Drawn to you

chapter 1: The Quiet Dreamer

Lily sat on her bed, the soft yellow light from her bedside lamp casting a warm glow over the room. The walls were covered with posters, but not the kind of posters you'd expect in a typical teenage girl's room. Instead of pop stars or teen heartthrobs, her walls were adorned with pictures of Alex morgan-her idol. Alex wasn't some generic celebrity. He wasn't the kind of person who flashed his smile to the world just to make a quick buck. No, Alex was different. He was a musician, an artist of the heart, whose quiet presence in the public eye captivated her in a way she couldn't explain. The posters weren't the only evidence of her devotion. Lily's room was scattered with small mementos: concert tickets she'd kept since the first time she saw him perform live, hand-written lyrics she'd copied from the back of a magazine interview, postcards from his overseas tours that she had cut out and framed. Each item held a piece of her heart, like fragments of a dream that had yet to come to fruition. But what Lily had learned over the years was that dreams didn't always need to be shared to be real.

Tonight, like every night, she sat at her desk, her diary open in front of her. The page was already filled with tiny, careful handwriting. The words had poured out effortlessly, as they always did when it came to Alex. But tonight was different. She could feel it in the air, in the stillness of the room as the city outside hummed with distant voices. Something inside her stirred, a longing she couldn't quite place. She picked up her pen, her thoughts already racing ahead of her.

Dear Diary,

Alex is perfect. But I've told you that already, haven't I? I think it's because I don't just admire him; I feel like I understand him. I think I see him in a way no one else does, and maybe that's why I can't stop writing about him. I know it's silly to imagine that he might somehow know me too, but sometimes...

Lily paused, chewing the end of the pen in thought. There was a fantasy in her head that never left her-one where she and Alex weren't just distant figures orbiting in separate worlds. In this world, they were friends, and not just any friends-soulmates. She could see them sitting together in a quiet café somewhere, the world bustling around them while they shared secrets only the two of them could understand.

...sometimes I think maybe we are connected. There's a part of me that believes he feels it too. Maybe when he sings, he's singing to me, not just to the thousands of people in the crowd. I can't explain it, but I know it's true.

She smiled softly, her eyes gliding over the words. It wasn't the first time she had written these thoughts down, but tonight it felt like she was reaching for something more. She didn't want to admit it, but there were nights-like tonight-where she thought about what would happen if she ever did meet him. If, somehow, fate led them to the same place, at the same time. She closed her eyes, imagining the scene: a chance encounter in a bookstore, maybe. She would pick up a book, and there he would be, standing right beside her, picking out the same one. The electric spark of recognition would shoot through her, but she wouldn't say anything at first. She would be too shy, too nervous.

And then... maybe, just maybe, he'd smile at her. And not just any smile. One that said, I know you. I see you. I've been waiting for you too.

Lily shook her head and laughed quietly. She was such a fool. She had never even been close enough to him to say hi, let alone build some fantastical relationship. And yet, she couldn't help herself. The fantasy, the hope, the quiet yearning-it all felt real inside her chest.

But I think it's okay to dream. Even if I'm the only one who knows.

She closed her diary with a sigh, placing the pen down on the desk with care. As she slid under the covers, she could still feel the weight of her thoughts, like soft pressure against her chest. The connection she imagined with Alex was the one thing she held onto when the world outside seemed too loud and too overwhelming. It was her escape, a secret world that belonged only to her. And that was enough.