Aiden hated presentations. Actually, hate wasn't a strong enough word. He despised them. Standing in front of an entire class while people stared at him? Absolutely not. Unfortunately, today was presentation day. And he couldn't exactly skip. Not after all the work he and Mia had put into it. Not after she'd spent hours helping him prepare. Not after she'd trusted him. As he sat in his seat that morning, nervously tapping his pencil against his desk, Mia noticed immediately.
"You're nervous."
Aiden scoffed.
"I'm not nervous."
"You've broken three pencils."
Aiden looked down. The pencil in his hand had, in fact, snapped in half.
"That's unrelated."
Mia laughed.
"Sure."
Aiden leaned back in his chair.
"What if I forget everything?"
"You won't."
"What if I trip?"
"Then get back up."
"What if I accidentally embarrass myself?"
Mia raised an eyebrow.
"Aiden, you embarrass yourself every day and somehow survive."
"That's rude."
"It's true."
Despite himself, Aiden smiled. Somehow, Mia always knew exactly what to say. The bell rang. Students settled into their seats. Their teacher stood at the front of the room holding a clipboard.
"Today we'll be presenting our projects."
A collective groan filled the classroom. The teacher ignored it.
"I'll be calling pairs at random."
Aiden immediately sat up straighter.
"Oh no."
Mia looked amused.
"You'll be fine."
Easy for her to say. She actually liked public speaking. The teacher began calling groups. One after another, students walked to the front. Some presentations were good. Some were painful. One was so boring that Aiden almost fell asleep. Finally
"Mia Anderson and Aiden Scott."
Aiden froze. Mia stood. Aiden did not. Mia looked down at him.
"Aiden."
He looked up.
"It's time."
"I know."
"Then get up."
"I don't want to."
"Aiden."
A few students laughed. With a dramatic sigh, Aiden finally stood. The two walked to the front of the room. His heart was pounding. Why was he nervous? It was just a presentation. Yet somehow, standing beside Mia made him want to do well.
The teacher nodded.
"You may begin."
Mia started first. As expected, she was amazing. Confident. Clear. Calm. She spoke naturally, answering questions and keeping everyone's attention. Aiden watched her for a moment. Then realized it was his turn. Panic. Absolute panic.
Mia subtly nudged his arm.
"You've got this."
The words were quiet. Barely above a whisper. But they helped. A lot. Aiden took a breath. Then he started speaking. To his surprise, it wasn't terrible.
Actually... It was going pretty well.
A few classmates nodded along. Some even seemed interested. For the first time, Aiden felt something he wasn't used to. Pride. When they finished, the class applauded politely. The teacher smiled.
"Excellent work."
Aiden blinked. Did she just compliment him? Mia grinned.
"Told you."
Aiden couldn't stop smiling. For the rest of the lesson, he felt lighter than air. Until lunch. Because lunch brought problems. As he entered the cafeteria with Noah and Ethan, he immediately noticed something strange. Everyone was looking at him.
"Why are people staring?" Ethan asked.
Noah suddenly burst out laughing.
"Oh, this is bad."
"What?"
Noah handed him his phone. Aiden looked at the screen. And immediately wished he hadn't. Someone had posted a photo from the presentation. Specifically, A photo of him staring at Mia. Not just looking. Staring.
The caption read:
"Bro is DOWN HORRENDOUS."
The post already had hundreds of likes. Aiden groaned.
"No."
"Oh yes," Noah said.
"This is the greatest day of my life."
"It's not funny."
"It absolutely is."
Across the cafeteria, Mia was sitting with her friends. She was looking at her phone. Then suddenly, she covered her face. Her shoulders started shaking. She was laughing. At him. Aiden dropped his head onto the table. This was a disaster. A complete disaster. A few moments later, someone sat down across from him. He looked up. Mia. Still laughing.
"You saw it?"
She nodded.
"It's kind of funny."
"Kind of?"
"Okay, very funny."
Aiden groaned.
"You enjoy my suffering."
"A little."
"Wow."
Mia smiled. Then her expression softened.
"For what it's worth..."
Aiden looked at her.
"You did really well today."
The teasing disappeared from her voice. She sounded sincere. And somehow... That meant more than the teacher's compliment. More than the good grade. More than anything.
Aiden smiled.
"Thanks."
For a brief moment, neither looked away. Then Noah appeared behind them.
"Should I leave you two alone?"
Both immediately jumped apart. Noah's grin widened.
"Oh, this is getting interesting."
Mia threw a napkin at him. Aiden couldn't stop laughing. And for the first time all day, neither of them noticed the entire cafeteria watching. Because they were too busy enjoying each other's company. Even if neither of them was ready to admit why.