Chapter 1
"His name's Oliver," I answered.
I was giggling like a little kid. I couldn’t forget how he winked at me—I'd been blushing the entire day. I never had a seatmate before. I was the typical loner in school: no friends, average grades, but thankfully, no one picked on me.
I got transferred here because of bullying. Ever since people found out about my sexuality, all they did was torment me. So Mom moved me to a new school, and for the record, I’ve been here for two years now. It’s been... peaceful.
Everyone just blacked me out—ignored me completely. No one looked my way or acknowledged me. I didn’t bother trying to make friends either. But Oliver was different.
The moment he walked into class, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
Then—he came and sat right next to me. Despite the rows of empty seats at the front and middle, he chose the back row. My row. I always sat by the window, the “easily distracted by birds” spot.
"Hi," he grinned.
I smiled back. "Hi." I couldn’t stop staring at him—his blonde hair, ocean-blue eyes, and perfect, pearly-white teeth.
"I'm Oliver," he said, stretching out his hand to shake mine. But I was too busy gawking at the hunk in front of me.
"Can I sit here?" he asked, finally snapping me out of my daze.
"Yes—yes, sorry. I'm Hayden," I beamed, taking his outstretched hand. His touch was cold, a sharp contrast to mine. I shivered and quickly pulled away.
His smile faltered for a second but returned almost instantly. Everyone was staring at us—more accurately, at the beautiful boy beside me.
Why he chose to sit next to me made no sense. I was just the invisible kid who came to school, made no noise, and got out of people’s way with a quiet "sorry" if I bumped into them.
The teacher walked in and class began. But I couldn’t help it—I was still gawking at the boy beside me. The sunlight hit his golden hair perfectly, like some divine spotlight. I guess he noticed my stare because he turned and smiled at me. A blush crept up my face and I quickly turned away, pretending to read something off my notebook.
---
Break period. I was getting my lunch and scanning the cafeteria for an empty table when my eyes met those same piercing blue ones. He waved me over with a smile.
The table he sat at was packed—with girls, the popular ones, and the jocks.
Maybe I haven't mentioned this yet, but I have anxiety. I hated crowded places. That’s why I always sat alone. But walking away from his kind smile to go sit by myself felt... rude.
So I walked over, nodding politely at faces I barely recognized. To be honest, the only person in this whole school I *do* recognize is the principal—mostly because she keeps calling me into her office to check in. No bullies here. No friends either. No academic progress. Just... existence. But Mom wasn’t complaining, so I didn’t either. I just showed up, went home, and slept.
"Hi," I said with a small smile, trying to hide how uncomfortable I felt.
"Hi, Hayden." My name rolled off his lips like a song. Those full lips I already found myself wanting to kiss. I was falling hard, and I’d only met him hours ago.
The table buzzed with chatter and banter. No one included me, and I felt invisible again—just a quiet ghost among the loud crowd. But Oliver leaned in and whispered in my ear: "Are you okay?"
I nodded, heat blooming in my cheeks. His lips were so close to my ear.
Then, a boy with jet-black hair—he looked like a K-pop idol who’d just walked out of a magazine—spoke up: "Looks like Oliver’s found himself a boyfriend already."
Everyone whistled and laughed. I braced myself, expecting homophobic backlash like I’d gotten at my old school.
But no one jeered. No slurs. Just teasing. Light-hearted, even friendly.
And that’s when I realized—I wasn’t alone because everyone hated me. I was alone because I never even tried.
The laughter continued, and I felt my face go red again. Oliver turned away from me, but I saw how pink his neck was. He was blushing too.
From that moment, everything changed. The tension melted away. Oliver pulled me into the conversation, and I responded. Some of the others even asked *me* questions—what movies I liked, what music I listened to. For the first time in years, I didn’t feel invisible.
Maybe if I’d just made an effort earlier, I wouldn’t have spent so long being the lonely kid with no friends.
Lunch ended far too soon. My tray was empty, and Oliver even offered me his food when he saw I was still hungry. I love food and I’ve got a big stomach—who was I to say no?
He barely touched his plate, which warmed my heart. He probably saved it for me, thinking I might still be hungry. That simple thought made something flutter inside me.
I even started remembering names. The black-haired guy who teased us—his name’s Damien. The chubby girl with the porcelain-doll face is Priya. The boy with golden-brown hair and glasses is Jude.
They were kind. Jude’s gay too—I caught him staring at Damien more than once. When I noticed, he looked away and blushed.
--
When school was over, Oliver walked me home. Turns out he lives just two streets away. They had just moved to the area, which explained why I’d never seen him around before.
He told me he’s half French, half Indian—and when he spoke French? God, it was hot.
I hated saying goodbye. Watching him walk away alone made me ache a little.
I offered to drop my bag and walk him home, but he brushed me off with a laugh.
"I’ll be fine. It’s just a three-minute walk."
I shrugged and waved. "See you tomorrow."
When I turned back to my house, Mom was already at the door, arms crossed, watching me.
She’d seen us.
Well, at least she could be happy now—her son finally had a friend.
"Who’s that?" she asked the moment I stepped inside.
"His name’s Oliver," I answered.
