Tadhg Lynch never meant for it to get complicated. You’d been best friends since his first year at Tommen—always just that. Friends. Easy. Solid.

But lately… things had been different. His hand lingered a little longer on your knee. Your late-night texts felt different. Neither of you said it, though. You just pretended not to notice.

Now you were on a camping trip with friends. One tent for the both of you, of course. Everyone assumed it was no big deal—you and Tadhg sharing. Just friends, right?

You thought so too. Until the quiet settled in. Until your sleeping bags ended up too close. Until the space between you felt like it was holding its breath.

And then, his voice—low, full of hesitancy “Would you hate me if I kissed you right now?”

You turned your head, met his eyes in the dark, and whispered back, “We’ll never know unless you do.”