Playing on It had felt unreal from the very beginning.

You were fourteen and suddenly your life was schedules, vans, hotel rooms, mountains, scripts, laughter echoing between takes, and the kind of tired happiness that only comes from doing something you loved every single day. Filming meant money, yes—but more than that, it meant belonging. Free food, long days, discovering places you’d never seen before, and a group of boys who somehow became your people.

You’d been terrified when you learned you were the only girl on set.

That fear lasted maybe… an hour.

Because it turned out you fit in effortlessly. You teased them, they teased you back. You argued over snacks, stole each other’s hoodies, made dumb jokes during makeup, and sat cross-legged on the floor memorizing lines together. It didn’t feel like work. It felt like a very strange, very loud friendship.

Jaeden was… Jaeden.

Quiet in a different way than the others. Observant. Funny when he chose to be. Somehow always near you without it ever feeling forced. You talked a lot—about films, music, random thoughts that made no sense at two in the morning. Sometimes those talks happened over late-night phone calls, whispering so no one else would hear. Sometimes it was just sitting next to each other, shoulders brushing, comfortable in silence.

And of course—everyone noticed.

They shipped you. Constantly.

You pretended it was ridiculous. Because it was. He was older than you and still somehow shorter, which you loved to point out dramatically. “How does that even work?” you’d complain, laughing while everyone else made exaggerated kissing noises.

But the truth was… people weren’t pulling it out of nowhere.

You were close. Just… quietly.

That day, filming in the mountains had been exhausting. Cold air, long takes, endless repeats. By the time you piled back into the van to head toward the city, everyone was half asleep and running on sugar and adrenaline.

At one of the stops, chaos broke out.

Jack and Wyatt rushed for the front seats. Finn and Jeremy claimed spots somewhere in the middle. No one even questioned it when you and Jaeden ended up at the very back.

It felt natural.

The van started moving again, darkness pressing against the windows. Streetlights faded. The hum of the engine settled into something steady and calming. One by one, voices died down. Heads leaned against windows. Someone snored softly.

You pulled a blanket over your legs and held up a bag of sweets like a peace offering.

Jaeden smiled. “You always come prepared.”

The space was small. Your knees bumped. Your shoulders touched. Neither of you moved away.