The next morning, Amira couldn't focus on anything except the feeling that her anonymous partner was near.
Too near.
She could barely write in her real notebooks, couldn't even remember the name of the poem she was supposed to analyze in English class. All she could think about was the sentence she'd written:
"I think I'd want to kiss you one day."
Had she really said that? Out loud in writing? She buried her face in her hands and groaned silently.
And then—like her thoughts had pulled him in—she felt someone watching her.
She looked up.
Jayden.
He wasn't laughing like he usually did. He was looking her way… just for a second.
Their eyes met—brief but electric.
Her stomach flipped.
He blinked, then looked away quickly, rubbing the back of his neck, as if he was the one caught.
Amira's heart thundered.
Could it be him?
---
Jayden sat frozen.
It had been automatic—he'd just looked at her without thinking. The girl with the notebooks. The one who always had her hair tucked behind her left ear. The one with soft, unreadable eyes.
She was writing when he glanced. Like always. But this time, she looked up—and for a split second, her eyes didn't hide.
She didn't look surprised to see him staring.
She looked... like she already knew.
Jayden reached into his bag and pulled out the notebook. The journal. Their journal.
He opened to the next page and began writing during lunch, his fries untouched beside him.
" Okay. I know this breaks the rules, but I think I saw you today.
I was looking, but I didn't expect to meet your eyes.
If it was you… you looked beautiful. In the quietest, most distracting way.
And if it wasn't you… well, I'm still falling for the girl behind the words.
But I have a feeling it was.
Am I right? Would you tell me?"
---
Amira got the journal back the next day.
She read it twice, then stared at the sentence:
"You looked beautiful. In the quietest, most distracting way."
She covered her mouth, then smiled so wide her cheeks hurt.
No one had ever said anything like that to her before. Not even close.
She held her pencil tightly, heart full of boldness she didn't know she had.
" It might've been me.
And if it was… you looked back at me like you already knew.
And if it wasn't me, then I'm jealous of whoever she is.
But maybe… I'm hoping you'll look again. Just once more. Just to be sure.
— Still maybe-me"
---
Jayden read her response and laughed softly to himself.
He didn't just want to look again.
He wanted to walk right up, pull her notebook from her hands, and press a kiss to the corner of her smile.
He wasn't there yet.
But he was close.