Ryle was a boy of few words, the quiet one who always sat at the back of the class, unnoticed by most, except for Lily, his best friend. She was everything he wasn’t—popular, confident, and a beacon of light in their school. She excelled in academics and sports, her laughter filling the air like the sound of a gentle stream flowing through the forest. But beneath Ryle’s silence was an unspoken love, a love that had grown quietly over the years, like a flower blooming in the shadow, away from the world’s eyes.
Lily was unaware of the depth of Ryle’s feelings for her. To her, he was her best friend, the one who always listened, never judged, and was always there. But to Ryle, she was everything. He noticed everything about her—the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed, the way her hair danced in the wind, the way her smile could brighten even the darkest of days. But he could never bring himself to tell her. He was too shy, too scared of losing the friendship they shared.And so, Ryle kept his feelings hidden, locked deep within his heart, as he silently admired Lily from afar. He cherished their friendship, even though it pained him to see her so close yet so unaware of his emotions. Every day, he watched her laugh, her beauty glowing like the morning sun. Her hair, golden and soft, cascaded down her shoulders, catching the light and making her look almost ethereal. Her eyes were like the clearest skies after a summer rain, and her smile—oh, her smile—was the sweetest thing he'd ever seen. To Ryle, Lily was everything good in the world, but he was just the quiet boy she leaned on when she needed a friend.
Then one crisp October afternoon, things changed.
Lily approached him after school with a small smile, her cheeks flushed from the cool air. She handed Ryle a keychain—something small and simple, but attached to it was a folded letter. Ryle felt his heart race, thinking for a brief moment that maybe, just maybe, this was the moment he had always dreamed of. But as she spoke, his world came crashing down.
“This is from Max,” she said, her voice soft and excited. Max, the star athlete, the boy everyone admired. “He’s been giving me hints for a while, and today… he gave me this letter. He finally told me how he feels about me.”
Ryle froze. He knew Max—he was in their section, a handsome, popular guy who was perfect in every way. What Ryle didn’t know, though, was that Max had been Lily’s boyfriend for a while. She had never mentioned it, never talked about him much, and Ryle, lost in his own quiet world, had never asked.
Lily’s eyes glistened with happiness, her smile radiant as she continued talking about Max, how she had liked him for years but had never told anyone. All the while, Ryle stood there, forcing a smile, trying to act like it was all normal, like his heart wasn’t shattering into pieces with every word she said.
"That’s great," Ryle finally managed, his voice strained but steady. "But, you know, I don't really believe in relationships. They don’t last. There are too many fights, too many problems that can’t be solved. People can pretend to care, but most of them don’t mean it."
Lily looked at him, slightly taken aback. “You don’t believe in love?” she asked.
“No,” Ryle lied. “I believe in friendships. Those last. Real friendships, like ours.”
He smiled, but inside, his heart was aching. He had wanted to tell her so many things, wanted to say how much he cared about her, how he noticed every little thing about her, how he loved her more than words could express. But instead, he stayed silent, watching her drift further away as she spent more and more time with Max.
Days passed. Weeks blurred into months, and Lily and Max became the school’s most talked-about couple. Ryle, as always, remained in the background, observing but never speaking. He watched as Lily smiled at Max, the way her laughter filled the air when they were together, and how she seemed to shine even brighter when Max was near. Ryle smiled too, though it was a hollow, painful smile.
