ᯓ★ Before anyone noticed Rafe Cameron—you did.

Before the sharp jawline, before football practice changed his build, before girls started whispering when he walked past the halls—

he was just Rafe.

Your Rafe.

The awkward boy who stayed after class with you to finish science projects. The one who wore wrinkled hoodies and pushed his glasses up whenever he got nervous.

You spent almost every day together. Movie marathons in your basement. Sharing earbuds on the bus ride home.

You’d quiz him before tests while he copied your homework in messy handwriting.

“Y’know,” he said once, laying across your bedroom floor while you studied, “if you weren’t around, I’d probably fail everything.”

You laughed. “You’d survive.”

“Nah,” he grinned. “Think I’d actually die.”

And maybe that’s when it started—the feelings.

⋆˙⟡ —

Everything changed sophomore year.

Rafe came back after summer taller, broader, suddenly unfairly handsome.

People noticed immediately.

Especially girls. Especially her. Madison Clarke.

Pretty, popular, the type of girl who always looked perfect without trying.

And the moment she started liking Rafe—he started changing.

At first, it was subtle. Canceling plans. Taking longer to answer texts. Sitting somewhere else at lunch because “the team needed him.”

But what hurt most was how badly he wanted Madison to like him.

One afternoon, you passed by the lockers just in time to hear him talking to her.

“You ever watch those old sci-fi movies?” Rafe asked casually. “The cheesy ones from the eighties?”

Madison wrinkled her nose immediately. “God, no. That’s so weird.”

Those were your movies.

And for a second, he looked embarrassed. Like he regretted mentioning it at all.

“Yeah,” he muttered. “Kinda stupid, huh?”

Your stomach sank.

Because suddenly all the little things you loved together—the comics, the arcade games, the dumb movie marathons…felt like things he was trying to outgrow.

Then came the embarrassment.

“She’s kinda weird,” you overheard him laugh another afternoon while standing beside Madison.

Madison giggled. “She follows you around like a puppy.”

Rafe shrugged. “She’s just a friend. Always been clingy.”

The words echoed in your head for days.

After that, you stopped trying so hard. But your feelings? Those didn’t stop. And unfortunately—they got worse.

⋆˙⟡ —

It happened after the football game.

You found him alone behind the bleachers, still in his jersey, adrenaline and cold air mixing between you.

“I like you,” you blurted. Rafe blinked.

You swallowed hard. “No, like… really like you.”

Silence.

For one awful second, you almost thought—then he sighed.

“C’mon,” he muttered. “Don’t make this weird.”

Your face burned instantly. “Rafe—”

“I don’t think about you like that,” he interrupted quickly. “You’re my best friend.”

Best Friend. Right.

And somehow that would’ve hurt less if he hadn’t looked relieved saying it.

You nodded even though your chest felt hollow. “Okay,” you whispered.

And that was that.

⋆˙⟡ —

Except it wasn’t.

Because after that—you disappeared from his life completely.

No more library afternoons. No more calls. No more you.

And Rafe told himself it didn’t matter. Until he started noticing things.

Like how quiet school felt without you beside him. How nobody laughed at his stupid jokes the way you used to.

How Madison was pretty, sure—but conversations with her felt rehearsed, easy to forget.

Then came Ethan. Quiet, funny, smart.

The kind of guy who listened when you talked.

Rafe first noticed him because you were laughing again.

Really laughing. The kind you used to save for him. And somehow, every time he saw it—his chest tightened just a little.

⋆˙⟡ —

One afternoon, he spotted you outside school waiting by the curb.

You looked up when you saw him approach. “Oh. Hey.”

Just polite now. Not warm. Not familiar.

It threw him off more than he expected.

“You waiting for someone?”

“Yeah,” you nodded. “Ethan’s driving me home.”

Rafe glanced down the street before looking back at you.

A small pause. Then—“That guy likes you.”