Charlie didn't follow Coral into the building.
He stood in the courtyard long after the bell rang, hands buried in his pockets, staring at the doorway Coral had disappeared through. The noise around him blurred into something distant and unimportant.
He couldn't say anything; it was time itself that paused at that moment.
Something had changed.And no matter how hard he tried to deny it, he had felt it the moment their eyes met.
Coral had not looked angry.He had not looked hurt.He had not looked like someone waiting to be saved.
He had looked… calm.
That unsettled Charlie more than anything else ever had.
Charlie finally moved, drifting through the halls with the rest of the students, though it felt like his body was walking without him. His mind stayed behind in the courtyard, replaying the way Coral carried himself. The way he stepped forward without hesitation. The way he did not look back made him hurt more, as if a dagger was piercing through his heart; he was feeling numb, moving felt like a negative repelling force...
In class, Charlie barely heard a word the teacher said. His notebook stayed blank. Every time he tried to focus, Coral's face surfaced in his thoughts. Not the version he knew, not the one who laughed too loud or cared too deeply or held on too tightly.
This Coral was different.
And Charlie was afraid of what that meant.
He rested his head against his hand, staring out the window. A quiet, ugly thought pressed into him.
What if Coral didn't need him anymore?
The idea made his chest tighten painfully. He had always believed Coral would come back. That whatever distance grew between them would eventually close. That Coral's hurt would soften. That time would fix it.
But what if this was not distance?
At lunch, Charlie barely touched his food. His friends talked around him, but their voices felt far away. He kept looking toward the entrance, half expecting Coral to appear, half dreading that he would.
When Coral walked in, Charlie felt it immediately.
He did not rush.He did not scan the room.He did not look lost.
He sat with a quiet confidence that made Charlie's stomach twist.
Charlie watched him from across the room, studying every movement, every expression. Coral spoke softly to someone nearby, smiling in a way that looked easy, unforced.
Charlie looked away first.
Something cold settled in him.
This was not how things were supposed to go.
After school, Charlie waited by the lockers longer than necessary. He told himself it was a coincidence, that he just needed time to grab his things. But when Coral walked past, Charlie's heart jumped.
This time, Charlie spoke.
"Coral."
The name felt heavy on his tongue.
Coral stopped.
Slowly, he turned.
Their eyes met again, and Charlie felt the full weight of the space between them. It was not sharp. It was not loud.
It was quiet. Steady. Almost sacred.
"Hey," Coral said.
Just one word. Calm. Kind. Distant.
Charlie swallowed. "You… you look different."
Coral nodded. "I know."
That was it. No explanation. No apology. No invitation.
Charlie shifted his weight, suddenly unsure of himself. "Are you okay?"
Coral studied him for a moment, not guarded, not defensive.
"Yes," he said. "I am."
The answer landed harder than Charlie expected.
A dozen questions crowded his mouth. Where have you been. What happened. Why does it feel like I am losing you.
But none of them came out.
Instead, Charlie said, "I'm glad."
Coral smiled softly. "Me too."
For a moment, they just stood there, two people who once knew every part of each other now learning how to exist in the same space again.
"I should go," Coral said gently.
Charlie nodded, though something in him screamed not to let him leave.
"Coral," he said quickly.
Coral paused.
Charlie hesitated, then finally asked the question that had been burning since the courtyard.
"What happened to you?"
Coral met his eyes, something warm and unshakable shining there.
"I found peace," he said. "And I am not letting go of it."
Then he turned and walked away.
Charlie watched him go, the words echoing in his chest.
Peace.
Charlie had never realized how loud his life was until Coral walked away carrying silence like light.
And for the first time, Charlie wondered if the thing standing between them was not distance or pride or hurt.
But actually JESUS!!