It started in the quiet moments between classes when everyone else was too busy to notice. James, usually lost in his sketchbook, sat alone under the big oak tree at the edge of the schoolyard. Evan, with his easy smile and messy hair, noticed him one autumn afternoon as he hurried past with his friends. He stopped, curiosity sparking, and walked over.

“Hey, what’re you drawing?” Evan asked, trying not to sound too eager.

James looked up, surprised. “Just…random stuff. Mostly, like, faces.” His cheeks turned pink, but he tilted the sketchbook so Evan could see.

Evan grinned, “Can you do mine?”

James hesitated, then nodded, glancing up at Evan through his lashes. Evan sat down across from him, heart pounding for reasons he couldn’t quite understand. James' pencil flew across the page, capturing the tilt of Evan’s brow, the slight smirk at the corner of his mouth. They didn’t talk much, but something warm and quiet passed between them. It was as if they’d known each other for years.

Days turned into weeks, and they found more excuses to meet – after school, at lunch, on weekends. They talked about everything, from their favorite bands to the kind of futures they dreamed of. They didn’t say the word “love,” but both of them knew. It was in the way Evan would hold James' hand when no one was looking, and the way James' face lit up every time he saw him.

In their small town, it wasn’t always easy, but under that oak tree, their world felt safe. And for now, that was enough.