Ashley was arranging books in her locker when a shadow fell across her carefully organized shelves. She turned to find Arek leaning against the neighboring locker, his sketchbook tucked under one arm, and a smug look on his face.

"Your calculus notebook has more tabs than a filing cabinet," he observed, nodding at the rainbow array. "Is that a color-coding system for different types of equations?"

She fought the urge to hide the meticulously organized notebook. "Maybe."

"Let me guess – blue for derivatives, purple for integrals, and..." he squinted at a neon tab, "radioactive yellow for limits?"

"It's highlighter yellow, and it's for logarithms, thank you very much."

His laugh echoed through the hallway, drawing curious glances. "Of course it is. Very on-brand, Martinez."

"You act as if you don’t do the same for your art supplies."

"That's different. That's for—"

"Artistic integrity?"

"Exactly." He grinned, then pulled his sketchbook out. "Speaking of which, I made something. You know, since you shared your secret algebra stories with me."

He flipped to a page and Ashley's breath caught. It was a sketch of her from their project day, but not the perfect, composed version everyone saw. This Ashley was laughing, hair slightly messy, eyes bright with real joy. In the margins, he'd drawn tiny mathematical symbols breaking free from their equations, dancing across the page.

"Arek, this is..."

"Just a sketch." He shrugged as he nervously ran his fingers through his hair,  "Thought you might appreciate the great mathematical liberation."

"It's amazing." She studied the details. "Though I'm pretty sure that factorial sign is breaking at least three school rules."

"Rebellious little punk. Must've learned it from me."

She closed her locker, adjusting her bag. "About that – heard about Olivia Chen's Halloween party?"

"Let me guess, you're going?" At her nod, he shook his head. "Perfect Ashley Martinez at a high school party. What's next – graffiti in the bathroom stalls?"

"Please, I'd never." She started walking to class, him falling into step beside her. "Though someone did draw a really interesting interpretation of Hamlet on the third floor storage door..."

"No idea what you're talking about." His grin was all she needed to know. "Though if I did, I'd say that the storage room door made an excellent canvas for exploring themes of existential crisis."

"Through stick figures?"

"Minimalist art, Martinez. Very avant-garde."

She laughed, running her fingers across the metal loops of her notebook. She took a small breath in before releasing it. "You could come, you know. To the party."

His expression shifted, closing off slightly. "Parties aren't really my scene. Too many people, too much..." he gestured vaguely.

"Too hard to maintain your mysterious artist reputation?"

"Exactly. Can't have people knowing I actually interact with humans sometimes." He nodded at her books. "Besides, someone has to keep drawing philosophical stick figures on doors."

The warning bell rang, startling her. She didn’t realize they'd been standing in the middle of the hallway talking while other students streamed past.

"I should..." She gestured toward her classroom.

"Yeah, wouldn't want to ruin that perfect attendance record. I’ll text you." His wink made her heart skip a beat. He took a step back, waving at her before walking off. This was the first time she wished they had the same class for this period.

Later at the café, Ashley helped Luicen restock the coffee cups. He would open the box and hand her some, one small stack at a time. Now that she thought about it. Luicen was more open than he used to be. When she started working here, he wouldn’t talk to her let alone hand her cups. He always did everything on his own, taking orders, cleaning tables, but now he was actually letting her help. Do her job. Her job… never thought she would actually get one.

To think that she started working here three months ago, much to her parents' initial horror. They'd insisted she didn't need a job – their daughter working in food service? What would people think? But Mrs. Kim, Lucien's mother, had won them over during their impromptu interview visit.

Somehow, Mrs. Kim had managed to frame the job as both a character-building exercise and a prestigious position at a "locally renowned establishment." Ashley suspected her parents only agreed because the café was owned by a "respectable family" and was far enough from their social circle to avoid gossip.

"You're thinking too loud," Lucien's soft voice broke through her memories. He went from cups to arranging pastries, the flower pen bobbing in his pocket.

"Just remembering how I started here." She smiled, watching him measure the exact space between muffins. "Your mom was pretty convincing with my parents."

"She's good at reading people." He adjusted a croissant by approximately two millimeters. "She knew you'd fit here."

"Unlike that time she hired Chad from your old homeschool group?"

Lucien actually shuddered. "We don't talk about the that."

"He did make the foam into interesting shapes."

"More terrifying than interesting." He moved on to the cookies. "I still have nightmares about that attempt at latte art that looked like it was screaming."

Ashley laughed, then noticed something. "Hey, you didn't stutter at all just now."

His cheeks pinked but he smiled. "I guess... I'm just comfortable. Here. With..." He glanced at her then away. "Ashley, I've been wanting to tell you something..."

She straightened herself out a little. For some reason. She felt nervous to what he was about to say. She didn’t know if she even wanted him to say anything. "Yeah?"

"It's just... you make me feel..." His fingers found the flower pen, gripping it like a lifeline. "What I mean is I really like—"

"Lucien, sweetheart! Perfect timing!"

They both jumped as Mrs. Kim bustled in through the back door, followed by Mr. Kim carrying what looked like enough takeout for a small army.

"Mom, Dad." Lucien's voice was soft but didn't shake. "I thought you were at the supplier meeting?"

"Ended early! And since Ashley's here..." Mrs. Kim started laying out containers. "You'll stay for dinner, right? We got your favorite pad thai."

"Oh, I couldn't—"

"Nonsense!" Mr. Kim was already pulling out chairs. "Consider it a thank you for helping Lucien with the morning rush last week. My son tells me you're quite the expert at handling the pre-coffee crowd now."

Ashley glanced at Lucien, who shrugged sheepishly. "You didn't panic when Mrs. Henderson ordered her triple-shot upside-down caramel macchiato with exactly seven ice cubes. That's basically a superhero origin story."

They gathered around the café's back table, falling into an easy rhythm that still surprised Ashley. The Kims had a way of making everyone feel like family, so different from her own formal dinners at home. Here, laughter wasn't too loud, elbows on the table weren't a capital offense, and no one minded if you got too excited and talked with your hands.

"Ashley, dear," Mrs. Kim said, passing the spring rolls, "Lucien mentioned you're going to a Halloween party? How exciting!"

"Mom..." Lucien's face flushed.

"What? Can't a mother be interested in her employees' lives?" But she winked at Ashley. "Though perhaps not as interested as some people..."

"Mom!"

Ashley watched Lucien sink lower in his chair, his ears turning pink, and felt a surge of affection for this shy boy and his wonderfully unsubtle family.

A buzz came from her pocket. She checked her phone. There were so many messages from Arek. She always left her phone on mute when she worked, however she never expected Arek to text her the way he was doing.

Her phone buzzed as Luca’s picture popped up on her screen. He was calling her. Why? She checked the time, "Oh! I'm late for..." she caught herself before mentioning Luca, remembering Lucien and his parents didn't really know him. "For costume shopping!"

"The shop on Fifth has the best selection," Mr. Kim offered. "Though maybe avoid the back corner. The clown masks are... unsettling."

As Ashley gathered her things, Mrs. Kim pulled her into a quick hug. "Have fun shopping, dear. And maybe come by for breakfast tomorrow? Lucien's trying out a new muffin recipe."

"He is?" Ashley looked at Lucien, who was suddenly very interested in arranging sugar packets.

"Very experimental," Mrs. Kim stage-whispered. "He's been practicing all week. Probably for you"

"Mom!"

Ashley chuckled and gave Mr. Kim a hug as well before heading out of the cafe, leaving to the sound of Lucien's embarrassed protests and his parents' warm laughter.