I already knew you | Inkless series 1

Marela tried. God, she really tried. She let herself like other people. She laughed when she was supposed to. She told herself, "It's not him." But no one made the world feel quiet the way Gio did since they were kids. No one remembered the small things she never said out loud. No one looked at her like she was enough, just as she was.

And Gio? Gio paid attention.

He noticed when her smile didn't fit around the guys who lingered too long in the hallways. He noticed when she'd end up beside him after class, talking about nothing, then asking him to stay a little longer. He noticed the way her voice changed when she said his name, like she was testing how it sounded. He was always there.

The way he walked her home without asking. The way he kept what she couldn't finish. The way he knew what she needed before she did. The way he went quiet when someone else tried, but never said why.

Marela asked for a sign.
The answer had been beside her all along.

She just didn't want to see it.