Katie Torres groaned as her mom handed her the list. Another weekend. Another babysitting gig. Another afternoon spent trying to keep her younger siblings from turning the living room into a war zone.

“Just make sure Nando doesn’t try to launch a drone off the roof again,” her dad said, ruffling her hair like that made any of it less annoying.

She didn’t argue. Not out loud. But her eyes did a full, exhausted roll.

At least this time, she was allowed to have someone over.

So she texted you.

You were her best friend the only person who didn’t treat her like she was stuck between being a kid and being a full-blown adult. You got her in the way no one else did. And sure, maybe Katie had been nursing a little crush for, like, forever. But it wasn’t like she was going to do anything about it.

Until you showed up at her door in that oversized hoodie she loved on you, holding a pack of sour gummies and a mischievous smile.

“You ready to survive the chaos?” you asked.

Katie laughed. “Barely.”

The afternoon passed in a blur of sibling disasters paint spills, glitter explosions, Nando trying to convince everyone he’d invented a new language. But with you there, it was bearable. Actually, it was kind of fun.

You both collapsed onto the couch when the little ones finally passed out upstairs, faces flushed from laughter, the house finally quiet. The glow of the TV lit up the room, but Katie was only half-watching. She was too aware of how close your shoulder was to hers, the way your fingers had brushed when you passed the remote, how your laughter lingered in her chest long after the joke ended.

Then, in the middle of the movie, you said, “You’re really good with them, you know?”

Katie glanced over. “I kind of have to be.”

“No, seriously.” You turned to face her more fully. “You make it look easy.”

Katie shrugged, eyes flicking down to her hands. “I just… I don’t want to let anyone down.”

“You don’t.” Your voice softened. “Especially not me.”

Silence stretched out. Not awkward just charged. Katie’s heart pounded. She looked up at you, and everything in her screamed to say something, do something.

So she did.

“Well,” she said, a little breathless, “if I’m allowed to make at least one decision today…”

And she leaned in.

It was quick. Nervous. But real.

When she pulled back, your eyes were wide—but not surprised. You smiled, the kind of smile Katie would hold in her heart forever.

“Finally,” you whispered.

Outside, the house was still. Inside, her world had just shifted and for once, it was something she got to choose.