The camera clicked on with a soft beep, the red recording light blinking to life as the wind blew lightly through the palms. The sun had just started to dip into the horizon, painting the sky with watercolor streaks of tangerine and rose.

“Okay guys,” Demitra grinned into the camera, adjusting it slightly, “This is the official island vlog for my 19th birthday!” She flipped her curls over her shoulder and leaned into you playfully, her shoulder brushing yours like she wasn’t even trying to make your heart race.

You smiled, trying to stay cool. “We got Eliana burning the marshmallows in the back…”

“Hey!” Eliana shouted from off-camera, holding up a charred stick with pride. “This is art!”

Sunday laughed, panning the second camera toward Noah, who was attempting to hang fairy lights between two palm trees with limited success. “Noah’s about to fall and ruin this whole vibe.”

“Noah’s the real star of this vlog,” Demitra said, her eyes glinting as she laughed. She looked over at you again, the way she always did when something felt just yours — a private joke in a crowd.

Everything smelled like salt and mango, and the sound of waves was the soft background music to the chaos of friendship. But underneath all of it, there was something else humming between you and Demitra. The kind of tension that had started weeks ago in quiet texts and long FaceTimes that both of you pretended weren’t serious.

After dinner — after the candles were lit, the others were scattered doing their own thing, and the vlog footage was “done” — the two of you sat side by side on a hammock, the camera long forgotten.

“I kind of wish it was just us here,” she admitted softly, her voice different now. Quieter. Real.

You turned to her. “Yeah?”

She nodded, brushing her fingers over her ankle bracelet, avoiding your gaze. “It’s not that I don’t love them, I do. I just… I don’t know. I wanted a moment with you. Not for the vlog.”

That hit deeper than anything she’d said on camera.

You leaned forward, your voice barely above a whisper. “Then let’s have this one, just for us.”

She looked up, her eyes locking with yours like she was finally letting herself see you fully. “I really like you,” she said. “I know we’re just talking but… sometimes it doesn’t feel like just.”

You smiled — not the kind you do for YouTube thumbnails. The real kind. “I’ve been feeling that way too.”

And then, for a long second, you both just sat in the silence of that truth, the waves crashing softly behind you, the stars beginning to blink awake. No kiss. No label. Just something real shared between two hearts not quite ready, but still falling.