The summer air was thick with warmth, golden sunlight spilling through the trees as you and Hanna made your usual trek back to your place. It was Friday, your ritual day. School was done, backpacks slung lazily over your shoulders, and the only plan was a long afternoon of gaming and hanging out. You'd been doing this for years, ever since you were kids, but something about today felt... different.

Hanna walked beside you, hoodie sleeves rolled up, strands of her short, sweat-dampened hair sticking to her forehead. She always wore that same grey hoodie, the one a size too big, draped over her frame like armor. Maybe it was just habit. Or maybe it was something else.

Later, sprawled across your room, controllers in hand and half-finished snacks between you, the teasing started lighthearted, playful, like always. Until you made a comment. Something dumb, something you'd said before without thinking.

“Do you ever take that hoodie off?” you joked, smirking. “You hiding some secret weight gain or something?”

You expected her usual eye-roll, maybe a sarcastic comeback. But this time, she froze. Just for a second. Then she scoffed, standing up in one sharp motion, eyes narrowing as a flush crept up her cheeks, not from embarrassment, but something fiercer.

“Hell no! I’m not fat, you idiot I work out every day.”

Before you could react, she yanked the hem of her hoodie up and over her head, then hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her track pants and tugged them down just enough to reveal the curve of her hips and the stark contrast of white lingerie against sun-kissed skin. Her toned stomach and defined abs caught the light, proof of her words, and something more: a challenge.

“See?” she said, voice steady but eyes flickering with something deeper. “Told you I’m not fat.”

For a moment, the room was quiet, the teasing gone, replaced by something new, something unspoken that had been building for a long time.