I was going steady.136Please respect copyright.PENANAZ43jKaxGCm
Nothing too grand, nothing too heavy.136Please respect copyright.PENANAVCqLnBoO2I
Just... life. With a little joy stitched into the seams.
Academics, Thub, labs, scattered exams —136Please respect copyright.PENANAkzEaoZrZSS
it was all a beautiful mess.136Please respect copyright.PENANA4BHbIWrSaj
Filled with tension, doubts, and the classic "why should I care" moments.136Please respect copyright.PENANA1oD1tKiJjS
A delicate dance between chaos and comfort.
And somewhere in between,136Please respect copyright.PENANAktkJSKFwDm
there was her.136Please respect copyright.PENANAfCiXCpkyoV
Forevermore.
There were small fights —136Please respect copyright.PENANA1Opy4DUXWf
misunderstandings, moments of silence that felt longer than they should.136Please respect copyright.PENANA0WOfwbadNg
But I had my way of patching things up.
I would just go near her.136Please respect copyright.PENANAUIEKsto6p0
Stand beside her.136Please respect copyright.PENANAi62uR6HCnC
Not a single word. No explanations. No apologies.136Please respect copyright.PENANAYmccB4ML3y
Just presence.
It was my little way of saying,136Please respect copyright.PENANApjOomBaDMi
"I’m here. Still here. Through everything. Even if you forget, I won’t."
Maybe she never noticed it.136Please respect copyright.PENANA5NOzNLvO0j
Maybe she did.136Please respect copyright.PENANADrn4n38fnQ
But I never waited to know.
I did things for her —136Please respect copyright.PENANAL6OuL9pquf
small, silly things that would go unnoticed.136Please respect copyright.PENANAqvMLyPfckg
Sometimes even the big things,136Please respect copyright.PENANASpLG3T5hpS
the kind that pull pieces out of your soul when no one’s watching.
And all the while, I wondered:136Please respect copyright.PENANAsfjnVWCJiI
What even is the line between selfishness and selflessness?
Isn’t wanting to be selfless...136Please respect copyright.PENANAYqhnIfsRYw
a kind of selfishness too?
Was I helping her because I cared?136Please respect copyright.PENANAbVdi7HbbUH
Or because I wanted her to see that I cared?
Was I doing it all for her happiness?136Please respect copyright.PENANAaal21fDIoL
Or for that brief warmth I felt when she smiled because of me?
I guess I’ll never really know.136Please respect copyright.PENANAzV4DN0BnE9
Maybe the heart doesn’t divide its reasons.136Please respect copyright.PENANABRJrUVA2bR
Maybe it just does what it does.
Meanwhile, preparations for Code Engine had begun.136Please respect copyright.PENANA0H5ISc36cg
And to me, skipping academics was the biggest motivator of all.
Making stalls, designing banners, running around with duct tape and dreams —136Please respect copyright.PENANAjgciUIY8jm
it wasn’t my thing.136Please respect copyright.PENANAM0KyCpM97m
But it was fun.136Please respect copyright.PENANAxecOTUhucc
Mostly because it pulled me away from the routine.
We went class to class,136Please respect copyright.PENANAdPWao8VK46
all three campuses, handing out invitations like salesmen of curiosity.136Please respect copyright.PENANAi7mYBR4uXj
I stood awkwardly outside classrooms while seniors did the talking.
I didn’t mind.136Please respect copyright.PENANAJGR9w3CUQ3
The wind was cooler outside.136Please respect copyright.PENANAbFzD8TAGnP
And I was invisible — the way I liked it.
But then... something changed.
People started recognizing me.136Please respect copyright.PENANAyyxGfJwZ7g
They’d point, whisper, wave.136Please respect copyright.PENANAQcise5gHO6
"Hey, you're Nova, right?"
It was surreal.136Please respect copyright.PENANAgGryAvpo98
But I didn’t let it get to my head.
Funny thing is, I only ever found out about most of it136Please respect copyright.PENANAPuNDQbduDK
from her.
From Forevermore.
Somehow, slowly,136Please respect copyright.PENANAFg4HhupZ00
Rudeus became someone.
Someone important.136Please respect copyright.PENANAJdZOtS8kiX
Someone known.136Please respect copyright.PENANA1FigaONgHP
Someone respected in Thub for his coding skills, for his brain, for the myth others saw in him.
But not many knew about the boy behind Rudeus —136Please respect copyright.PENANAczSRcu5AOu
the one who stood in silence beside the person he cherished,136Please respect copyright.PENANADKMvjHgh8H
because that was the only language he knew.136Please respect copyright.PENANASmd4PrWYAl
The boy who questioned every emotion he ever felt.136Please respect copyright.PENANAVfxY36H4bd
The boy who just wanted to be a friend who stays.