Hi there! Oh wait—you can't see me, can you? Silly me. Anyway, let's not get too caught up in that. There's someone I want you to meet. See that guy over there? Well, let me introduce you—his name is Ryan. He's been through a lot, honestly... but today? Today he's doing pretty well. He's about to get married—yeah, I know, crazy right? But hold on, we're getting ahead of ourselves.
Let's rewind. Let's go back to the very beginning. To the story of a boy who lost hope… and somehow found it again.
Ryan wakes up with a groan.
"Ugh... another boring day. Wish I could just sleep forever," he mutters, dragging his blanket over his head.
That's Ryan for you—15 years old, quiet, and not exactly Mr. Popular. He doesn't have many friends. A loner, you could say. But he does have a small circle. A few good ones. And sometimes, that's all you need.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
His phone buzzes.
"Huh? A message? This early?" he grumbles, reaching for it with one sleepy eye open.
But the moment he reads the name on the screen—his eyes go wide. His heart skips. No joke.
Ariana.
His crush.
You see, Ryan never really talked to Ariana. She was the girl who seemed out of reach—beautiful, kind, and totally outside his league. They only had one brief interaction, and even that left him mentally spiraling.
It happened during a school project.
"Umm, excuse me," she had asked, with that soft voice that still echoed in his memory, "can you tell me where you got the cover for your project? I really like it."
Ryan? Oh, he almost fainted. His voice cracked, his heart stuttered, and somehow—somehow—he stammered out:
"Uhh… yeah? The… the cover? It's from… from a shop near my house… do you… wanna come?"
Yep. He said it. And then immediately wanted to vanish into the floor. He kept his head low, cheeks burning red, all the way home. His friends had tried to cheer him up after that, saying things like "You didn't do anything wrong, bro!" But none of it helped.
He hadn't spoken to her since.
That was just a few days ago.
And now this?
He looks at the message again, blinking.
> "Hi Ryan , remember me? It's Ariana. I wanted to talk to you about something… if it's okay with you."
Wait. Ariana?
He double checks the name—yep, that's her.
So… why now? What could she possibly want to talk about?
His hands tremble slightly as he stares at the screen.
This… might just be the start of something he never expected.