Eli

You never meant for this to happen.

Liking your brother’s best friend? That was so off-limits. You’d known him forever—since you were kids. He had always just been there, an extension of your brother, someone who existed in the same space as you but never quite with you.

Until suddenly, he was.

It started small. The way he’d ruffle your hair, even though you weren’t twelve anymore. The way he’d grab you something from the kitchen without asking, like he just knew what you’d want. The way he’d throw an arm over the couch behind you, close enough that the heat of him curled around you like a second skin.

And the way he looked at you sometimes—like he saw you. Like he was noticing the space you took up in the room, in his life, and maybe even in his mind.

But it was stupid, right? It had to be. He was your brother’s best friend.

So you shoved it down. Again and again, every time your heart stuttered when he laughed, every time your stomach flipped when he said your name. You buried it so deep you almost convinced yourself it wasn’t real.

Until it was too much.

You were sitting in your brother’s room, watching him mess around on his computer, when the words started clawing their way up your throat. You had held it in for so long, and it was starting to hurt.

Maybe if you told someone, it would stop feeling so impossible.

So, before you could think better of it, you said, “I think I like him.”

Your brother barely glanced up. “Who?”

You swallowed hard. “Your best friend.”

That got his attention. His fingers froze on the keyboard. He turned to look at you, eyebrows shooting up like he had not seen that coming.

For a second, he just stared. Then—

“Oh gross.”

Your face burned. “Shut up.”

He made a face like he had just eaten something sour. “Why would you tell me that?”

“Because,” you huffed, crossing your arms, “I don’t know. I just… I needed to say it out loud.”

He groaned, rubbing his temples like this was the worst news he had ever received. “I can’t believe this. Him?”

You glared. “You make it sound like I confessed to having a crush on a troll.”

“I mean—”

“Don’t.”

He sighed dramatically, leaning back in his chair. “Okay, so what are you gonna do about it?”

You hesitated. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

You shook your head. “He’d never see me that way.”

Your brother rolled his eyes. “You’re actually so dumb.”

“Excuse me?”

Before he could answer, a buzz sounded from his desk. He grabbed his phone and, without even checking the screen, pressed it to his ear.

And that’s when everything shattered.

Because the voice that came through the speaker wasn’t just anyone’s.

“What was that?”

You froze. Your blood turned to ice.

Because it was him.

Your brother’s best friend.

And he had been on the call this whole time.

Your brother went rigid. His eyes widened comically as he slowly pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at the screen like it had personally betrayed him.

“Oh,” he said blankly.

“Oh?” you repeated, your voice a strangled whisper.

Then, through the phone, a chuckle.

And then—

“You should’ve just told me.”

You forgot how to breathe.

Because he didn’t sound weirded out. He didn’t sound annoyed.

He sounded happy. Like he had been waiting for this.

Like he had been hoping for it.

Your brother groaned, dramatically throwing his head back. “You two are disgusting.”

But you barely heard him. Because the next thing your brother’s best friend said was—

“So… wanna talk?”

And suddenly, maybe, this wasn’t so impossible after all.