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There’s something about high school that feels like the middle of everything—not quite the beginning, not yet the end. For Belle Jane, it was when she bloomed—not because she tried, but because she simply was.

People described Belle in many ways:

“She’s elegant but not intimidating.”

“She’s mysterious, like a girl in a movie who walks in slow motion.”

“She’s like a flower. Quiet but powerful.”

Her best friend Mandy would always say,

"Girl, you’re the kind of beautiful that isn’t obvious at first, but when someone sees you the second time—bam! Love at second sight.”

Belle would always laugh that off. She never thought much about attention.

But people noticed her anyway.

She was like a yellow bell flower—bright, soft, warm, and striking even in silence. She had an old soul. She liked reading paperback novels with folded corners, writing poems on tissue paper, and choosing warm taho over iced coffee.

While her classmates were obsessed with social media likes and viral dances, Belle found joy in sketching flowers on the backs of her notebooks while listening to early 2000s music.

It was during junior high when she first noticed Jhong Uy.

He was loud. A little annoying. Always cracking cheesy jokes. But he had that strange charm that made you laugh even when you didn’t want to. Jhong wasn’t your typical heartthrob—his socks never matched, and he always forgot his school ID—but he had a good heart. Goofy, but kind.

Belle didn’t fall in love right away.

But during one Science Club field trip, Jhong offered her the last pork bun while the rest of the boys were still arguing over who would get it.

He said, “This suits you more—because you’ve got a soft heart too.”

She smiled.

That was the beginning.

By their senior year, everyone knew about the slow-burn romance of Belle and Jhong. The “almost lovers.” The “when-will-they-finally-date” pair.

Every hallway conversation included their names:

“Don’t they look perfect together?”

“When will Jhong finally confess?”

“Is Belle even sure about him?”

But both Belle and Jhong had made a promise to each other:

“When we enter college, let’s give this a real shot. Let’s not just be high school memories.”

What Belle didn’t know was that while she held onto that promise with care, Jhong had already taken someone else’s hand in secret—Carla, a girl from another section who had admired him since junior year.

It started as harmless messages.

Then coffee meet-ups.

Then study sessions that weren’t really about studying anymore.

Jhong told himself,

“Belle’s for the future… Carla’s just for now.”

But the heart doesn’t work that way.

And neither does fate.

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Hi, hope this story will make you kilig even a little. This is an Imaginary story of mine that I tried to write with the help of AI, but I rewrote some of it.

Hope this will pass even if it is not completely/whole my own written story. But don't worry it was my idea since it's my fantasy.

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Leo Yang wasn’t invisible. He just mastered the art of staying unnoticed.

He always sat near the window. Always wore black or gray. Spoke only when needed. By the end of the school year, most of his classmates still didn’t remember his name.

But he remembered everything.

Especially her.

When Leo returned to San Roque Academy during senior year, no one recognized him. He had been away for years, studying abroad. But due to a family emergency, he transferred back.

And when he saw Belle Jane walking across the courtyard on that first day, time slowed down.

He whispered to himself, “It’s her.”

He remembered Belle from kindergarten.

The little girl who gave him half of her snack.

The one who called him “Leo the Lion” because of his spiky baby hair.

The girl he promised to marry when they turned six.

Now she didn’t remember him at all.

Of course, she wouldn’t.

He had braces back then. A lisp. And a Spider-Man lunchbox he once used to hit a bully—for her.

But Leo had never forgotten her.

Seeing her now—more radiant, more graceful, more her—brought everything back.

And now, she was falling for someone else.

Leo didn’t interfere. Not yet.

He watched. He waited. He noticed every little thing—especially the cracks in Jhong’s perfect image.

He saw the hidden messages.

He saw Jhong ride in Carla’s car after class.

He saw the way Belle’s eyes dimmed every time Jhong canceled their plans.

Leo started leaving signs.

A sticky note with “You are enough. Don’t let him confuse you.”

A box of chamomile tea on her desk during exam week.

A funny meme slipped into her binder just to make her smile.

Belle once joked to her friend, “Maybe I have a secret admirer. Hope he’s cute.”

Leo, sitting two rows behind her, nearly exploded from smiling too hard.

But even Leo had his limits. His quiet admiration began turning into something stronger—an obsession. He memorized her schedule. Downloaded her favorite playlists. Kept a strand of her hair from a group project and stored it in a notebook labeled “BJY”.

Yes, even he knew that was a little much.

Still, he kept waiting for the right moment.

Then one evening, it finally happened.

Belle sat alone on the steps outside the campus library, clutching her phone tightly, eyes blank. The messages were all there. Jhong and Carla. Their photos. Their plans. And the one that hurt the most:

"Don’t tell Belle. She’s too sensitive.”

Belle didn’t cry right away. She just… stared.

Leo sat beside her quietly. No questions. No pressure.

They didn’t speak for ten full minutes.

Then Belle whispered, “Am I stupid?”

Leo shook his head. “No. You’re rare. And sometimes, rare things get taken for granted. But that doesn’t mean you’re stupid.”

That night, Belle finally cried—and for the first time, in front of someone else.

Leo didn’t hug her. He didn’t rush to wipe her tears.

He just sat with her, as if saying: I’m here. That’s enough for now.

And then, just before she stood up to leave, she looked at him—really looked.

And in that moment, Leo leaned in—and kissed her.

It was quick. Gentle. A little awkward.

His nose bumped into hers.

She tasted like tears and lavender lotion.

He tasted like mint and a thousand unsaid words.

“Sorry,” he blurted out, his ears turning red.

Belle blinked. “Did you just…?”

He nodded. “Since kindergarten.”

She blinked again. “I don’t even remember you.”

He grinned nervously. “I had the Spider-Man lunchbox.”

And for the first time in weeks—Belle laughed.

A random student walking past shouted, “Whoa! Is that Leo? A kissing scene? Is this rated PG?!”

Leo mumbled, “This is why I didn’t do it in the hallway…”

Belle stared at him for a moment longer.

And in her chest—where heartbreak used to sit—something new began to stir.

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Second year of college was supposed to be different.

Belle Jane entered it with a quiet hope that maybe—just maybe—this was the year she and Jhong would finally settle into something steady. They had made it past freshman year, survived the culture shock of university life, clashing class schedules, and the slow death of high school promises. But lately… everything felt off.

The weekly study dates turned into biweekly apologies.

Phone calls became voice messages that said, “Sorry, I fell asleep.”

And “I miss you” became rare enough to sound foreign.

Belle tried to justify it.

“We’re just busy.”

“We’re growing.”

“This is what college does.”

But deep down, she knew something wasn’t right.

She just never expected it to be this wrong.

The night she confirmed it was the same night Leo kissed her on the library steps. But Belle didn’t cry because of the betrayal—not at first. She cried because of the realization:

She had been the other woman.

The one on the side. The backup plan.

While she was writing love poems about Jhong, he was building memories with Carla in secret.

The next day, she confronted him—straightforward, no drama.

“Jhong,” she said, her voice calm but steady. “How long have you and Carla been seeing each other?”

Jhong froze mid-bite of his food at the cafeteria.

“What?!” he choked. “Belle, where’s this coming from?”

Belle sat down, laid her phone on the table, and showed him the screenshots. The conversations. The photos. The timestamps. Everything.

Jhong didn’t even deny it.

He just… closed his eyes and sighed.

“I was going to end it,” he muttered.

“With me or with her?” she asked, bitterly amused.

Silence.

“Wow,” Belle whispered, leaning back. “So it’s true. I was just a delay.”

“No, Belle. You were always... different—”

“Don’t. Don’t even start romanticizing this.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

She looked at him, truly looked—and realized she didn’t recognize the person in front of her anymore. This wasn’t the boy who gave her the last pork bun. This wasn’t the boy who promised to love her in college.

This was a stranger. And it broke her.

“Jhong…” she said softly, “I hope you figure yourself out. But I’m done trying to be your reminder of who you used to be.”

And with that, she stood up and walked away.

No shouting. No scene. Just a quiet goodbye that hurt more than screaming ever could.

As she left, she passed by Leo in the hallway. He was leaning on the wall, pretending to scroll through his phone, but Belle knew better.

He was waiting for her.

She stopped and looked at him.

“You kissed me last night,” she said.

Leo looked up. “Yeah... sorry about that. I wasn’t planning to, it just—”

“It wasn’t bad,” Belle interrupted.

Leo blinked. “It wasn’t?”

She gave a small, sad smile. “But it was badly timed.”

Leo nodded. “Yeah. I know.”

Belle paused. “Walk me to class?”

“Always.”

As they walked together, side by side, something invisible shifted in the air between them.

Not love. Not yet.

But something new had begun to take root.

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