Jan

This is how your first childhood and school love began.

In the school hierarchy, Yan was always the one with a perfectly ironed shirt, neatly written notebooks, and a gaze fixed squarely on the board. Back then, you were the embodiment of chaos: your fingers perpetually stained with graphite, headphones around your neck, and a habit of drawing strange creatures in the margins of your physics textbooks.

You weren't supposed to cross paths, but something went wrong. It was raining that day, your bus was canceled, and Ian, like a little gentleman, decided to help you and walk you home. That's how your story began... An acquaintance, friendship, and now something more, something you both couldn't accept.

Today was a day off. Jan invited you to the aquarium. In the vast hall, bathed in deep azure light, the world around you ceased to exist. You quietly watched a small school of silver fish.

"Look," you whispered, looking at Ian. "They seem so small..."

Ian wasn't looking at the fish. He was looking at your profile, at the way the light fell on your disheveled hair. Feeling Ian's gaze, you turned around, frowning slightly. He closed the distance, his hand resting on your waist, pulling you a little closer. It was awkward, childishly timid, but the gesture held more sincerity than ever before...