Chapter 1

2:47 AM. I was curled up in bed, the blue glow of my phone screen illuminating my pale face.

This was my secret ritual—whenever I couldn't sleep, I wrote down all the words I'd never have the courage to say in my phone's notes app. Write them, delete them, like nothing ever happened.

My fingers flew across the screen:

[To the person who made me believe in fairy tales again: You might never know who I am, but every one of your smiles brings color to my black-and-white world. For two years, I've searched for you in crowds, written countless poems about you in the dead of night, and dreamed of the day I could tell you 'I like you.' You're like the brightest star, and I'm just a passerby looking up. But tonight, in these final moments before graduation, I want to tell you—falling for you was the most beautiful accident of my youth. If miracles exist, I hope one finds us. —A girl whose name you'll never know]

This was the 47th love letter to Carter Williams. Like the previous 46, it would exist for three minutes before I deleted it.

My finger moved toward the delete button, but my eyelids grew heavier. Too tired to see the buttons clearly, my finger slid randomly across the screen...

Ding.

The crisp notification sound jolted me awake.

Spark showed: "Post published successfully."

I frantically tapped the recall button—"Recall time limit exceeded."

My heart pounded for a full minute before I forced myself to calm down.

Wait, this was anonymous.

Three thousand students at this school, plenty of girls writing confessions. Plus I was so low-key normally—who would even think of me?

It was fine. Tomorrow this post would just get buried.

I turned off my phone and pulled the covers over my head.

Dreamless sleep, until—

"Elise! Something huge happened!"

Sarah's shriek blasted me awake. The wall clock showed 9:15 AM.

"Someone posted the most romantic confession ever on Spark! The whole school's going crazy!" She rushed over with her phone.

I opened Spark, and my heart sank.

999+ likes. 247 comments. 15 shares.

The comments were exploding:

@CheerCaptain Madison: [OMG this is so romantic!]

@FootballJock Tyler: [Carter, you lucky dog hahaha]

@PhotographyClub Jake: [This is obviously for Carter, right?]

@DramaQueenVanessa: [Who is it?! I HAVE to know!]

"Everyone's guessing!" Sarah bounced excitedly. "There's a poll thread, and Brittany from the cheer squad is winning!"

At least it was anonymous. I breathed a sigh of relief. As long as I didn't say anything, nobody would know.

"You look awful. Are you sick?" Sarah asked with concern.

"Should you stay home today?"

"No!" My reaction was too intense—Sarah jumped back. "I mean... there's a chemistry test today. Can't miss it."

Act normal. Just be a bystander eating popcorn.

After rushing through my morning routine, I put on a hat and wrapped myself in a hoodie before heading out.

The hallways buzzed with chatter, but nobody noticed me.

Good. I was still invisible.

The cafeteria was packed, every table gossiping.

I found a corner seat and Amy, a junior from photography club, came over: "Did you see that confession? It's so beautiful!"

"Yeah..." I kept my head down, eating my sandwich.

"Who do you think it is?" Amy leaned in. "My money's on someone from lit club!"

"Maybe..." I mumbled vaguely.

Suddenly, the entire cafeteria fell silent. I looked up and my heart nearly stopped.

Carter Williams was standing on the center table, sunlight streaming through the windows, making his golden hair shine like a crown. He was wearing his signature red baseball jacket, phone in hand.

What was he doing? No way... he wasn't going to publicly search for that girl, was he?

"I know you're here." His voice carried across the cafeteria. "The girl who wrote those beautiful words."

My hands started trembling, and my sandwich dropped onto the tray.

"That confession was the best gift I've received all year." Carter's eyes swept across the crowd. "For two years, I've been waiting for someone who could truly see me."

The cafeteria erupted in whispers:

"Oh my god, what's he doing?"

"He's going to find that girl publicly?"

"But it's anonymous!"

As long as I didn't admit it, just sat there as a spectator, nothing would happen.

"I know who you are." Carter's voice rang out again, with confident amusement.

What?!

The whole place exploded in screams and gasps. Every girl started fixing her hair, anticipating that chosen moment.

Madison and her cheer squad were already standing, ready to claim their glory.

He was bluffing! He couldn't possibly know!

"Elise Mitchell."

Time stopped.

I heard my name echo through the vast cafeteria, clear as thunder, deafening.

This was impossible.

This was absolutely impossible!

Everyone—everyone—turned to stare at me in an instant.

I saw the shock and disbelief on Madison's face.

Saw Sarah dramatically covering her mouth.

Saw Amy's eyes widening.

Saw all three hundred students in the cafeteria staring at me like I was an alien.

How did he know?!

"It's you, isn't it?" Carter jumped down from the table, the crowd automatically parting. "The girl who quietly takes photos in photography club, the girl who always hides behind the lens observing the world, the girl with the most beautiful soul."

He walked straight toward me, each step like he was stepping on my heart.

I was going to faint. I was really going to faint.

"I... this is a misunderstanding..." My voice was barely a whisper.

Carter reached me and, under everyone's gaze, dropped to one knee.

He pulled out a small bouquet from his baseball cap—little daisies from the lawn outside the cafeteria, simple but heartbreakingly beautiful.

"Elise Mitchell," his blue eyes looked directly into mine, so sincere it was impossible to refuse, "will you be my prom date?"

The cafeteria erupted in deafening screams.

"Say YES!"

"Say yes to him!"

"OMG this is so romantic!"

My brain went blank.

This shouldn't have been happening. This was just an accident.

I had never wanted a response, never wanted to be in the spotlight.

I had just wanted to like him quietly, that was all.

But looking at his gentle eyes, at the little daisies in his hand, hearing the cheers from our classmates around us, I found I couldn't say "no."

Because this was the scene I had dreamed of for two years.

Even though it came so unexpectedly, so unreally, so... impossibly.

"I..." tears blurred my vision, "yes..."

Carter stood up and placed the bouquet in my hands. Then, under the gaze of over three hundred eyes, he gently kissed my lips.

The entire cafeteria lost its mind.

Screams, cheers, and whistles blended into chaos.

"OMG it's Elise!"

"Carter chose her!"

"Elise from photography club?!"

"This is unbelievable!"

I heard Madison's furious voice: "Her?! Are you kidding me?"

I heard people whispering: "Does she even deserve Carter?"

And I heard others saying: "Now this is real love..."

And just like that, completely unprepared, I had become Carter Williams' girlfriend.