Aster walked to school with her head down.

She kept thinking about what had happened on her date with Bruno.

She still felt bad, distressed, with a knot in her chest.

“What will he think of me now? Does he still like me? Or does he no longer see me as he did before?”

She was near her classroom, her heart beating fast with uncertainty.

“What if he doesn't want to talk to me anymore? What if I ruined everything?”

He entered the classroom. Bruno was already sitting there, looking out the window. He seemed distracted, absent.

Aster sat down nervously and said in a low voice:

“Hi... good morning.”

Bruno replied without looking at him:

“Good morning...”

The silence that followed was uncomfortable, almost unbearable.

The bell rang. Classes began. The hours passed slowly, heavily. Aster couldn't concentrate, he just glanced sideways at Bruno, who said nothing.

Finally, recess arrived. Bruno got up without saying a word and left the classroom.

Aster remained seated, confused.

“Why isn't he talking to me? Why is he walking away? Did I make him angry?”

He didn't want to keep feeling this way. He didn't want to lose him.

He got up, determined to talk to him.

He looked for him in the courtyard, but couldn't find him anywhere.

He wandered around, desperate, until he saw him out of the corner of his eye... Bruno was talking to someone.

“Huh? Is that... a girl?”

Aster's heart stopped for a moment.

He couldn't move.

“Is he already with someone else...? So soon? Was that it?”

His eyes filled with tears. He couldn't help it. He started crying right there, paralyzed by anguish.

Bruno saw him from afar, surprised. He quickly said goodbye to the person he was talking to and ran toward Aster.

“Aster! What's wrong? Wait!” he shouted as he walked away.

Aster ran to a corner of the courtyard, a dead-end place where no one usually went.

Bruno caught up with him and took him gently by the arm.

“Aster... why are you running?”

“I...” stammered Aster, trembling.

“I don't understand what's going on,” said Bruno, with a pained expression. "I just want you to be honest with me. This is hurting me... I don't know what to do."

Aster, hearing this, burst into tears.

“I'm sorry... I... I'm a problem,” he said through his tears. “I ruined the date. I didn't know how to act. I'm no good at anything. Everything scares me. I feel like I always ruin things... Even this.”

She looked down.

"My family is always pressuring me, telling me what to do, how to dress, what I should be... and everything I do is always wrong. The only one who listens to me is my sister... and my mom is so overprotective that sometimes I feel like she's suffocating me. All of this wears me out... it wears me out mentally. I don't know if I'm doing things right, and when I think too much... my chest hurts, I feel like I'm suffocating. Everything is so confusing...

Aster couldn't stop crying. Everything he had kept inside for years was pouring out of his mouth.

Bruno listened attentively, his eyes full of concern.

Without thinking twice, he hugged him tightly.

“Aster... I'll always be here with you,” he whispered. “I'll never leave you alone. If you feel bad, if something is bothering you, if you just want to talk or complain, tell me. I love you, Aster... And I'm your boyfriend. That's what we're here for. From day one, we were a team, remember?”

Aster was paralyzed with emotion.

“But I...”

Bruno caressed his cheeks and looked tenderly into his eyes to calm him down.

Without saying another word, he kissed him softly on the lips.

Aster blushed and hugged him around the neck. They kissed again and again, until the bell rang, signaling the end of recess.

They separated, both red as tomatoes.

Bruno smiled shyly and said:

“Do you want to go to the bathroom before we go back?”

“Yes... let's go,” replied Aster, calmer now.