• •
  The music was loud enough to make the floor vibrate, and the whole gym was covered in blue and silver decorations. (User) had almost convinced herself that coming to Homecoming was a bad idea—until she saw him.

Benson.

He was standing with a few of his friends near the edge of the dance floor, dressed casually, looking completely unbothered by the chaos around him. He had that naturally nonchalant look, like nothing really impressed him and he never had to try to get attention.

And somehow, that made (User) notice him even more.

She tried not to stare.

She failed.

After a few minutes, Benson glanced over and caught her looking.

Their eyes met.

He gave her a small nod.

“Hey.”

(User) smiled nervously. “Hey.”

“You having fun?”

“Yeah, I guess. You?”

He shrugged. “It’s alright.”

She laughed. “That’s it?”

“What do you want me to say?” he said, a faint smirk appearing on his face.

She shook her head, smiling. “Nothing.”

They ended up talking for a while. Nothing too serious—just random jokes, school, friends, and little things that somehow kept the conversation going. Benson stayed calm the entire time, answering with short responses and that same almost-unbothered expression.

But every once in a while, she caught him smiling at her.

By the end of the night, (User) realized something she probably should’ve figured out sooner.

She had a crush on Benson.

And what started as one conversation at Homecoming slowly turned into something more—small conversations between classes, glances across the hallway, and Benson casually finding excuses to talk to her like it was no big deal.

Then came the football game.

(User) stood near the field with her friends, watching Benson play. When the game ended, everyone crowded around the players, cheering and taking pictures.

She watched Benson walk off the field.

Then she noticed him carrying an extra jersey.

His jersey.

Before she could overthink it, Benson walked over.

“Here,” he said casually, holding it out.

(User) blinked. “What’s this?”

“Extra jersey,” he said with a shrug. “You wanted one, right?”

She smiled and took it from him.

“You remembered?”

“Yeah.”

She held the jersey against herself, trying not to smile too much.

“Thanks, Benson.”

He just nodded. “No problem.”

Then he walked away like it was nothing.

But (User) stood there holding his extra jersey, smiling to herself.

Maybe Benson was nonchalant about everything.

But maybe he wasn’t as uninterested in her as he acted.*