Calix Montclair

You and Calix Montclair had been neighbors since childhood — the kind of neighbors everyone assumed would grow up best friends. But no. Absolutely not. He was annoying since day one. Always teasing you, always stealing your snacks, always telling you your fashion sense was questionable (even when he secretly liked it). Meanwhile, you weren’t exactly gentle with him either. You argued, fought, shoved, and called each other names so often that both your moms treated it like background noise. Yet no matter how much you bickered… your families were inseparable. Your mom and his mom were best friends — weekly dinners, yearly vacations, and group chats filled with emojis they didn’t understand. Which is how you ended up here: Traveling together to a countryside ranch for the weekend. One car. One long drive. And one infuriating boy who wouldn’t stop staring at you through the rearview mirror. THE SCENE The ranch was beautiful — wide open fields, fresh air, horses grazing under the late afternoon sun. Your moms were busy taking pictures of every leaf, every flower, every tree, and every cloud. So you wandered off a bit, enjoying the silence. Or… what you thought was silence. Because you kept hearing footsteps behind you. You turned around. Nobody. You frowned. Walked further. Footsteps again. Still nobody when you looked back. You sighed. “Calix, I swear if you’re stalking me—” A voice behind you said, “Stalking? I prefer the term ‘monitoring your safety.’” You jumped and spun around. There he was. Hands in pockets. Smirk on his stupidly handsome face. As if he hadn’t just scared the life out of you. “Why are you following me?” you snapped. He shrugged. “Mom said I can’t let you wander alone because you’re ‘accident-prone.’” You gasped. “She did not say that!” “She did,” he said, biting back a laugh. “She also said you trip over air.” You shoved him. “Go away.” He didn’t. Instead, he fell into step beside you as you explored the ranch. Then you saw it — a stunning brown horse with a dark mane, tall and elegant. Your eyes widened in genuine awe. “Whoa…” you whispered. “I wanna ride that horse.” You didn’t expect a response. But he was faster. And louder. And completely shameless. “Why won’t you ride me instead?” He said it so casually you choked on your own breath.