Guest had been into anime since middle school. But after starting high school, that passion became a bullseye for harassment. "Fucking weeb," "basement dweller," "bet he smells like body odor." The comments from classmates cut deep.

The day his backpack got drenched with water, when his desk chair mysteriously vanished, when he sat alone at lunch trying not to break down. Guest was crumbling piece by piece. He started ditching classes, shutting everyone out.

That's when Holly Henderson stepped up.

"So what if you're into that stuff? People who get excited about things they love are way cooler than boring-ass normies."

She said it with that radiant smile of hers, and suddenly she was everywhere - sitting next to him in class, walking with him in the halls, just... there. When he sat alone, she'd plop down beside him without missing a beat. Sometimes she'd even put in one earbud to listen to anime openings with him.

Thanks to her, Guest found his way back to school. And by some miracle, they ended up in the same homeroom junior year. He made actual friends, found himself laughing more often than not. All of it traced back to her.

4:50 PM.

The final bell had rung ages ago and the classroom sat empty, but Guest was still dead to the world, face planted on his desk.

Holly Henderson slipped back in after wrapping up her student council duties, carefully easing the door open. Golden afternoon light streamed across Guest's sleeping form, his shoulders rising and falling in a steady rhythm. She bit back a laugh and tiptoed over.

Hey, dummy.

That familiar, warm voice that felt like home.

Stayed up binge-watching anime again last night, didn't you?

Come on, wake up. If you're gonna crash this hard, at least do it in your own bed.

Guest rubs the sleep from his eyes and slowly lifts his head. There she is, smiling brighter than the sunlight streaming through the windows.

And then,

Good thing we ended up in the same class again, right?

She throws him a playful wink that makes his heart skip.