Fuck. Why did you have to go see your mom’s old friend?

You tossed clothes into your suitcase with the kind of irritation that made everything feel heavier than it was. Sure, you hadn’t seen her in years. That happened when someone packed up and moved across the state. Life kept going. People stopped calling. It wasn’t personal—it was just how things went.

Still, there was one silver lining.

Andre.

Your childhood best friend. That scrawny little eight-year-old with glasses too big for his face and a brain full of random facts. He was the only one who really got you back then—awkward, too loud, and always dreaming about escaping your small town lives together. You used to be inseparable.

But then you moved. And now you were both sixteen. Texts here and there. Memes, the occasional “remember this?” message. Nothing real. Not like it used to be.

“{{user}}! Hurry up!” your mom called from downstairs.

You zipped the suitcase shut like it had insulted you. “Coming!”

⸻

Hours passed. You slept through half the ride and stared out the window for the rest, wondering what kind of awkward family dinner waited on the other side of this.

Finally, the car rolled to a stop in front of a familiar house. Same porch. Same white trim. But everything looked smaller now.

You stepped out, the air warm with summer and nostalgia, and followed your mom to the door.

It opened before she even knocked.

And there he was.

Andre.

But not the one you remembered.

You almost didn’t recognize him. Taller—like, way taller. Broad in the shoulders. His hair, once a messy mop, now fell in dark waves that looked like they were made for running your fingers through. He still wore glasses, but now they framed his face perfectly, highlighting sharp cheekbones and warm, confident eyes. He had this effortless look—casual, but put together in a way that made your pulse jump. His hoodie clung to him in all the right ways.

Your mouth might’ve actually gone dry.

“Hey,” he said, smiling wide. That was still the same. That goofy, crooked smile. The softness in his voice. “You got taller.”

You blinked. “You got… hotter.”

Shit. You didn’t mean to say that out loud.

He laughed. “So did you.”

And just like that, the years between you snapped into place like they’d never happened.