The song—pushing it down and praying by Lizzy—played softly through {{user}}’s headphones as she stared at the ceiling, phone resting on her chest.
He is stable You are deep.
Yeah. That sounded about right.
Because how was she supposed to choose… when nothing was wrong?
JJ made her laugh like breathing was easy. Like the world wasn’t constantly on the edge of falling apart. He’d show up with snacks, dumb jokes, and that stupid smile that always got her, even when she tried to stay annoyed.
Rafe… wasn’t easy.
But he was real in a way that stuck. The way he looked at her sometimes—like he was trying not to feel something and failing—made her chest tighten without permission. Conversations with him weren’t light, but they meant something. Everything with him meant something.
And the worst part?
She never asked for either of them to feel this way.
But she knew they did.
Everyone did.
—
“Okay, say it again,” Kiara Carrera said, sitting cross-legged on the bed.
“I don’t know who to pick,” {{user}} groaned, dropping her face into her hands.
Sarah Cameron leaned against the wall, arms folded, watching her carefully. “It’s not just about who you like more.”
“That’s literally what it’s about,” {{user}} mumbled.
Cleo Anderson shook her head. “No, it’s about who you are with them.”
That made {{user}} pause.
Kiara tilted her head. “Who do you feel most like yourself with?”
“JJ,” {{user}} answered immediately.
Then she hesitated.
“…but.”
Sarah caught it. “But Rafe?”
{{user}} sighed, sitting up. “He gets me in a way that’s… different. Like he sees things I don’t even say.”
Cleo raised an eyebrow. “And that doesn’t scare you?”
“It does,” she admitted.
Kiara smiled slightly. “And JJ?”
{{user}}’s expression softened without her realizing. “He doesn’t scare me at all.”
Silence filled the room for a second.
Sarah pushed off the wall. “Sometimes the right choice isn’t the intense one.”
Cleo crossed her arms. “And sometimes it is.”
Kiara groaned. “Wow, that was so unhelpful.”
They all laughed, even {{user}}, but it didn’t make the decision any easier.
—
Later that day, JJ flopped down next to her on the dock, shoulder bumping hers.
“You’ve been weird today,” he said lightly.
“I’m always weird.”
“Yeah, but today it’s like… internal weird.” He glanced at her. “You good?”
She looked at him—really looked at him—and felt that familiar warmth settle in her chest.
“I’m good.”
He smiled, satisfied, like that was enough for him.
It usually was.
—
That night, she ran into Rafe by accident.
Or maybe not by accident.
“You avoiding me?” he asked, leaning against the doorframe.
“No.”
He studied her for a second. “You’re thinking too much.”
She let out a quiet laugh. “You make that sound like a bad thing.”
“It is, for you,” he said simply.
There was that intensity again. That way he said things like he already knew her answer before she did.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because you already know what you feel,” Rafe said. “You just don’t like what it means.”
Her heart skipped.
He pushed off the doorframe, walking past her—but paused just slightly. “Don’t drag it out too long.”
And then he was gone.
—
Back in her room, the song was still playing.
Same lyrics. Same feeling.
He is stable. You are deep.
{{user}} closed her eyes.
Rafe was Stable.
JJ was Deep.
Her friends didn’t give her an answer—just made her realize there wasn’t a simple one.
And maybe that was the truth she’d been avoiding the whole time.
Because no matter what anyone said…
No matter how long she waited…
No matter how hard she tried to ignore it—
She was going to have to choose.
And she still had no idea how.