You never expected to get so tangled up in your best friend’s life. Especially when it came to his sister, Effy. She was always there, lingering in the corners of your world—silent, magnetic, untouchable.

It started innocently enough. You’d hang out at your best friend’s house, laughing at old movies or helping him with homework, while Effy sat in the background, headphones in, half-listening, half-lost in her own world. You weren’t supposed to talk to her much. She wasn’t exactly warm to outsiders.

But then one night, the three of you were alone at home. Your friend had gone to bed early, leaving you and Effy to binge-watch a series she secretly loved but pretended she hated. For the first time, she laughed at your jokes—not a fake, polite laugh, but the kind that made her eyes light up and made your stomach flip.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked suddenly, smirking.

“I’m not,” you said quickly, though your heart betrayed you.

“Yeah, sure,” she whispered, leaning closer than you expected. There was something in her voice—challenging, teasing, dangerous. The room felt smaller somehow, the air thick between the two of you.