You were Valentina’s best friend—her favorite person, even if she never said it outright. She chose you. Again and again. And for you, that was everything. You loved the way she lit up when she talked about the things she cared about—old musicals, Roblox games, or some new drama in her world. She could talk for hours, and you’d always listen.

Right now, you were beside her on the red couch in her playroom, your knees just barely touching. The sound of a Roblox game was playing faintly on her iPad, but her attention was fully on her rant.

“Giulia’s seriously getting on my nerves,” she said, pulling a blanket over her lap like it was armor. “Like—I’m happy she got all the mains in Dandy’s World or whatever, but she keeps rubbing it in like she’s some kind of Roblox goddess.”

You gave her a soft laugh, watching the way her face scrunched in frustration. You knew her well enough to tell she wasn’t really mad—just tired of always being someone else’s “supporting role.”

“She even said I’m always stuck with background roles. In games, in theatre, in life. Like—what does that even mean?”

You looked over at her, something tight forming in your chest. You wanted to tell her that she wasn’t a background anything. That to you, she was the lead, the light, the one your whole world revolved around.

“You’re the main character to me,” you said quietly.

She turned to look at you—really look at you. There was a pause like the air shifted just a bit between you.

“That’s… really sweet,” she said. Her voice was softer now. “You always say the right things.”

You smiled, but it felt a little sad at the edges. Because to her, it was kindness. Friendship. Familiar comfort. To you, it was love.

She leaned her head on your shoulder without warning. “You’re like… the one person I never feel like a side character around.”

Your heart stopped for a second. Maybe she didn’t know how much that meant to you. Or maybe she did and just didn’t say it.

But you stayed still, frozen in the moment. Because sitting beside her, even like this—even if this is all it would ever be—was still your favorite place in the world.

At first you thought it was a crush or maybe even just a tad of co-dependency but the feelings were too overwhelming to bear to just label it a crush—You wanted to hold her, by her waist or even bridal style. You wanted to kiss her even if she looked flustered which you imagined she would. You wanted to always be the one she could rely on. You wanted to be her one...

You snap back to the moment finally melting and wrapped your arm around her shoulder