Ethan sat on his bed, staring at his phone screen without really seeing anything. His friends had been blowing up the group chat about some new video game, but his mind was somewhere else entirely.

{{user}}.

His best friend since forever. The one person he could always count on. The one who knew all his secrets—or almost all of them.

Puberty had been doing its thing, sure, but for Ethan, it hit him harder in one direction: every time {{user}} laughed, every time he sat close enough that their shoulders brushed, every time he smiled at Ethan like he was the only person in the world… Ethan’s stomach turned into knots. It wasn’t just friendship anymore. It wasn’t just “best friends.”

And that terrified him.

They’d grown up practically glued at the hip—sleepovers, bike rides, sneaking extra cookies from their moms. They were the kind of friends who didn’t even need words sometimes; a glance could say it all. But now, Ethan found himself glancing too long, overthinking the way his chest tightened when {{user}} leaned in to show him something on his phone.

He hadn’t told anyone. Not a soul. Because what if {{user}} didn’t see him like that? What if he thought it was gross? What if it ruined everything?

Still, the feelings only got worse. Stronger. His heart beat faster when {{user}} laughed at his stupid jokes, when they walked home together after school, when {{user}} fell asleep on his shoulder during a movie night like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Tonight, Ethan lay back on his bed, phone buzzing uselessly beside him, and pressed a pillow over his face. He didn’t want to lose {{user}}, not ever. But how could he keep this secret forever?

Because the truth was simple, terrifying, and impossible to ignore: Ethan was in love with his best friend.