I wasn't supposed to be smiling this much.
I mean, I don't smile this much. Not even after scoring goals or acing tests.
But right now?
Lying on my bed, phone in hand, texting Ava?
Yeah, this was different.
Every time her name popped up, my heartbeat stuttered.
And when she replied with those shy little emojis or sarcastic lines, I felt like I couldn't breathe properly.
I wanted to know everything about her.
And she was actually letting me in.
---
Me:
I just imagined sketching you under a sky like that.
I hit send before I could overthink it, then immediately winced and threw my phone across the bed like it had betrayed me.
What was wrong with me? I never said things like that.
"Sketching you under a sky like that"? Who says that?
Apparently I do now.
Before I could recover, the door burst open.
"Yo," Ezra said, strolling in like he owned my room. "You left your charger downstairs—thought I'd be a good friend and return it. But clearly you're already charged up."
He wiggled his eyebrows. "You're smiling at your phone like a Disney prince."
I scowled and grabbed my pillow to throw at him. "Get out."
He snatched it midair and flopped onto my beanbag.
"Oh no. Not before I see what's got the silent Damien Knight smiling like a lovesick golden retriever."
"I'm not—"
"Don't even finish that sentence. I saw the way you looked at her earlier. Like someone wrote a poem in your brain and forgot to turn it off."
I sighed. "You're so dramatic."
Ezra leaned over and grabbed my sketchbook off the desk.
"Don't," I said too late.
He flipped it open and let out a long, slow whistle.
"Well, well, well… Look who made it into the Holy Grail of Damien's drawings."
I tried to snatch it back, but he held it high like a trophy.
"Dude. You've never drawn a girl before. Not once. And here she is—curled lashes, soft smile, hair tucked behind her ear. This is art. This is poetry."
"Ezra," I warned.
He ignored me. "You like her."
Silence.
I didn't answer.
That was enough for him.
"Oh my God. Damien Knight. Actually. Has. A crush."
I groaned and sank into my hands.
He laughed like it was Christmas.
"Wait, wait—does she know? Wait, you're texting her right now, aren't you?"
I didn't respond.
He leapt off the beanbag and snatched my phone off the bed, scanning the screen.
"Damien!" I lunged at him, but he darted to the other side of the room.
He read aloud, laughing between lines. "'My sketchbook already has feelings'? Broooo."
"Give me that!" I finally wrestled it away.
Ezra collapsed back onto the beanbag, clutching his stomach in laughter.
Then he got serious—well, Ezra-serious.
"You know what? I'm glad. You've needed something real for a while."
I looked at him.
He shrugged. "I know you, man. You walk around like you've got it all together, but you're always guarded. Closed off."
I stayed quiet.
"She's different, huh?"
I nodded slowly.
"She makes you feel like it's okay to not be perfect all the time?"
I glanced down at my phone.
Ava:
My heart is a baby bird. Handle with care 🐣
I smiled.
"Yeah," I said quietly.
"She does."
Ezra grinned.
"I knew it," he said, leaning back and tossing a cushion in the air. "Damien Knight is falling."
And for once…
I didn't want to stop myself.