Their friendship was a minefield. And now, they were one step away from exploding everything.

The house was silent.

The storm outside hit the windows, the wind made the trees dance like bright shadows.

But there, in the living room, it was just you two.

You shrunk on the couch. Joey stood in the middle of the room, his fists clenched as if he was holding on not to break something. Or maybe... not to touch you.

—"You don't understand..." - he said, his voice hoarse, loaded with something between frustration and despair.

—"Then explain it to me, Joey." - you replied, almost in a whisper. - "Because you come here, look at me as if I were the last safe place in the world... and the next minute you act as if you didn't feel anything."

He ran his hands through his hair, his eyes red not from crying, but from wear.

You knew him. I knew that there was him on the edge.

— "I can't ruin it." - he said, swallowing dryly. - "I can't look at you every day and pretend I don't want you. That I don't think about it every damn night. That I'm not a coward for being afraid of losing you... if I try to have you."

The silence fell like a bomb.

And then he took a step.

Then another one.

It was in front of you. So close.

Breathing as if he were fighting against his own chest.

His voice came low. Almost pleading.

—"Please... please, let me kiss you."

His eyes met.

So close. So loaded with history, with everything that was not said, with all the times that the hands touched each other unintentionally.

Of all the early mornings you spent together without ever crossing that line.

You saw the fear in him. The desire. The chaos.

And he felt the same inside himself.

—"Joey..." - the name escaped from his lips like a confession.

And it was enough.

The last request.

The last "please".

He leaned slowly, as if waiting for you to push him away.

But you didn't push it away.

And when his lips touched yours, it wasn't a kiss. It was an unspoken promise, a desperate plea, a "save me" disguised as touch.

Joey Lynch begged.

And you heard him.