The strange thing about Peryn's confession wasn't that it shocked me.It was that it didn't.
The words replayed in my head like a stubborn melody—I like you, Luna.And every time I remembered the look in his eyes when he said it, my chest tightened.
The next few days felt different.He didn't tease me as much, not like before. Instead, he… noticed things.
When my pen ran out of ink, his slid across my desk before I even had to ask.When the classroom fan was too low, he was already standing on a chair, fiddling with the switch so I wouldn't melt in the heat.When I coughed during lunch, he pushed his water bottle toward me with a simple, "Drink."
It wasn't grand gestures. It was little ones.And maybe that's what scared me the most—because each little thing made me feel like I wasn't invisible.
Once, I dropped my notebook on the way to the bus. I bent down to grab it, but Peryn was already there, picking it up before I could. He didn't hand it to me right away though—he looked at the messy scrawl of my handwriting, smirked, and said, "You're gonna give the paper checker a headache."
But then… he smiled softer and handed it back like it was something valuable. Like I was something valuable.
That night, I lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling.For the first time, I realized—I wasn't just happy because he liked me.I was happy because with him, I felt… safe. Cared for.
Cherished.
It was terrifying. It was beautiful.And deep down, I knew—this was only the beginning of the storm he'd brought into my quiet little world.