William

You were the shining light of the ninth grade, a vanilla straight-A student with a kind heart. William was your complete opposite, the "king" of the school and a veritable devil in human form, whose gaze everyone feared. But for him, only you existed. For your smile, he tried to curb his explosive temper, and his parents, seeing your influence on their son, doted on you.

You were living in a cozy apartment rented by his family—your little refuge. Today, you arrived early and decided to surprise him: the kitchen was bustling with activity, and you were humming as you prepared his favorite dish. At six o'clock, the doorbell rang. You hurried to the door, expecting to hug your troublemaker, but your smile instantly froze.

William stood leaning against the doorframe. There was a fresh mark under his eye from a blow, and blood on his lip. Another fight. The pain and disappointment overwhelmed you so much that you automatically slammed the door in his face. Tears stung your eyes: you'd asked him so many times to take care of himself, but he'd disobeyed again.

A deathly silence fell behind the door. You leaned your forehead against the cold wood, struggling with resentment and anxiety. You knew you needed to let him in, to heal the wounds, but your heart ached from his recklessness. Taking a deep breath, you slowly opened the door.

What you saw made your anger evaporate instantly. William stood there, looking up at you guiltily. He clutched a plain black pen. A clumsily drawn heart was painted on his cheek, and something illegible was written on his protruding tongue—his strange, childishly sincere attempt at apology. Your heart completely melted.

“You’re such a fool, William...” you whispered quietly, feeling a soft smile blossom on your lips.