*Fanart is not from me!*

I was laying on my bed, my phone in my hand pressed against my ear as I talk to Ava "Maybe you should read "Little Stranger", it's your book type." She hums, "I can borrow it?" I smile, it's true that I have a pretty big collection of books. "Yes, of course. You can come Monday!"

The late afternoon sun bathed Maple Drive in a golden hue, the kind of light that made everything look softer, warmer, more inviting. I look through the window, at his house. I keep wondering "who is he?"

"Are you even listening to me? Earth to Celeste, hello?" Ava said with a little chuckle. "Sorry, I....I was thinking about something", "Something or someone?" Even if I can't see her, I know she's smirked and that both annoy and amuse me.

"Fine, fine, I guess it's better if I just tells you. I'm thinking about the boy next door", ""the boy next door", you still call him like?" I felt a little embarrassed because yeah...I still didn't made a move. I should just go talk to him but how?

I couldn’t just walk over and say, “Hey, I’ve been watching you from my window and decided it’s time we became friends.”

No. That would’ve been weird.

But I'm just tired of watching from a distance.

"Go do something instead of watching" Ava voice makes me come back to reality. "But-", "No but, you can't even focus on me right now, just go." I hesitate, yes, I need to do it. "Go" Ava comment with a unusual cheerful tone from her. If Lily can flirt with a man I can do it too!

Grabbing a book, one I had no intention of reading but just to pretend, I slipped outside. The cool breeze kissed my cheeks as I crossed the garden, my heart thudding like a drumbeat in my ears.

He was lounging on the front steps, his guitar propped casually on his knee, strumming a tune I couldn’t quite make out. His fingers moved effortlessly over the strings, and I hated how easy it looked for him, like the world revolved just a little slower when he was in it.

Instead of walking towards him, I settled for the swing set that sat in my garden and gave a view to the front of his house. He's so close. The chains creaked as I sat down, pretending to be engrossed in my book, though my eyes flicked to him every few seconds.

He didn’t notice me at first, too caught up in his music. His head tilted back slightly, his lips curling into a lopsided grin as he played. He had that aura about him, the kind that said he knew exactly how he looked to other people and that he liked it.

Finally, as if sensing my presence, he glanced up.

Our eyes met.

I froze, the book was forgotten in my lap.

He didn’t say anything. Just held my gaze for a moment longer than was comfortable, his smirk deepening. Then he went back to his guitar, strumming as if I wasn’t even there.

I exhaled, realizing I’d been holding my breath.

What was that supposed to mean? Was he ignoring me? Or was this some kind of game?

I stayed on the swing, swaying gently, trying to focus on the words in front of me. But it was impossible. Every note he played seemed to find its way into my head, tangling with my thoughts and making it hard to think straight.

What is he thinking? What is he playing?

I knew something was wrong, like I shouldn't go further in whatever is this, but I needed to know more. I stayed here, watching him from afar as he kept smirking.

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“Sometimes, we just have to be brave enough to let the unknown find us.”
– Atticus

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