Every year, as the crisp scent of autumn mingled with the last traces of summer warmth, the school came alive in a way it never did on any ordinary day. The annual school festival—an event students looked forward to from the moment the semester began—transformed the quiet campus into a whirlwind of color, music, and laughter. Booths lined the walkways, filled with homemade treats and games that brought out everyone's inner child. Banners fluttered in the breeze, the scent of grilled snacks filled the air, and laughter spilled from every corner. It was a celebration not just of school spirit, but of the fleeting magic that only this time of year seemed to hold.

It was one of those events that felt bigger than it actually was—buzzing with energy, like something straight out of a movie. The entire school grounds had been transformed overnight. Bright lights strung between trees blinked like stars, colorful banners danced in the wind, and laughter rose above the hum of music playing from scattered speakers. The smell of fried food lingered in the air—sugar, grease, grilled meat—blending into something strangely nostalgic and irresistible.

Melanie moved through it all with a quiet kind of excitement blooming in her chest. It was her first school festival with Matt. And even if it wasn’t anything officially defined or labeled, it felt different—like something quietly precious was beginning to unfold.

They’d spent most of the afternoon together, drifting from booth to booth like they had all the time in the world. And maybe they did. There was something about being with Matt that made everything feel slower, warmer.

Now, they stood in front of a cotton candy stall, hands brushing occasionally as they pulled apart wisps of sugary pink fluff. It was silly, a little childish, but somehow, sharing something so simple with him made the world around her fall away.

“You got it on your nose again,” Matt teased, eyes crinkling as he grinned.

“No, I don’t,” Melanie replied with a laugh, swiping at her face.

“You do.” He leaned in slightly, his thumb brushing gently over the tip of her nose before she could react. “Got it.”

Her breath caught, just for a moment. The touch was fleeting—barely a second—but the way her heart skipped felt like something had shifted again.

He pulled back, still smiling, like he had no idea what he’d just done to her.

“You do that on purpose, don’t you?” she asked, half-playful, half-suspicious.

Matt gave her a mock-offended look. “What, trying to keep your face candy-free? Guilty, I guess.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Ridiculously charming,” he added with a wink.

She shook her head, trying to play it off, but her smile gave her away. The boldness in his tone caught her off guard—like he wasn’t hiding behind shyness anymore. Like he knew exactly what he was doing. 

A growing awareness. 

After a while, Matt’s friends called out from the dunk tank, their voices loud and familiar.

“I promised them I’d take a shot,” he said, turning to her with a lopsided smile. “You okay if I leave you for a bit?”

“Yeah, of course,” she said, trying not to sound disappointed. “Go knock someone into the water.”

“I’ll be quick,” he promised, walking backward for a few steps. “Sure. Enjoy!”

Left on her own, Melanie wandered, her pace slower now, her gaze catching on flickers of lights and colors, on the noise of the festival pulsing around her. Students cheered over winning prizes, music thumped from speakers nearby, and someone in a mascot costume posed for selfies.

And still, the air felt different.

Because she'd been sharing it with him.

Even in the crowd, his absence tugged at her a little more than she expected. But it wasn’t sadness. Not really. It was something else—something warm.

Because no matter where he was in the sea of people, he had already become her favorite part of the festival.

 She didn’t mind, at least, she told herself she didn’t.
 It wasn’t like she didn’t have other people she could talk to.

Knox, for example, was hanging out near the booth where the karate club was selling noodles.
 He looked like he belonged there, tall, relaxed, and still somehow goofy despite the fact that he was now a senior.
 His laugh floated over the crowd, easy and loud, and it made Melanie smile.
 It always did.

She didn’t think much of it, her feet just took her there.
 The way they always did.
 Melanie hadn’t even realized that she’d made her way across the festival grounds until she was standing right in front of him.

Knox saw her the moment she stepped into view, and just like that, his whole face lit up with a smile that was impossibly bright, impossibly him. It was like the sun had broken through the clouds just for a second—warm, boyish, unfiltered joy.

"Mel! You made it!" he called out, striding over with the energy of a golden retriever who'd just spotted his favorite person. His arms flailed slightly in emphasis, already halfway into a laugh. “You know, we were totally gonna win you a stuffed animal,” he added, glancing back at the group with a sheepish grin, clearly improvising. “My friends were very committed. Like, emotionally invested. There was a whole plan,” he said, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the game booths as if that proved something.

Behind him, his friends exchanged long-suffering looks, the kind that suggested this wasn’t the first time Knox had launched into one of his spontaneous side quests. One of them muttered something under their breath. Another just shook their head, the invisible storm clouds reappearing over the group like cartoon weather—dampened moods, patience thinning. They'd clearly been dragged along for the ride.

(He was doing that thing again. That thing where he was all heart, all enthusiasm, too much puppy for one room. Or, in this case, one fairground.)

And Mel? Mel couldn’t help but smile.

 He made a dramatic face, like he was about to cry, but then his grin grew even wider.
 “Guess we’ll just have to do it ourselves.”

Melanie laughed before she could help it.
 Knox’s jokes were always so over-the-top, so ridiculous that they became contagious.
 No one else could make her laugh like he could.
 It wasn’t the kind of laugh that came from something funny—it was more the kind of laugh that came from sheer goofiness.

“You’re unbelievable,” Melanie teased, shaking her head.
 “Do I really want a stuffed animal from you guys?”

Knox puffed out his chest like he was offended.
 “I’ll have you know we have elite ring toss skills.”
 He grinned, pointing to the nearby booth, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
 “You’re just gonna have to trust us.”

As they walked over, they played the game, each taking turns.
 Knox missed as often as he hit, but he made the misses look like part of the fun, throwing his hands up like an actor in a comedy sketch.
 Melanie found herself laughing every time, the laughter bubbling up so easily that it almost startled her.

For a few minutes, it was just the two of them—
 a familiar rhythm between childhood friends, no expectations, no awkwardness.
 It was easy.
 It always had been easy with Knox.

They didn’t talk about anything serious.
 They didn’t need to.
 Knox made some goofy comment about how they should just “totally get the giant teddy bear anyway,”
 and Melanie laughed until her stomach hurt.
 Everything felt light. Comfortable.

But then, as they were walking to the next booth
 Melanie’s phone buzzed in her pocket, pulling her out of the moment.
 It was a text from Matt:
 "Hey, I’m with the guys. You coming over?"

For a second, Melanie hesitated.
 Her thumb hovered over the reply button.
 It was so easy to just type her usual “Sure, be right there.”
 She could go back to the comfort of her group. The plan.
 The familiar rhythm with Matt.

But then she looked over at Knox.
 He was smiling, talking about something stupid, as usual
 but there was something in the way his eyes lingered on her.
 Something… different.
 She didn’t know why, but it made her chest tighten for a second,
 like there was a crack forming in the solid walls she’d built between herself and anything that didn’t fit the plan.

For a brief moment, she wondered why she felt like this, why her heart seemed to stir just a little bit whenever Knox was around.

 This was Knox.
The one who made her laugh until she couldn’t breathe.
 The one who knew all her stupid jokes, who’d dragged her through countless awkward school dances and bad decisions,
 the one who never asked for anything,
 the one who was just there.

She didn’t have feelings for him.
 She couldn’t.
 Not when she had Matt.

She thought in her head, I’ll stay a bit longer.

Only for knox.

Only for him would she stay a little bit longer.

It wasn’t a big decision. It wasn’t anything life-altering.
 But there was a small flame flickering in her chest.
 She didn’t know what to make of it, so she brushed it off.

“Sorry, Matt’s waiting,” she said, slipping the phone back in her pocket.
 She turned to Knox, trying to keep the conversation light.
 “You ready to lose again?”

Knox raised an eyebrow, teasing, but there was a softness in his smile now, a quiet understanding between them.
 “I was born ready to lose.”
 He laughed, and so did she, but this time, it felt…
 lingering.
 Like there was more to it than just the joke.

They stayed a bit longer, walking through the booths, laughing, talking about nothing important.
 But as the night started winding down, and the festival’s lights dimmed,
 Melanie couldn’t shake the feeling that something else was starting to stir inside her.
 Something she didn’t want to face.
 Because she had Matt.
 She had Matt.

And that was all that mattered, right?