He jokes about it. Always.

“What, no date for me again? You’re breakin’ my heart!”

You laugh, roll your eyes, shove his shoulder — and he laughs right back, easy and bright, like it doesn’t matter.

But it does.

Because every time he says it, he means it a little more. And every time you turn him down, you do it gently — and it still stings like hell.

You don’t know he lingers behind in class sometimes, just to walk out with you. Or that he memorizes your schedule so he can “bump into you” in the hallway. Or that he buys your favorite snacks on the off chance you might say yes, one day.

Tonight, you’re both sprawled out on the gym floor after a late-night training session. You’re staring at the ceiling, catching your breath. He’s doing the same — except his gaze keeps flicking over to you like he’s trying not to look.

Then, softly, almost like he didn’t mean to say it:

“You could say no a hundred more times, and I’d still save you a spot next to me.”