onceuponavenus
Homework, exams, group projects-love was never supposed to be on the syllabus.
For Clara, high school was supposed to be simple: get through classes, ace her exams, and keep her head down. Love was the last thing on her to-do list. Then he walked in, and suddenly nothing made sense anymore.
First crush. First kiss. First heartbreak.
They don't teach you how to fall in love in high school.
They don't warn you about late-night study sessions turning into stolen glances, or how laughter in the library can feel louder than your heartbeat. They don't explain how friendship can shift into something more-or how heartbreak can feel like failing an exam you never studied for.
Clara had three rules for surviving high school:
Rule #1: Don't fall for the boy who makes your heart race.
Rule #2: Definitely don't let him know he's the answer to every test you're failing.
Rule #3: When it all falls apart, try not to break with it.
Her neighbour's son, and apparently who's also her best friend, Noah, doesn't need rules. He just shows up-every morning with his old car, every afternoon with a teasing grin, every night when she needs someone to listen. He's always been the one waiting at the curb, the one driving her home, the one who never lets her stay lost for too long.
It was supposed to stay simple-friendship, laughter, playlists they argue over in the passenger seat. But somewhere between inside jokes and late-night drives, Clara starts to notice the way he looks at her... like she's more than just the girl he picks up every day.
She thought heartbreak would come from the boy she dreamed about. Instead, it sneaks up on her from the boy who's been beside her all along.
And now Clara has to decide: risk breaking the only friendship that's ever felt like home, or admit that sometimes the greatest love stories don't start with a kiss... they start with a ride.