Dorian and I stepped off the bus together and walked toward the school courtyard. Everyone else was leaving, but he stopped beneath a tree and turned toward me. “Okay,” he said nervously. “I've rehearsed this conversation about a hundred times, and now I've forgotten everything.” I laughed. “Just talk to me.” He took my hands. “I like you, Seraphina. Not as a friend. Not as a girl I flirt with when I'm bored. I like you in the way that makes me remember what you wore three weeks ago because you said it was your favorite outfit.” I smiled. He continued. “I like you so much that when you miss school, the entire day feels wrong.” My eyes filled with tears. “Dorian…” He stopped immediately. “Too much?” I shook my head. “No. It's perfect.” I stepped closer and kissed his cheek. He stared at me as though he'd forgotten how to breathe. “Was that real?” I laughed. “Would you like me to demonstrate again?” He grinned. “Please.” This time, I kissed his lips. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me gently as the afternoon breeze moved through the trees. When we pulled apart, he rested his forehead against mine. “So, are we officially dating?” I pretended to think. “Hmm. I might need more evidence.” He laughed and kissed me again. “Will this help?” “Possibly.” We walked toward the school gate holding hands, stopping every few steps because one of us would start laughing or the other would steal another kiss. For once, I wasn't imagining what it would feel like to be loved by my crush. I was living it. THE END. ❤️😭💋

My crush fell asleep on my shoulder during our school bus ride, and just when I thought he was completely asleep, he whispered, “I wish I could kiss you without ruining everything.” I stopped breathing. His name was Dorian West, and we'd been classmates for two years. He was the boy who made me laugh during boring lessons, borrowed my headphones, and always chose the seat beside me on school trips. I had loved him for months. But Dorian flirted with everyone, so I never believed his sweet gestures meant anything. That afternoon, our class returned from a school excursion. I sat beside him on the bus while everyone sang and laughed. Halfway home, Dorian rested his head on my shoulder. “I'm tired,” he mumbled. “Then sleep.” He closed his eyes. A few minutes later, I heard him whisper those words. “I wish I could kiss you without ruining everything.” I turned toward him. “Dorian?” He didn't move. I gently touched his arm. “Are you awake?” He opened one eye. Then he sat upright so quickly that he nearly hit his head against the window. “Oh my God. You heard that?” I nodded slowly. His face turned bright red. “I can explain.” “Please do.” He covered his face. “I've been in love with you since last year. I just thought you saw me as a friend.” My heart was pounding. “Then why do you flirt with every girl in school?” He looked at me, suddenly serious. “Because whenever I'm around you, I get so nervous that I don't know how to act. Flirting with other girls was easier than admitting that you're the only one I actually want.” I stared at him. Then I whispered, “Dorian, I have a confession too.” He swallowed. “What?” I leaned closer. “I've been imagining that kiss since the beginning of this school year.” His eyes widened. But before he could answer, the bus pulled into the school parking lot. He stood up, picked up his backpack, and offered me his hand. “Come with me. I need to ask you something before you go home.”

“Hey. You up?” I stared at it for ten minutes. We broke up because I was always the one reaching. It took me eight months to stop checking if he was online. I typed, “Why now?” Deleted it. Then another text came in. “Sorry. Wrong person.” I laughed. Not because it was actually funny. Then my husband’s phone lit up on the nightstand. I looked. It was my ex’s name. “Did she get my text?” My husband was in bed next to me, eyes closed, breathing slow. I turned the screen toward his face. He opened his eyes. “I told him to wait until morning,” he said.

I held the phone up to his face. “Wait for what?” He looked at the ceiling. “He’s been messaging me since August. Asking if you were okay.” “And you never told me?” “I saw how you looked every time your phone lit up. Even when it was your mum.” I opened my mouth to argue. Nothing came out. So I told him the truth. “Tonight I typed, ‘Yes. I’m always up for you.’ I didn’t send it. But I meant it for about ten seconds.” He nodded slowly, like I’d confirmed something he’d already paid for. “Three years married,” he said. “I’ve never had ten seconds like that.” He took his pillow and stopped at the door. “I’m not leaving. I just can’t lie here right now.” I heard the couch creak down the hall. I deleted the thread. His number too. Then I sat on the floor beside the couch until the sun came up.

Daniel ended the relationship with Vanessa privately and respectfully. He didn't humiliate her or turn our classmates against her. Vanessa eventually admitted that she had lied because she knew I liked him and wanted to be the one he chose. I was hurt, but I refused to let jealousy turn me into someone cruel. At our school's final assembly, Daniel found me beneath the mango tree where we used to study together. He held out a tiny paper star. “You once told me that if someone really likes you, they should make you feel chosen, not confused.” I laughed softly. “You remember that?” “I remember everything you tell me.” He took a breath. “I like you. Not because Vanessa lied, and not because I feel guilty. I liked you before all of this. Will you let me take you on a date?” I looked at the boy I had secretly loved for so long. “Only if you promise never to make me compete for your heart.” He smiled. “Your heart isn't a competition.” I kissed his cheek, and he turned so quickly that our lips met by accident. We both burst out laughing. Then I kissed him properly. My cousin had taken her chance with him. But my story with Daniel was finally ours to write. ❤️

I had loved Daniel since the first term of senior year. He was the boy who borrowed my notes but always returned them with little smiley faces in the margins. The boy who walked beside me after basketball practice, even when his friends were waiting for him. I had never confessed. Then my cousin Vanessa transferred to our school. Two weeks later, she announced that she and Daniel were dating. Everyone congratulated her. I smiled and hugged her while something inside me quietly shattered. That Friday, Daniel found me sitting alone behind the science block. “Why have you been avoiding me?” he asked. I forced a smile. “Congratulations on your relationship.” He stared at me. “Vanessa told you?” I nodded. He sat beside me, looking troubled. “I need to tell you something. I agreed to date her because she said you were already seeing someone and had no feelings for me.” My heart began racing. “I never said that.” “I know,” he whispered. “I found out she lied.” Before I could respond, he stood up. “I'm ending things with her. But I need you to know I won't ask you to be my girlfriend until I've handled this honestly.” For once, someone had chosen not to make me part of a lie. And somehow, that made me love him even more.