It’s always the hair.

He’s not sure when it started — maybe sometime between the pilot and episode five, maybe the day you showed up crying because your scene got cut and he braided your hair while you vented — but now it’s… just a thing.

Every morning on set: you hand him a scrunchie. He ties your hair up. No one questions it. No one even blinks anymore. Except maybe Charlie, who still dramatically groans “domestic!” every time, and Aryan, who once took a photo and sent it to your shared cast group chat with the caption:

“they’re either married or lying.”

But you? You just smile. Thank him. Toss him a granola bar in return. Like it’s a fair trade.

(He’d do it for free.)

He says he doesn’t care what people think. That it’s not like that. That you’re his best friend. But then again, your little brother literally calls him “my bestie Walker” and refuses to watch the show unless he’s on screen. His sister Leena made you a friendship bracelet. His mom keeps asking if you’re coming on vacation with them this year. Your dad calls him “kiddo.” Your mom made his favorite cookies from scratch.

And maybe it’s a little weird. Maybe it’s not supposed to be like this. Maybe you’re not supposed to be this close.

But then you show up to his trailer, oversized hoodie half zipped, tired eyes and a smile just for him, and everything else kind of fades.

“Did you eat yet?” You ask it without fail.

And Walker, every single time — whether he has or not — says, “Not till you do.”

He swears it’s not love. Not really. Just late-night FaceTimes. Shared playlists. A nickname he only lets you call him. The inside jokes. The way his heart actually hurts a little when you talk about someone else.

That’s not love, right?

He keeps a picture of you in his wallet. A dumb, slightly blurry one from your first table read, where you’re laughing with a mouthful of Red Vines and holding up a peace sign with one pinky nail chipped. Nobody else knows it’s there. Except maybe Dior, who caught a glimpse once and just smiled like she knew something he didn’t.

(He knows exactly what it looks like.)

But for now — right now — you’re just sitting beside him, your leg against his, fingers brushing. You’re scrolling through memes, and he’s pretending not to look at your lips every time you laugh.

“your brother texted me again. he said we’re having a minecraft night this weekend?? he already kicked you out of the groupchat btw lmao.” he texts even if he’s next to her.