My name is Noah, and I’m a perfectly healthy teenager.

At least, that’s how people see me. But if you really want to know who I am… this is my story.

The world is a beautiful place.

It really is.

And somewhere in this pretty world, I found something even more beautiful—

Something that changed my life completely.

But the world isn’t only beautiful.

It’s cruel too.

And I learned that the hard way.

Let’s begin with the lovely part.

I’m Noah. I love my city and my home.

I live in Miami, Florida.

The ocean breeze, the glowing sunsets, the sound of waves crashing at night—

It all feels magical.

It used to feel like a dream.

I had a good childhood.

My parents were loving and warm.

They smiled a lot back then.

We laughed at silly things.

It was simple. It was safe.

But people change.

And so did they.

My father became addicted to gambling.

It started slowly, but soon it pulled us into a dark place.

The debt kept growing, and the arguments became louder.

My mother, once full of life, started breaking down.

She fell into depression, and everything around me began to fall apart.

I didn’t understand what was happening.

I kept asking myself:

Why is this happening to me?

Why my family?

Why now?

Things only got worse.

The bills piled up.

The food on the table became less.

My mother got sick.

And my father… he didn’t care.

Or maybe he just refused to see what he had done.

Sometimes I looked around and wished none of it was real.

I was the only child, and for once, I felt glad.

Because if I had a sibling, they’d be going through all this pain too—

And that thought scared me more than anything else.

But surprisingly… something started to change.

Not in the world.

Not in my family.

But inside me.

Somewhere in all the mess, I found a small piece of clarity.

A soft voice in my head whispered that maybe—

Just maybe—

this wasn’t the end of everything.

Maybe there was more to my story.

Maybe I could still find something good, something real,

Something worth holding on to.

And maybe… that’s where it really begins.

This is me.

This is Noah.

And this is where my story truly starts...

Maybe there was more to my story.

Maybe I could still find something good, something real,

Something worth holding on to.

I didn't know what was coming next, but I had this strange feeling like the universe was about to shift.

Like something or someone..... was waiting just around the corner.

And little did I know, the next thing I'd discover wouldn't just change my life-

it would turn my whole world upside down.

This is me.

This is Noah.

And this... is just the beginning....

I know this feels heavy... But my story doesn’t stop here — it only gets deeper, louder, and maybe even a little magical. So stay with me... there's so much more I need to tell you......

Some days, it felt like I was just floating.

Not living… just existing.

School didn’t feel like school anymore.

It was just a place to breathe—where my parents weren’t yelling, crying, or breaking things.

I used to sit alone on the back steps after school, right behind the library.

It was quiet there.

No one noticed me.

And honestly, I preferred it that way.

Until he noticed me.

It was one of those gray afternoons—the kind where the sky feels heavy, and your heart matches the weather.

I was sitting there, earphones in, pretending to listen to music when I wasn’t.

Just staring at nothing, really.

That’s when I heard footsteps.

I looked up and saw a boy I’d never seen before.

Dark hoodie. Messy hair. Faint dark circles under his eyes.

He looked tired—like life had taken a little too much from him lately.

But there was something… still kind in his face.

He didn’t say anything.

He just sat a few steps away from me.

Close, but not too close.

Like he knew I wouldn’t be ready for that.

At first, we didn’t speak.

Not even a nod.

But somehow, his silence wasn’t uncomfortable.

It was… calming. Like a presence that didn’t ask anything of me.

A few minutes passed before he pulled out a small notebook and a black pen.

His fingers moved fast. Focused.

He wasn’t scribbling aimlessly—he was drawing.

Curiosity got the better of me.

I learned a little, not wanting to be obvious, but desperate to see.

He was sketching the library roof. The clouds. A bit of the sky.

His lines weren’t perfect, but they had feelings.

Raw and a little chaotic, but beautiful.

“You draw?” I asked without even thinking.

He didn’t look up. “Sometimes.”

Then he paused. “You sit here a lot.”

I blinked.

“You’ve seen me before?”

He nodded. “Yeah. You always look like you’re somewhere else.”

Something about that hit me hard.

It was the first time someone had really noticed me in weeks.

“I’m Noah,” I said quietly.

He finally looked up at me.

“Kevin.”

And then—he smiled.

A small, crooked smile, but it reached his eyes for a second.

And I swear, my heartbeat went weird.

It caught me off guard.

The way my stomach felt light.

The way I couldn’t stop looking at his face even after he turned back to his notebook.

I looked away fast.

Embarrassed.

Confused.

I’d never felt this way before—not toward a guy.

But there was something about Kevin.

Not loud or obvious.

But something that pulled at me gently, like a whisper I wasn’t ready to hear.

I told myself it was just admiration.

Maybe envy.

But deep down, I already knew it was more than that.

Kevin didn’t try to talk much.

He didn’t ask about my scars.

Didn’t ask about my life.

He just sat there, and for once, that was enough.

And even though I barely knew him…

I already felt like I didn’t want him to leave.

I didn’t understand it.

I didn’t want to.

But something had shifted inside me.

What I didn’t know back then was—

Kevin wasn’t just passing by.

He was the beginning of everything I’d been running from…

and everything I never knew I needed.

The night after I met Kevin, I couldn’t sleep.

I kept replaying that quiet moment on the steps—the way he sat just close enough, the way he didn’t speak much but still made me feel something. His silence had a presence. And it stayed with me longer than I wanted to admit.

It was strange… how someone could make your chest feel too full after just one meeting.

Kevin came into my life like a soft breeze on a stormy day.

I didn’t know much about him then, only that he was a senior—quiet, talented… and way too good-looking.

I didn’t even know he was a top student.

But something about his presence made everything feel a little lighter.

His existence made a big impact on me.

And the weird part was—

I started feeling different… for him.

Not the usual nervousness.

But a kind of fluttery, strange heartbeat that I wasn’t used to feeling for boys.

Was I supposed to feel this?

Was it wrong… or had I just never let myself feel it before?

I found myself thinking about him more than I should.

During school.

At home.

Even in the middle of doing dishes.

And at home, things weren’t getting any better.

My mother’s health was falling apart.

She barely smiled anymore—she was just floating in sadness.

And my father… the man I used to look up to like a superhero…

He had become someone I barely recognized.

His addiction to gambling had ruined everything we had built as a family.

My favorite person was now a stranger who caused most of our pain.

So I made a decision.

I needed to take responsibility.

For my mother, for our bills, for our survival.

I started looking for part-time jobs.

Something—anything—to keep us from drowning.

But even as I tried to stay strong, Kevin’s face kept showing up in the back of my mind.

His hoodie.

His tired eyes.

That small smile.

The next day, I went back to the library steps.

Just hoping.

And he wasn’t there.

I sat anyway. Headphones on. Music low. Heart loud.

Then I noticed something tucked into the step—a folded paper.

A sketch. Of me.

Knees up. Hoodie on. Earbuds in.

And a tiny heart drawn in the corner.

No name. No message.

But I knew who it was from.

I couldn’t breathe for a second.

Because in that drawing, I felt seen.

Like someone had looked at me—not through me.

And that made me feel things I wasn’t ready for.

I didn’t know who I was anymore.

But I knew Kevin was different.

And the way he made me feel… it was real.

Kevin wasn’t just a stranger.

He was the first person who made me question everything.

And somehow, even in the quiet, I already knew—

He was going to change everything.

In my mind...

Kevin took a huge place...