A Love Like Ours

A Glance Across the Room

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Chapter 1: A Glance Across the Room

The start of junior year was always a strange mix of excitement and anxiety for Mia Bennett. She was used to the familiar faces, the same winding hallways, and the sound of lockers slamming as students hurried to class, but there was something about the first day that always filled her with dread. Willows High wasn’t exactly the friendliest place for a quiet girl like Mia—especially one who preferred the company of books to people.

Mia was one of the few Black girls at Willows High, and although no one said anything outright, she always felt a little... out of place. Maybe it was the way some of the girls would glance at her hair like it was something foreign. Or maybe it was the fact that no matter how hard she tried, she never quite fit into the social circles that revolved around sports and popularity.

She clutched her books to her chest, walking quickly down the crowded hallway. Her curly hair, tied up in a messy bun, bounced with each step. She had her favorite worn-out sneakers on and her hoodie pulled tightly around her, like armor. She preferred to fade into the background, and on most days, it worked.

But today felt different.

Mia took a seat in her first-period English class, settling into a desk near the back. It was the one place she felt most comfortable—the world of literature, where love and adventure played out on every page. She pulled out her copy of Pride and Prejudice and began flipping through it. The story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy was one she had read countless times, but it never lost its magic. A girl could dream, right?

Just as she was getting lost in the familiar words, the classroom door swung open, and in walked Liam Callahan.

Liam was, for lack of a better word, one of the it guys at school. He was the captain of the soccer team, tall and athletic, with sandy blonde hair that always seemed perfectly tousled, and eyes so blue they looked like they belonged in a summer vacation ad. The kind of guy girls wrote anonymous love letters to and guys wanted to be friends with. He was charming, outgoing, and, from what Mia could tell, lived in a completely different world from hers.

As Liam walked in, the room seemed to pause for a second. Conversations stopped, heads turned, and for a moment, Mia felt her stomach do a little flip. She quickly looked down, pretending to be engrossed in her book.

But as Liam moved to his seat near the front, something strange happened.

He looked at her.

It wasn’t just a glance. His eyes locked onto hers for a heartbeat longer than necessary, and Mia felt a spark, a flicker of something she couldn’t explain. She blinked, unsure of what just happened, and quickly looked away, her heart suddenly racing.

Liam sat down, and the rest of the class continued as if nothing unusual had happened. But Mia’s mind was still stuck on that look. It wasn’t like they’d never seen each other before—they had classes together since freshman year—but something about the way he looked at her today was different. It was like he actually saw her for the first time.

The class dragged on, and Mia found it harder to concentrate than usual. Her thoughts kept drifting back to that moment, wondering if she was just imagining things.

When the bell rang, she quickly gathered her things, eager to escape before her overactive imagination got the best of her. She was almost out the door when she heard someone call her name.

“Mia?”

She froze.

Turning slowly, she saw Liam standing there, his backpack slung over one shoulder, a friendly but uncertain smile on his face.

“Uh, yeah?” she replied, trying to keep her voice steady.

“I’m Liam,” he said, as if she didn’t already know. “I think we’ve had a few classes together before.”

Mia nodded, still a little unsure where this conversation was going. “Yeah, we have.”

There was a brief, awkward pause before Liam scratched the back of his neck, looking a little nervous—something Mia didn’t expect from someone like him. “So, uh, are you into soccer? We’ve got a game coming up this Friday. I thought maybe you’d want to come check it out?”

Mia blinked. Was Liam Callahan, star athlete and one of the most popular guys in school, inviting her to a soccer game? Her mind raced. She wasn’t into sports at all, let alone soccer, but the way he was looking at her made it hard to say no.

“I’ve never really been to a game before,” she admitted, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

Liam’s smile brightened. “That’s cool. You should come. I think you’d like it.”

Before Mia could respond, Liam glanced over his shoulder as one of his teammates called his name. He gave her one last smile. “It’s a date, then. See you Friday?”

With that, he turned and jogged off, leaving Mia standing there in the middle of the hallway, completely stunned.

A date? Did he actually say “date”?

Mia felt her heart race as she stood there, her mind spinning. What just happened? Was Liam really interested in her, or was this some kind of joke? High school could be cruel, and she’d been on the receiving end of more than one prank before. But this didn’t feel like a prank. It felt... real.

Shaking her head, Mia tried to push the thoughts away as she made her way to her next class. But no matter how hard she tried, the memory of Liam’s blue eyes staring into hers wouldn’t leave her alone. And the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if maybe—just maybe—there was something more to Liam Callahan than she had ever realized.

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