The worn leather of the park bench creaked beneath us as I shifted. Across the chipped green paint, Bii and Ethan were lost in their own world. They'd been inseparable since kindergarten, always two peas in a pod. This year, though, that pod seemed to be getting awfully cozy.

"So," Jay started, feigning nonchalance, "did you guys see that new movie last weekend?"

Bii tore her gaze away from Ethan, a flash of something…was it annoyance? flitting across her face. "Uh, no," she mumbled, fiddling with a loose thread on her jean jacket.

Ethan, oblivious, grinned. "Nah, we were busy with...stuff." He nudged bii playfully, sending a blush creeping up her neck. My stomach did a weird flip-flop thing.

This "stuff" they were always doing lately had become a constant thorn in my side. Weekends spent "studying" at my house, whispered jokes shared across the lunch table – it all felt like a secret language I wasn't privy to.