WHEN HE LOOKED AT ME

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

I carried that look ,Ethan’s look ,through the rest of the day like a secret pressed against my ribs. No matter how hard I tried to shake it off, it sat there, warm and confusing, like something I wasn’t supposed to hold but couldn’t let go of either. Every time I blinked, I saw it again: the quick lift of his eyes, the flicker of something sharp and wounded, something I didn’t understand but felt anyway.

By the time I got home, the sky had already dipped into a soft orange, the kind of sunset that made everything look calm and beautiful even when it wasn’t. I kicked off my shoes, dropped my backpack on the floor, and collapsed onto my bed, staring at the ceiling fan spinning lazily above me. My thoughts kept replaying the scene in the hall, over and over, until the edges blurred and twisted into something almost dreamlike. Maybe he hadn’t actually looked at me. Maybe I imagined it because wanting it so badly made it easy to believe.

Still… curiosity tugged harder than my doubts.

I rolled onto my stomach and opened the i********: app. My thumb hovered over the search bar for what felt like an eternity, hesitating like I was about to commit some terrible crime. My fingers trembled slightly. Finally, I typed:

ethan.walker

His profile popped up instantly, like it had been waiting for me. Thousands of followers. Sunlit selfies. Basketball pictures. Shots of him laughing with friends. He looked untouchable, like someone who belonged to a world shinier, louder, and brighter than mine. A world where girls like me didn’t really exist or at least weren’t noticed.

And yet… I hit Follow anyway.

Then, impulsively, stupidly, courageously, I sent a single word:

Hi.

I tossed my phone aside and buried my face in my pillow, my cheeks burning and my stomach twisting. I could already feel the regret creeping in. He wasn’t going to reply. Guys like Ethan didn’t notice girls like me. Not really.

Then my phone buzzed.

Once.

Twice.

I froze. My heart pounded so loudly it felt like it could knock me off the bed. I grabbed the phone in both hands, as if it could break if I touched it too hard.

“Hi, beautiful.”

The air left my lungs entirely. I stared at the screen, unsure if I was awake or trapped in some impossible dream. My brain refused to process it at first. He knew who I was. He actually knew.

Then another message appeared. Longer this time.

“Of course I know you. You’re one of the prettiest girls in school. I just never had the guts to approach you.”

My hands shook like leaves in the wind.

For the first time in years, something warm and solid pushed back against all the insecurities that had lived inside me. Something that whispered I might actually belong somewhere, that maybe I wasn’t invisible.

And even though I hadn’t said a word out loud, I felt it settle in my chest the beginning of something I hadn’t allowed myself to feel in a long time.

Being seen.

Really seen.

By him.