The Boy With The Quiet Strom.

Emily had never been one of those girls who believed in fate.

She believed in effort, in kindness, in patience — even when no one returned it.

But Liam made her wonder if maybe… just maybe… some people were meant to find each other in the middle of ordinary days.

Since their hallway conversation, everything had changed — not loudly, not dramatically — but quietly, the way winter melts into spring.

They didn’t sit together in class. They didn’t hold hands or share secrets in front of everyone. But they talked… every day.

Little messages. Soft glances.

And silence — the comfortable kind — where no one had to explain who they were or why they were hurting.

---

It was Friday when Liam first walked beside her after school.

They didn’t plan it. He just appeared as she stepped off the bus and started walking in her direction, hands in his coat pockets, hair damp from the drizzle.

"You don’t talk much in person," she said gently, glancing at him as they walked down the tree-lined path.

"Neither do you," he replied, smiling faintly.

She gave a soft laugh. "Touché."

They passed a bookstore — the windows fogged up from the warmth inside. Emily paused.

"I love this place," she whispered. "It smells like old paper and dreams."

Liam turned to her. "Then let’s go in."

Without thinking, she followed.

Inside, the scent of coffee and forgotten stories filled the air. Wooden shelves towered around them, and time seemed to slow. Emily trailed her fingers over the spines of books like she was greeting old friends.

"Do you come here often?" he asked.

She nodded. "When I want to disappear without actually going anywhere."

He looked at her for a long moment, like he understood that more deeply than he could say.

Then he picked up a book from the poetry section and handed it to her.

> “Not everything broken needs fixing.

Some things just need to be held.”

— The quote on the back cover read.

She swallowed.

"Is this how you feel?" she asked softly.

Liam didn’t answer right away. He looked away, jaw tightening.

Then he said, almost in a whisper, "Yeah. Sometimes."

---

They sat at the back of the bookstore café — warm drinks in hand, raindrops racing each other down the window beside them.

Emily finally asked, “Liam… why do you always sit at the back of the class? Alone?”

He didn’t flinch. “Because it’s easier to leave when you don’t get attached.”

Her chest tightened. "And why talk to me?"

He looked into her eyes. No smile this time. Just truth.

"Because you looked like someone who stayed… even when everyone else left."

---

Later that evening, Emily walked home alone. Liam had to leave early.

But something about his last sentence wouldn’t leave her.

> “You looked like someone who stayed…”

What had he lost? Who had left him?

And more importantly…

Was he still afraid she might too?

---

Back in her room, curled beneath her lavender blanket, Emily stared at the book he’d given her.

On the first page, there was a tiny note written in pencil:

> “For the girl who feels everything and says nothing — don’t forget, even silence echoes when it’s hers.” — L”

Her fingers trembled slightly.

Because somehow, this boy she barely knew was starting to understand the pieces of her…

even the ones she had forgotten were still there.

---

✨ End of Episode 4

In Episode 5, Emily will discover something about Liam’s past — something that makes her question whether she’s ready to be the one who stays… even when it gets hard.

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