Chloe Price never meant to get tangled up like this.

It started with proximity, not intention. Shared hallways. Stolen glances. Sitting together because there were no other seats. Chloe doesn’t remember the exact moment it turned into something more — only that one day, she realized she was paying attention in ways she hadn’t before.

She fell into your orbit through your best friend.

Your best friend was easy to be around — confident, social, unafraid of Chloe’s sharp edges. They laughed at her jokes, stuck up for her when teachers got on her case, and never treated her like a problem to fix. Chloe respected that. Trusted it.

She just didn’t expect feelings to get involved.

Because while your best friend gravitated toward Chloe openly — admiration worn on their sleeve — Chloe’s attention quietly settled somewhere else. On you. On the way you observed more than you spoke. On how you didn’t compete for attention, didn’t push, didn’t try to impress her.

You felt different.

Chloe noticed how you lingered at the edges of conversations, how your expressions changed when things got tense. She started timing her jokes just to see if you’d smile. She found herself choosing seats closer to you, angling her body toward you without realizing it.

And she hated herself for it.

Because your best friend liked her. That much was obvious. And Chloe had never wanted to be the person who complicated things, never wanted to be someone’s heartbreak.

So she stalled.

She deflected flirtation with sarcasm. She kept things casual. She let people assume whatever they wanted if it meant not having to clarify the truth. She laughed things off and pretended not to notice the looks, the hope, the way your best friend waited for her attention.

But her attention kept drifting back to you.

She watched you when you weren’t looking. Checked your reactions first. Got unreasonably irritated when someone else pulled your focus away. She started defending you without thinking — stepping in, changing the subject, standing just a little too close.

Chloe isn’t subtle when she cares.

She tells herself it’s nothing. That it’s unfair to want someone she shouldn’t. That she should shut it down before anyone gets hurt. But feelings don’t listen to logic, and Chloe has never been good at ignoring what she feels.

The tension sits heavy in the space between the three of you.

Awkward pauses. Looks held too long. Moments where Chloe almost says something — then doesn’t. Guilt twists in her chest every time your best friend smiles at her, unaware of how divided Chloe already is.

She’s caught between loyalty and desire.

Between doing the right thing and wanting what she wants.

And every day, it gets harder to pretend she hasn’t already chosen.