Author's POV.
It all started on Tesha Flueze's eighteenth birthday.
Boni Gel Reyzus hadn't planned on going out that day. She wasn't really into parties or crowded places, but Tesha — being the kind of best friend who never took no for an answer — begged her to come. In the end, she agreed.
Since it was just the two of them, Tesha invited Clay Jez Maje, her best friend and their classmate from last year. But Clay didn't come alone — he brought someone with him. A boy named Calixto Alfonso, seventeen, the one he was trying to set Tesha up with.
The air turned awkward the moment they met. Tesha had seen Calixto before — only through pictures Clay had shown her — but Boni had no idea who he was. Her whole life, she'd been single, uninterested, and perfectly fine with it. Study first was what she always said, even if studying wasn't exactly her priority.
"Hi," Calixto greeted, his tone polite, calm.
Boni barely looked up. He wasn't there for her anyway — he was there for Tesha. All she wanted was to go home. The heat was suffocating, the smoke from the traffic made her dizzy, and her nose — sensitive as ever — caught every trace of strong perfume that made her head ache.
All she remembered from that first meeting was that single word.
Hi.
She didn't reply. She just followed behind them, quiet, watching Tesha, Clay, and Calixto talk in front of her.
"I wanna go home," she murmured, her feet already aching from walking too much.
After a while, Calixto said he had to leave early — choir practice. He waved goodbye to Clay and Tesha, but when he turned to Boni, their eyes met.
It was that kind of pause where neither of them knew what to do — shake hands? Wave? Maybe a fist bump?
Instead, they both laughed softly, the kind of awkward laugh that made everything strangely lighter.
For a moment, they looked at each other again — and maybe just a second too long.
Damn.
That was a long eye contact.
---
Calixto's POV
I walked home fast, still feeling the awkwardness from earlier. Clay's little matchmaking plan with that girl, Tesha — yeah, I think that was her name.
After choir practice, Dad called out from the living room.
"Son, I saw Clay earlier with two girls. One was sexy, the other looked kinda emo. Weird mix," he said, half-joking.
I just nodded and went upstairs, pretending not to care.
I did my usual routine — changed clothes, scrolled through my phone, stared at the ceiling for a bit.
But before sleeping, I started replaying the day in my head — the walk, the introductions, that one Hi.
Then it hit me.
Wait.
There were four of us earlier. Me, Clay, Tesha… and…
Who was the other one again?
Wait… wait—
Boni.
Oh, f—ck.
Damn.
"AHHHHH!" I rolled around my bed, covering my face with a pillow, heart pounding and cheeks burning.
It's..... Boni.....