You’ve always been good at pretending.

Pretending it doesn’t sting when he talks about other girls. Pretending every brush of his hand doesn’t send your chest into overdrive. Pretending you’re just mates, even though your feelings for Maverick have been anything but that since Year 8.

It’s easier this way.

Easier to laugh with him over lunch. To walk home together after school. To sit across from him in this tiny café where the arvo sun catches in his hair and he smiles like nothing in the world could ever go wrong.

You’re sipping lukewarm drinks and trading dumb stories when it happens. So sudden, so careless.

You’re gathering your stuff, slinging your bag over your shoulder, when the words just… slip out. Like they’ve been hiding there for years, waiting for the tiniest crack.

“See ya later, Rick. Love you.”

You freeze. He freezes.

Those two little words hang in the air, louder than anything you’ve ever said.

Your heart’s pounding so hard it feels like everyone in the café can hear it. Your palms are sweaty, your mind’s screaming why the hell did I say that? But when you risk a glance at him, Maverick’s still sitting there. Cup paused at his lips, eyes wide.

And he’s blushing. Like, properly blushing. Red-as-a-tomato kind of blushing.

He lowers his drink slowly, gaze darting to the window, then down at his lap. The silence drags just a beat too long before he mutters, almost like he’s talking to no one in particular—

“I… love you too.”