A beautiful love story

one.

"Maybe love has already found you, and you just haven't realized it..."

The girl sighed, absentmindedly picking at the scar on her thigh, barely paying attention to the speaker droning on about love. She glanced at her friend, who was busy texting her boyfriend and rolled her eyes. She was bored and eager to get to class, but they were stuck in this two-hour assembly.

Suddenly, a notification popped up on her phone. Her eyes widened.

“Ethan added you back.”

She gasped and tapped her friend’s shoulder repeatedly. "Look who added me back!" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Oh my god!" her friend responded in shock.

It felt like a fever dream—the hottest guy at school had added her back. She couldn’t believe it; she had dreamed of this moment but never thought it would happen.

Her heart pounded in her chest, a smile spreading across her face as she began to type a message to him. To her delight, he replied almost immediately.

She giggled to herself, feeling as if she was floating on air. It was as if the dull monotony of the assembly had melted away, replaced by this exhilarating, unexpected turn of events. She glanced at her friend again, who was now peeking over her shoulder, reading the conversation with wide eyes.

“What are you going to say next?” her friend whispered, her voice brimming with excitement.

The girl hesitated, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. She wanted to say something clever, something that would keep his attention, but all she could think of was how surreal this moment felt. Her mind raced through possibilities, but every thought was tinged with the fear of saying the wrong thing. This wasn’t just any boy—this was Ethan. Ethan who was charming, popular, and seemingly out of reach.

Taking a deep breath, she finally typed out a casual, “Hey, what’s up?” and hit send, hoping it sounded natural and not overly eager.

Seconds felt like hours as she waited for his response. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she bit her lip, trying to suppress the nervous energy bubbling up inside her. She glanced at the stage where the speaker was still talking, but the words were just a blur. All she could focus on was the little bubble that indicated Ethan was typing.

Her phone buzzed again, and she quickly looked down.

“Not much, just chilling. What about you?”

Her face lit up with a smile as she read his message. She quickly responded, telling him about how boring the assembly was and making a joke about how she’d rather be anywhere else. The conversation flowed effortlessly after that, each reply from him making her heart race a little faster.

As they continued to chat, the world around her seemed to fade into the background. The noise of the assembly, the monotonous voice of the speaker, even the presence of her friend beside her—all of it dimmed, leaving only the thrill of the conversation with Ethan. It was as if time had slowed down just for them, giving her a moment to savor this unexpected connection.

For the first time in a while, she felt a spark of hope. Maybe, just maybe, this was the beginning of something real. Something more than just a fleeting crush or a passing daydream. As the assembly dragged on, she found herself daydreaming not about escaping, but about where this conversation might lead.

And for the first time, she realized that maybe, love had already come to her—just in the most unexpected way.