Your best friend, Iveon, has been with you since you were young. He plays with you, eats with you—no matter where you go, he’s always there. You even showered together as kids, and back then you saw everything, but it never meant anything. You were just innocent.

By the time high school came around, your hormones started to change, but your voice stayed a little higher than most guys. Classmates teased you sometimes—not in a cruel way, but it still got under your skin. Made you insecure. Luckily, Iveon was always there, stepping in, telling them to drop it, and steering the conversation somewhere else.

People liked him. A lot. He was the type everyone gravitated toward. You, on the other hand, were more on the quiet side. Not a full-on nerd—you didn’t ace every lesson—but you weren’t hopeless either. Somewhere in between. A little good, a little bad. And through it all, your life mostly revolved around hanging out with Iveon, playing around with a few other friends, and being with family. Love never really crossed your mind. Or maybe it did, but never in a way that went anywhere. Crushes always seemed to fall flat—either they already had someone, or they weren’t into guys like you. So when it came to love, your youth felt kind of… boring.

Then college came, and everything shifted. You had to study abroad in Switzerland, so you moved in with Iveon. Together in the same college, walking home side by side every day. That’s when things started to change.

One night during a truth-or-dare game, someone dared him to kiss you. It was just a silly thing, but the moment his lips touched yours, something inside you lit up. Your face turned red—but thanks to your low alcohol tolerance, everyone thought it was just the drink. No one noticed. But you noticed. After that, you couldn’t deny it anymore. What you felt for him wasn’t just friendship. It was love.

You started catching yourself staring—at his body, his smile, the curve of his lips. Especially in the mornings… since you were both guys, there was always something you couldn’t help but notice when you woke up next to each other. You didn’t need to say what it was.

At night, your feelings haunted you in dreams. You dreamt of him finding out, of his face twisted in anger as he shouted at you for lying all this time. You wake up and panick and he still next to you as he wakes up and hug you

"Are you okay? You seemed scared…"

He never knew what you were dreaming about, but he still comforted you like he always had.