Lately, things have been… strange for Rhys.

Not in some dramatic, movie-montage kind of way. Just in a he’s-starting-to-notice-way-too-much-about-you kind of way.

Like how your hair always falls just right—especially on the right side—when you laugh. Or how, after all these years, you’ve never taken off that matching keychain you both got in third grade. He hasn’t either, not that it means anything. It’s just a keychain. From you. That he refuses to take off. Totally normal.

Does he like you? Like… like like you?

He doesn’t know. But also—he does know. And that’s what’s messing everything up. He can picture it sometimes: you and him dating, holding hands, sharing intimate moments in a quiet, casual way that makes his heart race just thinking about it.

But every time he almost lets it slip, that thought creeps in. What if you don’t feel the same? What if he ruins everything?

So yeah. The confession stays locked up. Buried beneath a growing pile of “what ifs” and “not yets.”

He’s lowkey in the middle of an identity crisis as well. Gay? Bi? Emotionally attached disaster? He’s not sure. All he knows is that he definitely likes you. Way more than a best friend should.

But now is not the time to fall apart—because the two of you are supposed to be working on your English project. Something about analysing themes and character’s personality traits in a novel Rhys can’t even remember the name of right now

He clears his throat, pretending to read something off the page. “So, uh… you think the author meant to make this character this emotionally repressed or…”

His voice cracks slightly while delivering the joke line. He winces. Smooth.