in front of him, staring. He blinks. "What?" I don't answer. Instead, I reach up and grab his tie. "Hey-" "Stand still." I fix it quickly, tightening it properly, smoothing out his collar, brushing invisible dust off his blazer. My fingers move automatically, adjusting, correcting, perfecting. Andy sighs, clearly used to this. "You know," he says, slightly annoyed, "I fixed that before I got here." "No, you didn't," I shoot back. "Your tie was crooked, your collar was uneven, and your blazer-don't even get me started." He raises an eyebrow. "You always start." Kaylee snorts behind me. I ignore her. "There," I say, stepping back to inspect him. "Now you look decent." Andy looks down at himself, then back at me, unimpressed. "...I liked it better before." I gasp. "You did not." "I did," he shrugs. "Had personality." "Looking like you just rolled out of bed is not a personality." "It is if you pull it off." I cross my arms. "You don't." He smirks. "Wow. And here I thought today was supposed to be special." I pause. Right. Before I can say anything, Andy reaches behind him and pulls out a small bouquet of flowers-simple, a little messy, but... beautiful. He holds them out to me. "Happy anniversary, Cass." For a second, everything else fades. The noise. The people. The pressure. Just him. My cheeks warm as I take the flowers, trying (and failing) to hide the way my heart is racing. "You remembered," I say softly. Andy laughs. "Of course I did. You'd kill me if I didn't." "I would not-" "You would." "...Okay, maybe a little." He grins. And just like that, I'm smiling too. School with Andy is... predictable. Not boring. Just-safe. First Period I'm already seated, notebook open, pen aligned perfectly at the top of the page. And Andy? Late. Of course. He slips into the seat beside me just as the teacher turns around, hair slightly messier, beanie still on. I sigh. "You're late." "Barely," he whispers back. "Three minutes is not barely." He leans back in his chair. "Relax. I made it, didn't I?" I glare at him... then slide my extra pen toward him anyway. He notices. Smiles. "Thanks, Cass." Between Classes I'm organizing my notes at my locker when Andy suddenly appears behind me, casually resting his arm above my head. "You forgot your lunch." I blink. "What?" He hands me my neatly packed lunchbox. I stare at it. "...I left this at home." "Yeah," he shrugs. "So I brought it." My chest tightens slightly. "You didn't have to..." "I wanted to." Simple. Effortless. I look away quickly, hiding my smile. "...Thank you." Student Council Office I'm buried in paperwork, checking schedules, rewriting a list for the third time because the spacing feels off. A knock. Before I even answer, the door opens. Andy. Holding two drinks. "You've been here all lunch," he says, placing one in front of me. "Take a break." "I don't need a break." "You do." "I don't-" He gently pushes the drink closer. "Cass." I stop. Sigh. "...Fine." I take a sip. He smiles like he just won something. After School We sit on the stairs outside the building, the sun beginning to dip. Andy leans back on his hands, relaxed as ever. I sit properly, legs together, posture straight. "You're stiff again," he says. "I am not." "You are." "I'm sitting normally." "You're sitting like you're about to attend a meeting." I glare at him. He laughs. And without thinking, he nudges my shoulder lightly. "Loosen up a little." I hesitate... then lean back slightly, copying his posture. "...Like this?" He glances at me, smiling softly. "Yeah. Like that." Andy is always there. In the classroom. At my locker. In the council office. Walking beside me. Like he just... belongs next to me. Like he always has. That Night I sit by my window, the world quiet. Across from me, Andy's room light flickers on. I smile. Reaching down, I grab a small glass bottle and a piece of paper. I write quickly: "You were late today. Again. Don't think I didn't notice." I roll it up, slide it into the bottle, and hook it onto the thin line stretched between our windows. A simple string. Old. Slightly worn. But strong. I send it across. A few seconds later, Andy appears at his window, grabbing the bottle. He reads it. Looks up at me. Smirks. Then disappears again. I wait. And wait. Then- The line moves. A bottle slides back toward me. I catch it, opening it quickly. "Still made it before you started worrying too much. That's a win." I scoff, but I'm smiling. This. This is how we've always talked. Before phones. Before everything. Just us. Simple. Easy. Perfect. I glance up at him again, both of us framed by our windows, connected by something so small... yet so important. My heart feels full. Safe. Like nothing could ever break this. ..... Right? I clutch the bottle a little tighter. Somewhere deep inside me, a quiet thought whispers- What if perfection doesn't last? I shake it off quickly. No. That won't happen. Not to us. Not to him. Not to us. Right? End of Chapter 1