Ace's POV
I wasn't supposed to notice her.
People like me don't fall for people like her.
But I did.
The moment she looked at me like I was more than air,
I forgot that I wasn't supposed to exist in her world.
She was golden.
Untouchable.
A walking daydream built of glitter and danger.
And I?
I was invisible.
Poor.
Quiet.
Smart enough to stay in the background where no one threw punches or pity.
I kept my head down.
I studied.
I survived.
Until Lily Watson smiled at me.
It started small—
a glance in class,
a brush of her hand,
a laugh she let me hear like I was worthy.
And God, I believed it.
Because no one ever looked at me the way she did.
Like I mattered.
Like I was someone.
I started walking her to class.
Carried her books.
Sat by her side like a loyal ghost,
waiting to be noticed again.
I told myself it was nothing.
That she was just being nice.
But niceness doesn't come in stolen glances and whispered words.
It doesn't leave you breathless from one smile.
She made me feel wanted.
For the first time in my life, I felt chosen.
So when she asked me for small favors—
answers on tests, notes she didn't write,
homework she "forgot"—
I gave it all.
Because I thought maybe
if I gave enough of myself,
she'd keep me.
She was everything I wasn't.
And I was just a boy with worn-out shoes
and hope stitched too tightly into his chest.
But I would've set myself on fire
just to keep her warm.
And maybe, deep down,
I already had.