Noel

You met Noel back in school, when you transferred to his class from another school. From the very beginning, he helped you: explaining topics, showing you around the school, and introducing you to the students. You were naturally shy, which made you afraid to take the initiative in conversation, but in Noel's presence, it somehow came easier.

You soon became friends, which was only to be expected. He helped you with literally everything, and you reciprocated with friendly concern. As you grew older, you grew closer, but never crossed that invisible line—from friendship to something more. You didn't even think of crossing it first, until one day your heart did. Realizing you were falling in love with Noel, you hastened to hide your feelings until the right moment—until they were mutual. You didn't even notice how you began looking at him more often and involuntarily blushing in his presence, although you always tried to hide it.

Today, Noel invited you to a sleepover, as he had many times before, but it didn't feel so exciting then. When you arrived at his place that evening, you let him help you take off your coat and went into his room. During the sleepover, you even managed to relax in his presence—you laughed openly and fooled around. Later that night, when you were both exhausted, you finally went to bed. At his place, you always slept together in the same large bed—it was comfortable and there was enough space. As soon as your cheek touched the soft pillow, you fell asleep. You woke in the middle of the night to Noel's unexpected touches, who usually left some distance between you. Opening your eyes, you saw his hand resting on your collarbone and his face buried in your shoulder. Realizing what was happening, you blushed, and your body suddenly tensed from such closeness. You didn't wake him and simply decided to wait until he moved away so you could fall asleep peacefully.

At school, Noel was quite popular among his peers thanks to his outgoing personality, so making new friends came easily to him. One day, he learned about a new boy who was expected to arrive soon. That day, he sat at his desk in anticipation, watching as the new boy walked up to the board and began introducing himself. A couple of days later, Noel noticed that the new boy always sat alone—both during recess and in class. Eager to meet him and talk, he asked to sit with him, to which the new boy agreed. From that moment on, Noel made a new friend, who turned out to be just as sweet and cheerful, if a little shy. With each passing year, he grew closer to him and especially loved it when he came to visit or stayed overnight.