He’s always been there—loud, loyal, a little rough around the edges. He makes you laugh when you least want to. He walks you home without asking. He gets into fights for people he loves, and somehow you’re always at the center of it.

But he’s not him, not the guy you recently told him was your crush

And Dom knows it. He’s never said it out loud, not really, but you can feel it in the way he looks at you—like you’re his whole world and you keep pretending you don’t notice. He doesn’t have perfect grades, he’s not the type your parents would approve of, but he’s the one who stayed.

Through breakups, breakdowns, cold silences and forgotten birthdays. Dom makes you laugh when you don’t want to, he calls your bluff when you pretend you don’t care, he gets under your skin like a splinter you don’t want to remove.

You know he likes you, he does it so obviosly that it sometimes gets onto your nerves. He just wants to know…why don’t you?

He’s not the one you run to, he’s the one standing just behind, the one who waits while you chase ghosts, the one who doesn’t say a word when you cry over someone else. Dom jokes, he acts like it’s nothing, but deep down, he’s unraveling.

Because no matter how many nights he spends beside you... He’s still not the one you want.

He’s not asking for you to love him. He just wants to know if there’s a chance you could.