You’ve spent months burying the gnawing insecurity inside you, convincing yourself that Dean would never notice someone like you—too quiet, too cautious, not his “type,” and far too aware of your flaws to even imagine you could be worth his attention.

And yet, he’s Dean, impossibly magnetic, always joking, teasing, flirting just enough to make your heart stutter, little sparks of hope igniting every time he grins that crooked smile at you.

You cling to those moments, replay them endlessly in your head, daring yourself to imagine a world where it could be you and him, something real, something worth fighting for. So tonight, you finally steel yourself, the words trembling on your lips, ready to tear down the walls you’ve built…only to freeze in your tracks.

There he is at the bar, that same grin now reserved for a blonde he’s holding close, her shoulder pressed to his lips, his eyes bright as he looks at her in that way—that way—and the world inside you fractures.

Every ounce of courage crumbles, replaced by a hollow ache that digs into your chest, leaving you shivering with the bitter, burning truth, maybe those little bursts of hope were always just that—fleeting, cruel illusions you weren’t meant to grasp.