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Danny Mahealani had always hated the phrase love at first sight.
Mostly because it sounded ridiculous.
Love wasn't a lightning strike. It wasn't dramatic music or slow motion and all the nonsense movies tried to sell people. Love was messy, complicated and terrifying. Love happened after conversations and late-night texts and learning what someone looked like when they were exhausted or angry or scared.
At least, that's what Danny had always told himself.
Then Ethan Steiner smiled at him.
And suddenly Danny wasn't nearly as confident in his own theories.
It started on a Tuesday.
Beacon Hills High was suffering through another ordinary day of classes, lacrosse practice, and whatever fresh disaster Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski had accidentally attracted that week.
Danny was sitting in chemistry, pretending to pay attention while actually fixing a coding problem on his laptop.
Mr. Harris was talking...or maybe droning. There was a difference, and Harris definitely fell into the second category.
The classroom door opened. Danny barely looked up. A new student. Beacon Hills got them occasionally. Usually they lasted about three weeks before deciding the town was cursed and moving somewhere safer.
Danny couldn't blame them.
The guy stepped inside. Tall snd athletic. A little too handsome to be real. The sort of person who probably woke up looking effortlessly attractive while normal people needed caffeine and divine intervention.
"Class," Harris said with obvious annoyance. "This is Ethan Steiner."
The new guy offered a small smile. It wasn't flashy or arrogant. Just real.
His eyes swept the room. For half a second they landed on Danny and he smiled directly at him.
Danny immediately looked back at his screen. Absolutely not. He wasn't one of those people. He wasn't going to stare at the attractive new guy. That would be embarrassing. Mature people didn't do that.
By lunch, he had already failed at being mature. Three times or maybe four.
Lydia Martin sat across from him and smirked. "Danny."
"Hm?"
"You're staring."
"I am not."
"But you are."
He sighed. Lydia raised an eyebrow. Across the cafeteria, Ethan sat with his twin brother, Aiden. Because apparently the universe had decided one absurdly attractive newcomer wasn't enough.
The twins looked almost identical, but Ethan smiled more. Aiden looked sharper somehow. Ethan looked approachable. The kind of person people trusted without meaning to. Danny hated that he'd already noticed that. Lydia followed his gaze. "Oh."
Danny groaned. "Oh no."
She grinned. "You like him."
"I don't know him."
"You like looking at him."
"That's not the same thing."
Lydia's grin widened. "Sure."
Danny considered throwing a french fry at her. One with ketchup.
A week later, Ethan sat beside him in economics. The classroom was mostly full. The only empty seat happened to be next to him. Ethan dropped into the chair. "Hey."
Danny looked up. Close up was worse. Because Ethan had ridiculous eyes.
"Hey," Danny managed.
"I'm Ethan."
"I know."
Ethan laughed. Danny immediately wished the ground would open and swallow him whole.
"Right.I'm Danny."
"I know." Now Ethan looked amused.
"Good. This is going well."
To Danny's horror, he laughed. And somehow that was it. The conversation started.
Then never really stopped.
Over the next month, Ethan became part of his life with alarming speed.
Texts turned into conversations. Conversations turned into lunches. Lunches became hanging out after school.
Sometimes they studied. Sometimes they played video games. Sometimes they sat on Danny's bedroom floor talking about absolutely nothing.
The strange thing was how easy it felt. Danny had friends. Good friends. But Ethan was different. Danny could just... exist.
One night they sat on the roof of Danny's house. The stars were visible. Beacon Hills never seemed entirely dark anymore.
Danny leaned back against the shingles. "You ever think about leaving?"
Ethan glanced at him. "Leaving Beacon Hills?"
"Yeah."
"Every day."
Danny laughed. "Fair."
"My brother wants New York."
"What do you want?"
Ethan was quiet. For a moment Danny thought he wouldn't answer. Then — "Somewhere I don't have to pretend."
Danny turned toward him. The words hit harder than expected. Because he understood them.
Ethan looked at the sky. "I spent a long time trying to be someone else."
Danny swallowed. "Yeah."
Their eyes met. And suddenly neither of them was talking about college anymore.
The first time Ethan came out to him happened by accident. Or maybe it wasn't an accident. Maybe he'd simply decided he trusted Danny.
They were sitting in Danny's room. Homework spread across the bed. Neither of them actually working.
Danny was complaining about a guy in his programming club. Ethan laughed. Then casually said — "My ex, he used to do that."
Danny blinked. "Your ex?"
The words slipped out before he could stop them. Ethan froze. For a split second fear crossed his face. Fear. The kind Danny hated seeing on anyone.
"Yeah," Ethan said quietly. "My ex-boyfriend."
Silence settled between them. Danny understood immediately. Not just what Ethan had said. What he was waiting for. The judgment, rejection and/or disappointment. All the things queer people learned to expect.
Danny set down his pencil. "Was he annoying?"
Ethan stared. "What?"
"The ex." Danny shrugged. "Because if we're talking annoying exes, I need details."
For one second Ethan looked shocked. Then relief flooded his face. Followed by laughter.
Danny smiled. "There it is."
"There what is?"
"Your face."
Ethan shook his head. "My face?"
"The one where you stop expecting people to suck."
Ethan looked at him for a long moment. "You're kind of incredible, you know that?"
Danny's heart promptly forgot how to function.
The problem with first love was that nobody told you when it happened. There wasn't a notification or official announcement.nOne day you simply realized someone had become important. Danny realized it during a storm. Because of course Beacon Hills couldn't allow emotional revelations under normal circumstances.
The power had gone out. The rain hammered against the windows. Danny sat on the couch while Ethan sprawled beside him. Flashlight balanced between them. They'd been talking for hours about family, school, dreams, fears... everything.
The conversation then drifted into silence. Comfortable silence. Danny looked over and noticed Ethan had fallen asleep. Head tipped toward him. Danny stared and something inside him settled. Like a puzzle piece finally finding where it belonged.
Oh.
Oh no.
He was in love.
Naturally, he told nobody.
For exactly three days.
Then Lydia cornered him. "You look miserable."
"I'm fine."
"You look like someone kicked your puppy."
"I don't own a puppy."
"Danny."
He sighed. Lydia waited, patiently.
"I think I'm in love with him."
Lydia smiled immediately. "Oh."
"That's your reaction?"
"It's a good thing."
Danny groaned. "What if he doesn't feel the same?"
"What if he does?"
"What if I ruin everything?"
Lydia leaned against the locker beside him. "Danny."
He looked at her. "First love is scary."
"Helpful."
"I'm serious."
She softened. "The first person who sees you completely and makes you feel safe? That's terrifying."
Danny stared. Because somehow she'd understood perfectly.
Lydia smiled. "You should tell him."
He didn't. Instead he spent another two weeks suffering.
Then Ethan solved the problem himself because apparently Ethan had finally grown tired of waiting. They were walking home after a movie. Summer air drifted through the trees. Danny was talking about something. Ethan suddenly stopped walking. "Danny."
"Hm?"
Ethan looked nervous, which was strange.
Danny had never seen him nervous before. "What?"
Ethan laughed softly. Then rubbed the back of his neck. "I think I'm making this harder than it needs to be."
Danny frowned. "What?"
"I like you."
Danny blinked. Ethan continued before he could respond. "A lot."
Danny stared. Certain he'd misheard.
"I know things are complicated," Ethan said. "And if you don't feel the same —"
Danny kissed him. Not because he planned it or because it was smooth. Actually it was probably the least smooth thing he'd ever done. But suddenly he was kissing Ethan.
And Ethan was kissing him back.
The world tilted, enough to change everything When they finally pulled apart, Ethan looked stunned. Danny laughed. Ethan started laughing too.
"You could've just said something," Ethan said.
"You first."
"Fair."
The smile Ethan gave him then was brighter than any he'd seen before. And Danny thought —
Damn, I really love him...
Years later, after supernatural chaos and battles and heartbreak and growing up, Danny would remember that summer.
Not because everything worked out perfectly.
Life wasn't like that. People changed and relationships evolved. Paths separated.
But first love? First love mattered regardless. Because Ethan had been the first person who made Danny feel seen. The first person who made him believe he didn't need to hide parts of himself. The first person who taught him that being vulnerable wasn't weakness. That loving someone wasn't something to be ashamed of.
On a warm June evening years later, Danny stood beneath a sky painted with Pride flags and festival lights. Music drifted through the crowd. People laughed, danced and celebrated.
Ethan stood beside him, waiting for Jackson to come back with drinks. Their lives had changed a hundred times over since high school.
Ethan nudged his shoulder. "What are you thinking about?"
Danny smiled. "Firsts."
"Oh?"
"Yeah."
Ethan laughed softly. "Good memories?"
Danny looked at him. At the boy who had once walked into chemistry class and turned his world upside down with a single smile.
Then he looked at the crowd around them at people holding hands without fear, at rainbow flags dancing in the summer air and at a world that still wasn't perfect but kept moving forward anyway.
"Yeah," Danny said quietly. "Really good memories."
Ethan squeezed his hand. And Danny squeezed back.
Because first love wasn't always about being first. Sometimes it was about being the person who showed you that love was possible in the first place.
And that was something worth celebrating. 🏳️🌈❤️