Lena hated how happy she was. But maybe — just maybe — she could learn to love that, too.
She looked down. There, at the bottom, in her own handwriting, smudged a little like she’d hesitated: 5 cosas que odio de ti
Not because Lena showed him — because she left it in the shared printer tray after a late-night study session. He picked it up, read it silently, and when Lena walked in the next morning, coffee in hand, he was sitting at her usual table. Lena hated how happy she was
Lena’s face burned. “I didn’t forget. I just… it’s stupid.” There, at the bottom, in her own handwriting,
He slid the paper across to her. “Five things,” he said softly. “You forgot one.”
Ben smiled — not the loud-laugh smile, but a quiet one, the kind he saved for when something mattered. “Took you long enough,” he said, and pushed the bag of purple Skittles toward her.