WHEN HE LOOKED AT ME

CHAPTER 5

My birthday morning didn’t feel like a birthday at all. I walked through the school doors hugging my books tighter than usual, trying not to think about the way Ethan’s call had ended last night hurried, tense, like something or someone had snapped him back to reality before we could finish our conversation. My stomach twisted at the memory, a quiet ache that refused to leave, making every step feel heavier than it should.

The hallways were decorated with the same faded posters, the same pep-rally announcements, the same faces that never really looked my way. The chatter and laughter of my classmates felt distant, almost like a muted soundtrack I couldn’t join. Nothing felt different about turning a year older. The lockers slammed, sneakers squeaked, and someone’s laughter rang too loudly in the echoing corridor, but inside, I felt the same invisible weight I always carried.

Not until lunch.

I was sitting alone at my usual corner table, the one tucked into a quiet nook where I could watch everyone without being watched, when a shadow fell across my tray. My eyes snapped up, expecting a teacher or worse, a group of girls ready to tease me for eating alone.

But it was a boy.

Tall. Soft curls falling lightly over his forehead. A calm, familiar face I’d only seen once or twice around Ethan. His presence was quiet but noticeable, like someone who belonged to a different world and yet had chosen to stand here, right in my small bubble of solitude.

“Bella?” he asked. His voice was gentle, careful, like he didn’t want to startle me.

I nodded slowly, my fingers tightening around the strap of my backpack.

He held out a small gift bag, blue with silver tissue paper peeking out of the top. “This is for you.”

“For me?” I blinked, confused and cautious. “From who?”

“Ethan,” he said simply. “He asked me to bring it.”

My stomach dropped in the strangest mix of excitement and disappointment. Ethan remembered my birthday but he didn’t show up himself. The thought made my chest tighten in a strange, fluttering way, part longing, part frustration.

“Oh. Thank you,” I murmured, taking the bag carefully as if it were made of something fragile.

He didn’t leave right away. Instead, he gave a small, warm smile. “Happy birthday, by the way. I’m Collin.”

Collin. Ethan’s cousin.

I studied the bag, hesitating before peeking inside. My fingers trembled slightly as I lifted the tissue paper. Inside was a delicate silver bracelet with a tiny heart charm. My breath caught, and for a second, I forgot to breathe, tracing the outline of the tiny heart with my fingertip.

Before I could fully process it, my phone buzzed on the table.

A message from Ethan:

“Happy birthday to my beautiful Bella. Do you have plans for tonight?”

My fingers trembled over the screen. My heart was a quiet storm inside my chest part nervous, part thrilled. I couldn’t help but smile, the warmth spreading through me, making the day feel just a little more real, a little more mine.