Ch 14: First chance at love.

Something changed between us after that day. It wasn't sudden, nor was it dramatic. It was subtle, like the slow shift of seasons. She didn't wake up one day and decide to love me. But she didn't push me away either.

We started spending more time together.

At first, it was small things—our conversations became longer, our chats more frequent. She would message me good morning, and I would find myself smiling at my phone like an idiot.

Then, she started saving me a seat beside her during our classes together. If I was absent, she would text, "Where are you? Skipping school?" If she was absent, I would spend the day feeling like something was missing.

I made it a habit to talk with her, often time walking with each other. I even took classes I hated because I wanted more time with her. She would tease me about my obsession with photographing her, calling me her "personal photographer."

"I should start my career with you as my model," I joked once.

She laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Then I should start charging you for all the times I make your heart race."

I had no response to that. She had won that round.

We tried to keep our little dates a secret as she didn't want or wasn't ready to come out as having a relationship. But we were still acting as a normal everyday couple.

We would stay up texting, sometimes about silly things, sometimes about dreams and fears we didn't share with others.

Every little thing became a memory worth cherishing.

One day, she was feeling down, so I surprised her with her favorite snacks. She grinned, looking at the food in my hands.

"Wow, you remember what I like?"

"Of course," I said, pretending to be casual.

She reached out, took one of the snacks, then without warning ruffled my hair. And to this day, I never let anyone touch my hair the way she did. It was sacred and special for her.

"You are a gentleman, you know?" she said, before walking away.

I stood there, frozen, my brain refusing to function.

That night, I took out my pencils and tried to sketch her. I wanted to draw that face of hers as she was telling me about myself as she kept ruffling my hair.

As days turned into weeks, our relationship became something more real.

We weren't just friends. We would casually flirt with each other and often times hold each other's hands.

And though it was challenging and thrilling for both us to stay as a couple and not to be too open about it. I was willing to give my all to make it work.

It was during this time that I made a interesting discovery and she felt it too. Whenever she was close or I thought about her, my heart would naturally start to beat faster. And in times of distress, calling out her name or thinking about her made me feel relaxed and free. Somehow she became my solace a place I wanted to call home.