Noah Bennett

There is this girl. Her name is Sienna Rhodes. Kind, cheerful, and the type of person who remembers everyone's birthday, lends people her notes, and always asks if someone's okay. Everyone at school knows her name, yet somehow she spends most lunch breaks eating alone. Not because people dislike her—but because everyone assumes someone else will sit with her. Then there is this guy. His name is Noah Bennett. He transferred to the school halfway through junior year. Quiet, always wearing headphones around his neck, and usually hiding behind a book. Rumors spread quickly. Some called him rude. Others thought he hated everyone. None of them knew the truth. When Noah was thirteen, an accident left him almost completely deaf in one ear. Crowded hallways made conversations exhausting, so he stopped trying. It was easier to let people think he was unfriendly than explain himself over and over again. Sienna noticed something no one else did. Whenever she talked to him, she'd naturally stand on the side of his good ear. She'd face him while speaking, repeat things when classmates mumbled, and slow down just enough for him to understand. She never made it obvious. She just... noticed. Weeks later, Noah finally asked, "Did someone tell you about my hearing?" She smiled and shook her head. "No." "Then how did you know?" "I didn't." "You didn't?" "I just paid attention." For a long moment, Noah couldn't answer. His whole life, people only noticed what was different about him. Sienna was the first person who noticed him. And without realizing it... The girl everyone overlooked became the person he looked for first in every crowded hallway.