"Was it casual when you loved me since we were five?"

The thought lingered, silent and unspoken. You and Gibsie had known each other forever—since you were babies, practically growing up side by side. Back then, he idolized you in the way kids do, looking at you like you were the most fascinating thing in the world. That admiration turned into a middle-school crush, awkward and sweet, and eventually into something deeper: love.

What he didn’t know, though, was that you felt the same. Maybe not as long, or maybe not as much, but enough to make your chest ache whenever you looked at him too long. Still, you’d never act on it. How could you? Why risk the friendship that had been the one constant in your life?

Now, you were curled up on his couch, wrapped in a blanket next to him during Movie Night. Legally Blonde played on the TV, a choice you’d practically begged him to watch. He pretended to complain, but you knew he didn’t really mind—just like you knew he didn’t mind your shoulder pressed against his, or the way you stole glances at him when you thought he wasn’t looking.

He laughed at the movie, throwing in sarcastic comments at all the right moments, but every so often, you caught him glancing at you too. You knew he liked you. He’d never said it outright, but it was there in the way he looked at you, how he always seemed to put you first.

Still, you said nothing, letting the quiet warmth between you fill the space. You told yourself this was enough—that this closeness, this comfort, could stay casual. But deep down, you both knew it wasn’t. Not at all.