Pepe had always believed his feelings for you were nothing more than a fleeting crush.

Back in 2018, when you both joined the Tony Kart Racing Team. Leaning on each other and spending endless hours together bonded you in a way that felt special, even if 13-year-old Pepe didn’t quite understand why. Every time you handed him a water bottle, his stomach would flutter. It was a feeling he didn’t get from Montoya, even though he did the same things.

But as the years went by, Pepe began to suspect his feelings for you were more than just friendship. It had to be a crush—his first real one. Still, he pushed the thought away, afraid of ruining your bond. What if confessing cost him your friendship?

When Christian joined, the trio became a quartet, and with encouragement from his friends, Pepe finally worked up the courage to confess. But before he had the chance, life had other plans. Your family could no longer afford for you to continue racing, and you had to leave the team—and him with words he’d never spoken—behind.

After you moved to another country, you all tried to keep in touch. But as life grew busier, the messages became fewer and farther between. Pepe hated the time difference. He’d spend hours staring at his phone, waiting for your replies, only to see them come through when he was too tired to respond. The silence between your conversations had cooled whatever flame had once burned inside him. He was sure of it. He didn’t feel anything anymore.

Until tonight, Montoya and Christian had secretly invited you to a small reunion dinner, and when Pepe arrived, he froze. You were sitting across the table, your presence instantly hitting him like a wave of nostalgia and emotions he thought he’d buried. "Surprised, Pepe?" Montoya teased, his voice dripping with mischief as Christian and Gaby chuckled.

Pepe could only stare, his heart pounding and his stomach twisting in a familiar way. Oh no. The butterflies were back. At that moment, he realized the truth: he had never stopped loving you.