Morning sunlight slipped through the curtains, gentle enough to promise an ordinary day.
Flora stretched, brushed her hair back, and felt a rare peace settle over her. No messages, no gossip, no stares just the quiet rhythm of a school day waiting for her.
Downstairs, the clinking of cutlery greeted her. Brandon was already at the dining table, laptop open beside his coffee. Liam sat across from him, expression calm as ever.
"You're up early," Brandon said without looking up.
"Trying to be responsible for once," Flora teased, sliding into her seat.
Liam's lips curved faintly. "You might actually make it to class on time today."
She rolled her eyes. "You're not coming?"
He shook his head. "Still have some paperwork left. I'll join tomorrow."
Brandon added, "He's helping me with a few things before he transfers. Be nice and bring him some notes later."
Flora nodded, finishing breakfast quickly before heading out. The air outside smelled like rain, though the sky was still pale and clear.
---
School drifted by quietly the kind of quiet she had begun to crave. No whispers, no cruel tricks, just the small, comforting normalcy of lessons and chatter.
When the bell rang for free period, she found herself drawn to the library.
The silence there always felt different warmer, safer. She settled into her favorite corner seat, losing herself between lines of a book she barely remembered picking.
Then someone sat down across from her. The faint rustle of paper, the subtle scent of vanilla and rain it made her glance up for a heartbeat, but she returned to her book.
Her eraser rolled off the edge of the table and landed near the other person's arm. Without looking up, she reached for it just as the person in front did.
Their fingers brushed.
Flora's eyes flickered up and met a pair of deep, steady ones.
Shane.
Her pulse stumbled.
"Sorry," she murmured, trying to pull her hand back, but her gaze caught on the small silver bracelet circling his wrist a thin band with a star-shaped charm.
It looked… familiar.
"That bracelet…" she began, hesitant. "I think I've seen something like it before."
Shane's lips curved slightly, a calm, unreadable smile. "It used to be a pendant," he said, voice low. "But I like wearing it this way."
Something in his tone made her fingers tremble faintly. She wanted to ask more but didn't. Some things, she sensed, weren't meant to be asked outright.
They kept talking after that, about books and classes and meaningless things that somehow didn't feel meaningless. When she laughed, he looked at her in a way that made her heartbeat slow and quicken at the same time.
Before they parted, they exchanged numbers.
She didn't even question it. It felt… natural.
---
By the time classes ended, the sky had turned heavy and gray.
Raindrops splattered against the windows, and Flora sighed when she realized she hadn't checked the weather forecast. Her driver was running late.
Almost everyone had left when she stepped into the empty hallway. The rain outside blurred the world into silver streaks.
"Didn't bring an umbrella?" a voice said behind her.
She turned. Shane stood there, holding one. His uniform collar was slightly damp, hair curling at the ends from the humidity.
"Guess not," she replied lightly.
For a second, neither spoke. Then a bit of dust or maybe a raindrop fell into her eye. She rubbed at it quickly, blinking.
"Are you crying?" Shane asked suddenly, his tone softer than she'd ever heard. "Did someone bother you again? Austin? Grace?"
She looked up, surprised. "Why would I cry for a man when someone way more handsome is standing right in front of me?" she said, half-teasing, half-defensive.
Shane blinked, caught off guard. Then a quiet, amused smile tugged at his mouth. "So, I should take that as a yes you were crying, but now you're covering it up?"
"No," she laughed, shaking her head. "I just got something in my eye."
He tilted his head, eyes glinting. "If it were me," he said softly, "I wouldn't have let you cry."
Her breath hitched. The words weren't bold, but they carried something warmth, promise, and a kind of unspoken ache.
She looked away, heart suddenly unsteady.
Rain thinned to a drizzle. He stepped closer, close enough that the umbrella shielded both of them.
"Flora," he said quietly, "what do you think of me?"
She blinked. "Think of you?"
He smiled gentle, unreadable. "Would you ever consider being my girlfriend?"
The question landed like a drop of rain on still water.....soft, yet shattering the quiet between them.
Flora stared at him, lips parting but no words forming. The rain hissed around them, and her heartbeat filled the silence.
Then her phone buzzed. A new message.
> [Unknown Number]: You shouldn't stand in the rain without protection, Flora. You'll catch a cold.
Her breath faltered.
When she looked up, Shane was still waiting for her answer smile calm, patient, unaware of the message glowing in her hand.
Flora's eyes widened. "What kind of question is that?"
Shane tilted his head. "An honest one."
She laughed, trying to hide the nervous flutter in her chest. "You're joking, right?"
He smiled slow, knowing. "If that makes it easier to answer, then sure. It's a joke."
Her heart skipped. "You really are something, Shane." she saw her car reached school and entered straight in.
"So I've been told," he said, walking past her with a small smirk. "See you around, maybe-girlfriend."
His teasing mask slipped for the briefest moment, and under his breath, he muttered so softly that only the rain could hear, "You really don't remember me."
"Maybe in your dreams," she muttered, but the warmth in her voice betrayed her.
His back facing her, Shane's quiet chuckle melted into the sound of rain.