Chapter 1
Elliana Mae Emerson hated hallways.
There was something about the noise, the lockers slamming, students shouting to friends across the building, laughter echoing off the walls, that made her chest tighten. It felt like everyone knew exactly where they belonged except her.
So she did what she always did.
She kept her eyes on the floor.
One foot in front of the other.
Don’t look up.
Don’t draw attention.
Don’t give anyone a reason to notice you.
The first day of junior year was always the worst. Everyone seemed excited to see friends after summer break while Ellie wished she could disappear entirely.
She adjusted the strap of her backpack and moved through the crowded hallway, trying to make herself as small as possible.
A group of girls walked past her laughing loudly.
For a second, Ellie’s stomach twisted.
Were they laughing at her?
No.
Probably not.
But anxiety didn’t care about logic.
Anxiety whispered things.
They’re looking at you.
You look weird.
You’re walking funny.
Everyone notices how awkward you are.
She swallowed hard and kept moving.
By the time she reached English class, her palms were already sweaty.
The classroom was mostly empty.
Thank goodness.
Ellie quickly claimed the desk she always looked for every year, the one in the very back corner near the window.
The perfect hiding spot.
She sat down and immediately pulled out a book from her backpack.
Not because she planned on reading it.
Because books gave her something to look at.
Something other than people.
The bell hadn’t rung yet when students started filing into the room.
Laughter.
Conversations.
Chairs scraping across the floor.
Ellie focused on the pages in front of her.
Pretend to read.
Pretend you’re busy.
Pretend you’re invisible.
It usually worked.
Usually.
“Is anyone sitting here?”
The voice startled her.
Ellie looked up.
A girl with curly brown hair stood beside her desk.
“no.”
The word came out quieter than she’d intended.
The girl smiled.
“Thanks.”
Relief flooded through Ellie.
The interaction was over.
She hadn’t embarrassed herself.
The girl sat down and immediately started talking to friends nearby.
Ellie returned her attention to the book.
Invisible again.
Just how she liked it.
Or at least that’s what she told herself.
The truth was a little more complicated.
Because sometimes, when she watched groups of friends laughing together, something inside her hurt.
Sometimes she wished she knew how to join conversations without rehearsing every sentence in her head first.
Sometimes she wished speaking didn’t feel like standing on the edge of a cliff.
Sometimes she wished she wasn’t scared all the time.
But wishes didn’t change anything.
So she stayed quiet.
The bell rang.
Their teacher introduced herself and began discussing the syllabus.
Ellie took notes carefully.
She liked notes.
Notes had rules.
Notes made sense.
People didn’t.
By lunchtime, she was exhausted.
Most students spent lunch surrounded by friends.
Ellie spent hers beneath an old oak tree near the edge of campus.
She’d discovered the spot during freshman year.
It was hidden enough that people rarely bothered her.
She sat cross-legged in the grass and opened her lunch.
Turkey sandwich.
Apple slices.
Water bottle.
The same thing she’d eaten yesterday.
And the day before that.
And probably the day before that too.
Routine was comforting.
Routine was safe.
The warm California breeze rustled the leaves overhead.
For a few minutes, she felt peaceful.
Then she heard footsteps approaching.
Her stomach immediately dropped.
Please don’t come here.
Please don’t sit here.
Please don’t talk to me.
The footsteps continued.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Ellie stared at the ground.
Maybe they’d pass by.
Maybe
“Hey.”
Her head snapped up.
A boy stood a few feet away.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Dark brown hair that looked slightly messy despite clearly being intentional.
A football jersey hung loosely from one hand.
He looked familiar.
Then she remembered.
Morning announcements.
New transfer student.
Dean Anderson.
Even Ellie had heard girls talking about him all day.
Apparently half the school was already in love with him.
Lucky him.
“Hi,” he said again.
Ellie blinked.
Was he talking to her?
Surely not.
She glanced around.
Nobody else was there.
Oh.
He was definitely talking to her.
“Um…”
Brilliant response, Ellie.
Real smooth.
Dean smiled.
Not a mocking smile.
A genuine one.
“I was wondering if this spot was taken.”
She stared.
The entire campus.
Hundreds of places to sit.
And he wanted this one?
“no.”
“There isn’t exactly a reservation system?”
For a second, she thought he was serious.
Then she realized he was joking.
A laugh escaped before she could stop it.
A tiny laugh.
But still.
A laugh.
Dean’s grin widened.
“There it is.”
“There what is?”
“A smile.”
Heat rushed into her cheeks.
Immediately.
She looked down.
Of course.
Of course she embarrassed herself.
“Sorry.”
The word slipped out automatically.
Dean frowned.
“For what?”
She opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
“I don’t know.”
That answer made him laugh.
Not at her.
With amusement.
Like he’d genuinely found her funny.
Which somehow made her blush even harder.
He sat down on the grass nearby.
Ellie’s eyes widened.
He wasn’t leaving.
Great.
Fantastic.
Her anxiety immediately began sprinting laps around her brain.
What do I say?
Why is he sitting here?
Does he feel bad for me?
Am I being weird?
I’m definitely being weird.
Dean leaned back on his hands.
“You always sit here?”
She nodded.
“Pretty much.”
“It’s nice.”
Ellie glanced around.
The sunlight filtered through the branches overhead.
The sounds of students felt distant from here.
Safe.
“Yeah.”
“It kind of feels hidden.”
Something about the way he said it made her look at him.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Dean tilted his head.
“So why do I get the feeling you like being hidden?”
The question hit closer to home than she expected.
Ellie’s heart stumbled.
Nobody ever noticed things like that.
Nobody ever noticed her.
Yet somehow this boy had spent ten minutes around her and already seemed to see things everyone else missed.
“I don’t know.”
Dean raised an eyebrow.
“That sounded suspiciously like a lie.”
A nervous laugh escaped her.
Maybe because he wasn’t pushing.
Maybe because he wasn’t judging.
Maybe because talking to him felt strangely easy.
Not easy.
Nothing was easy.
But easier.
And that scared her almost as much as it excited her.
The lunch bell rang before either of them could say anything else.
Students immediately began heading back toward the building.
Dean stood and slung his backpack over one shoulder.
“See you around, Ellie.”
Her eyes widened.
“You know my name?”
He looked amused.
“We’ve been in English class together all morning.”
“Oh.”
Smooth.
Very smooth.
Dean chuckled.
Then he started walking backward toward the school.
“Try not to hide too much, okay?”
And just like that, he disappeared into the crowd.
Leaving Ellie sitting beneath the tree.
Staring after him.
Her heart beating strangely fast.
For the first time in a very long time, she wasn’t thinking about how awkward she’d sounded.
Or how embarrassing she was.
Or whether people were staring at her.
She was thinking about the new boy.
The one who sat beside her when nobody else ever did.
The one who made her laugh.
The one who somehow noticed her.
And for reasons she couldn’t explain, Ellie had a feeling that meeting Dean Anderson was about to change everything. ✨
