And now, here we are in the present, and I can say it actually worked.
Shia and I are really close now. We've shared almost all our secrets with each other; we care about each other a lot, and we hang out together all the time—just the two of us.
To be honest, our relationship feels like more than just best friends.
But at the same time, it's still not quite like we're dating.
Almost, but not quite.
And that's only because I still haven't confessed my feelings to her.
Today, everything is going to change.
Our relationship is finally going to turn into something more.
Man, I can't settle down.
I'm so pumped right now that I just want the hours to fly by so I can see her this morning and finally confess.
*Trring!*
All of a sudden, my bed shook and a sound rang out in my room.
Huh?
It was my phone.
A notification.
My phone was sitting right next to me on the bed, so I grabbed it fast and held it up to my face.
I unlocked it to see what the notification was.
Usually, I don't check notifications as soon as they come in.
Honestly, I hardly ever check them.
But tonight was different. Around an hour ago, I texted Shia asking if she could meet me at the park near her house at 9 a.m., so I really needed to see if she'd answered.
----
**Date:** February 14th, 2025
**Day:** Sunday
**Time:** 2:28 AM
**Notifications:** 1
----
I quickly clicked on the notification and saw that it was, indeed, from Shia.
----
Michael: Hey, you free today? (1:02 AM)
Shia: Yeah, why? (1:05 AM)
Michael: Uh... I was wondering if you could meet me at the park near your house today at 9 a.m. (1:06 AM)
Shia: Okay. (2:28 AM)
----
Oh, yes.
YES.
The moment I saw her response, I was literally screaming inside my head with excitement.
She said yes... she actually agreed...
Man, I can breathe again.
For a second there, I genuinely thought she was going to turn me down.
I mean, I was seriously worried, because today just happens to be February 14—Valentine's Day—and I was afraid that if she caught on to what I was planning through my message, she'd reject me on the spot.
Here's the thing: over all these years of being close to her, I've learned something really important about Shia.
She hates going out on February 14.
Yeah. Valentine's Day.
I've tried so many times to figure out why she dislikes this day so much, but I've never gotten a real answer from her. It's always the same vague response every time.
Her answer is always the same: she hates seeing couples showing off their affection in public, and since Valentine's Day is all about people flaunting their love, it makes it an unbearable day for her.
I mean, I get why she finds it annoying, but calling it the worst day of the year every single time?
That feels a little extreme...
So yeah, that's why I was so nervous about asking her to meet today.
Anyway, setting that aside, I'm currently feeling really exc—
Suddenly, before I could finish that thought, my phone vibrated again. This time, though, there was no sound.
I quickly glanced down at the screen and saw something that made my heart drop.
Something so unexpected that my pulse immediately kicked into overdrive.
It was another message from Shia.
But this one... this one was different.
----
Shia: By the way, are you going to confess to me today? (2:33 AM)
----
It was both surprising and terrifying at the same time.
Shit. She figured it out.
I gripped my phone tightly without even realizing it.
Now what?
What am I supposed to say?
Should I just tell her the truth and say yes?
But what if she rejects me the second I admit it?
Then should I lie and say no—No. Absolutely not.
That's not even an option.
While I was spiraling, another message buzzed through.
----
Shia: You there? (2:35 AM)
----
Damn it... I don't have time to overthink this anymore, and my mind's completely blank anyway.
There's only one thing I can do now.
Tell her the truth.
So I quickly typed out my response and hit send before I could second-guess myself.
----
Shia: By the way, are you going to confess to me today? (2:33 AM)
Shia: You there? (2:35 AM)
Michael: Yeah... you guessed it. (2:36 AM)
----
Fuck. I actually did it.
The second I hit send, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to calm myself down.
Michael... breathe.
Everything's going to be fine.
But what if it's not?
Just breathe...
I kept repeating those words in my head, but it wasn't working. The anxious thoughts were completely drowning out any reassurance I tried to give myself.
I was sweating like crazy now. I could feel the beads of sweat trickling down the back of my neck.
I was losing it.
My body felt unbearably hot.
My heart was racing out of control.
With every passing second, it got harder and harder to breathe.
This was a full-blown panic attack.
Fuck... I can't... I can't breathe...
My vision started to blur. My head felt impossibly light, like I was floating.
Then, suddenly, my phone vibrated again.
The moment it did, my eyes shot open and I looked down at the screen, knowing exactly who it was from.
Shia.
----
Shia: I see. (2:37 AM)
----
Wait... what?
What does that even—
But before I could finish the thought, my eyes rolled back.
And everything went black.
***
My eyes slowly fluttered open.
The first thing I saw was the white ceiling above me. Then I noticed the fresh, clean scent in the air. My soft bed was practically begging me to stay and drift back to sleep.
So comfortable...
I could easily fall back asleep with how cozy this is—Wait. Hold on. Something's off.
This smell...
The second that thought hit me, realization struck like a lightning bolt.
Isn't this the smell I wake up to every morning?
Oh no.
My eyes shot wide open, and I frantically started searching for my phone.
It took a few seconds of fumbling around before I finally grabbed it and brought it up to my face to check the time.
----
**Date:** February 14th, 2025
**Day:** Sunday
**Time:** 9:14 AM
----
Oh shit. I'm late.
I bolted out of bed, still in my wrinkled home clothes, and tossed my phone onto the mattress before rushing straight to the bathroom.
I needed to freshen up fast—I smelled absolutely terrible thanks to all the sweat-soaked clothes I'd passed out in.
***
After a few minutes in the bathroom, I rushed out wearing nothing but a towel.
I headed straight to my medium-sized wardrobe beside my study table, threw it open, and grabbed some casual clothes. Shia wasn't into anything fancy, so I kept it simple.
I threw everything on as fast as I could and bolted out of my room.
The second I opened the door and stepped outside, my foot caught on something.
Ehh?
I stumbled forward and crashed hard onto the floor.
My shoulder took the brunt of the fall.
"Ahh... damn it!"
I winced and looked back to see what I'd tripped over.
A delivery box.
Wait... what?
Why is there a delivery box sitting in front of my door?
I didn't order anything...
My apartment was on the third floor of a decent building—not luxurious or anything, but solid enough. It had everything I needed and gave me plenty of space.
Hold on... don't tell me—
A thought suddenly hit me.
I quickly got to my feet, picked up the box, and flipped it over to check the shipping label.
----
**Name:** Rocky Walden
**Address:** Park Strait Road, Maple View Apartments - 030040
**Room No:** 12
----
Of course.
I let out an annoyed sigh.
Rocky.
He's my neighbor—the guy who lives right across from me.
I looked up at the door in front of mine.
Figures.
I pulled out my phone, found his contact, and called him.
While the phone rang, I looked at my door number.
**12.**
Then I looked at Rocky's door number.
Also **12.**
Yep. We both have the exact same number on our doors.
The problem is, his room is actually supposed to be **21**, but because of a printing mistake, it came out as **12**. So now his deliveries always end up at my place instead.
That's why I wasn't even surprised to see his name on the package.
I've reminded him so many times to get it fixed, but he just keeps forgetting.
Every. Single. Time.
Suddenly, the ringing stopped and a voice came through on the other end.
Casual. Chill.
"Hey, man! What's going on? Need something? Please don't tell me we're going to another party tonight?"
Yeah. Rocky's my second—and only other—best friend.
We became friends right when we first met.
He's actually a really good guy. Sometimes he acts like a big brother to me, even though he's only a year or two older.
But right now? He's just the annoying idiot who keeps making me mad.
I snapped back, "Screw you! Screw your party! And screw that stupid question!"
He quickly tried to calm me down. "Whoa, whoa, bro—relax! What's wrong?"
"Are you seriously asking me what's wrong?"
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds.
Then he let out a groan. "Oh no... Dude, I swear I was going to fix it today!"
I rubbed my face in annoyance. "You've been saying that for weeks. Do you even get that?"
He hesitated. "Huh? Wait, I thought... this was the first time..."
He paused, then quickly added, "Bro, seriously, just trust me this once. I'll get it fixed today. I promise."
I cut him off. "Yeah, whatever. Do what you want. I'm just gonna leave your package at your door, alright?"
I didn't have time for this. I was already running late.
"Thanks, man. But hey, before you go, can you check if—HEY, YOU! STOP RIGHT THERE! START THE CAR, NOW!"
Out of nowhere, Rocky started yelling at someone in the background.
I could hear loud sirens blaring through the phone.
Oh, right. I almost forgot—Rocky's a cop.
The guy's so laid-back most of the time that even criminals mistake him for just some random dude... until he pulls out his badge.
He said, "Sorry, bro. Just had a drunk driver blow past me. Anyway, forget that—who's it from?"
I flipped the box over to check the sender's name and noticed something interesting.
Huh?
---
**Sender's Name:** Klein Walden
---
Wait, isn't that Rocky's brother?
I'd only seen him once when Rocky brought him to my apartment. The guy was kind of hard to figure out—quiet and sort of mysterious.
Anyway...
I told him, "Rock, it's from your brother... Klein."
There was a pause. Then his voice got quieter. "My salesman of a brother..."
I could hear the change in his mood right away.
"Alright, bro. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
I said.
He let out a sigh. "Yeah... okay."
Then he ended the call.
The second I said Klein's name, his whole attitude shifted.
I understood why, though.
Rocky had always hoped his brother would become a cop like him. But Klein decided to be a salesman instead. And even though Rocky never gave him a hard time about it and always supported him, I could tell it still bothered him deep down.
He'd told me about it so many times I lost count—usually at parties late at night when he'd had way too much to drink.
Anyway, I put the box in front of Rocky's door and took off.
I was already way too late...