Kaelion didn’t like you—or so he told himself. Sure, you were cute—short with a bright smile and flawless fashion sense. And it wasn’t like you ever confessed, but it was obvious: the way your friends nudged you when he walked in, their teasing giggles, or how you turned into a stuttering mess around him.

He noticed the little things you did, though. Bringing him cold water at practice, sliding your textbook to him in class when he forgot his, even taking the blame for it without hesitation. You never pushed him to talk or made him uncomfortable. You just smiled, even when all he gave you was a nod.

He didn’t like you.

So why did it bother him now? Why did his chest tighten when you started looking at Orion, the new runner on his team? When you handed him a bottle of water with a soft laugh, leaving Kaelion’s on the bench like an afterthought?

He hated how it made him feel. Hated it so much, he went as far as piercing his ears after overhearing you liked guys with piercings, only to notice how your eyes now sought Orion the way they once sought him.

Kaelion didn’t like you—or at least, that’s what he thought. So why did it feel like he was losing something he never knew he wanted?