The fated day had finally arrived.
Ryan opened his eyes slowly, the weight of a thousand thoughts pressing on his chest. And the very first thing that popped into his head—yep, you guessed it:
Ariana.
He lay there for a second, staring at the ceiling, already lost in overthinking mode when—
Ding! Ding!
A message. He checked his phone.
> "Hey dude, ready for today?" —Gary 1
Ryan sighed. Deeply. Not even a reply. Just stared at the screen like it had personally betrayed him.
He got up, half a zombie, and went through his morning routine. Made his bed. Brushed his teeth. But all the while? His mind was spinning—imagining every possible conversation, every awkward moment, every panic-inducing scenario that could go down with Ariana. He even had fake responses ready for questions that might never even be asked.
He left home a little later than usual, maybe on purpose. Maybe hoping the day would delay itself too. But fate had other plans.
On the way, he bumped into Bob—athletic, smart, handsome Bob. Because of course he did.
"Morning, Bob!" Ryan called out.
Bob turned, waved, and shouted, "Race you to school!"
Great. Because what Ryan needed right now was more adrenaline.
When they got to the gate, Gary 2 and Prenston were already waiting. The boys greeted each other with handshakes and laughs. To everyone else, it was just another school day.
But inside? Ryan was screaming.
He glanced at his phone again. Opened Ariana's chat. Read her message from yesterday over and over.
They had agreed to talk today.
Why, why did I listen to my friends? he groaned silently.
And just when he thought he might survive the morning without running into her—
"Hey Ryan! Wait up!"
Her voice.
He froze mid-step. Sweat instantly formed on his forehead, trickling down his back. Slowly, he turned around.
"Hey Ariana… what's up?" he said, forcing the most awkward smile in existence.
She smiled gently. "When are we meeting?"
Ryan panicked. "Oh… really soon," he said, trying to sound casual.
And then, like a guardian angel with a terrible sense of timing, Prenston appeared.
"Heyyy, where you two headed?" he said with a cheeky grin. "What are you planning, Ariana? Gonna kidnap our boy?"
Ryan wanted to teleport into another dimension.
Ariana just laughed. "Don't worry, I won't eat your friend."
She winked and walked away. Ryan was still processing that wink when Prenston yanked him by the collar.
"Let's go, bro. Training time," he joked.
Ryan smacked him. Prenston yelped. It was chaos, like always.
They went to the washroom—not to pee, but for a meeting. Yep, that's where they did their top-secret planning.
Alex spoke first. "Okay, so we need to talk to you. Meeting's near the football ground. Be there."
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? That's why you dragged me here?"
Everyone just smiled. And that made him suspicious. Something didn't feel right. But they'd done stuff like this before, so he brushed it off.
Then… something unexpected happened.
Ariana appeared at the classroom door.
"Hey Ryan… can we talk now?"
Ryan's heart did a full backflip.
He thought he was ready. Turns out, he wasn't.
He stammered, "Actually, I have an important meeting right now…" and walked away.
Did he feel bad? Absolutely. Did he feel relieved too? You bet.
Lunchtime came. And so did fate.
Ariana found him again. "Hey Ryan, can we please talk now?"
His brain short-circuited.
"Umm… act…actually I-I couldn't make it to the m-meeting earlier… so they moved it to the afternoon!" he lied through his teeth.
"Maybe some other time," he added, smiling awkwardly as he ran off toward the football ground.
He reached the field.
Empty.
Not a single person.
He waited. And waited. Then—footsteps.
He turned, hoping it was the guys.
It wasn't.
It was her.
Ariana smiled. "Didn't know meetings were held alone."
He gave a weak laugh. "They were supposed to come, I swear."
She walked closer. "Actually… I think I know where they are. They went home. Told me they forgot about you. Asked me to come tell you."
Ryan stared.
Those traitors!
So that was their plan. Setting him up.
Ariana laughed. "I didn't know your meeting was this important."
Ryan chuckled nervously.
Then, silence.
But it wasn't like before. It was different now. Something was hanging in the air.
And then, she broke it.
"I had something to tell you," she said, eyes flicking down shyly, her fingers playing with her hair.
Ryan's heart was doing somersaults.
"Do you… like me?"
What?!
Ryan's brain hit pause. He stared at her, completely frozen.
"Ryan? You there?" she asked, lightly tapping his forehead.
He snapped back. "Uhh… why do you ask?"
"I was just curious. I heard your friends teasing you."
Ryan tried to play it cool. "Oh that? They just say stupid stuff all the time."
"Ohhh," she said, "so you don't like me?"
Ryan's soul left his body. "No! I mean—no, I didn't say that!"
"So you do like me?" she said with a smile.
He nodded. Quietly. But he was smiling too.
The moment felt light and beautiful.
He took a deep breath, looked into her eyes, and spoke—calm, steady, from the heart.
"Ariana… I've liked you since the day I saw you. I never knew how to say it. I was scared. But now… I want to stop running."
She blushed. "You didn't stutter."
He grinned. "I guess I don't stutter when I speak from the heart."
He gently held her hand.
"Shall we head home?" he asked.
"Yeah i guess so , also it's getting kinda late, plus your meeting got cancelled again i guess, " she smiled.
They both laughed.
As they walked side by side,she said something that left ryan speechless. That day he didn't eat dinner ,he felt full and happier than he ever was. Those words she said rang in his head all night long, he replayed those words again in his head, "reach home safe" , although they were words he heard all the time, but that day those words coming from the mouth of someone he loved so dearly, those words seemed more precious and beautiful, how the meaning and feelings from those simple words were so different when they came from someone you loved so much.
That day he slept like a baby , tired from all the action,romance and lets not forget, his important meeting.