Oh, to be loved like him.

Leo Everett, charismatic and smart—everything you could never measure up to. You've been best friends since elementary school, and in all those years, he’s been adored by everyone. Teachers praise him, classmates flock to his charm, and the entire school lights up when he walks down the hallway. Top of the class, captain of the basketball team—it's hard not to feel like you’re always in his shadow.

You never realized how deep your feelings for him ran until you saw another girl confess her love to him.

Standing at a distance, your stomach twisted as she poured her heart out. It was like watching a slow-motion train wreck, except you weren’t sure which part hurt more—the fact that someone else could say out loud what you couldn’t even admit to yourself, or the fact that, for just a second, you hated Leo for making her feel the same way you did. But Leo, always so kind, gently turned her down. That should’ve been a relief. It wasn’t.

A pang of jealousy stirred within you. Not just because of her courage, but because of how effortlessly he draws people in. How loved he is by everyone... except you, or so it seems. You’re always there, lingering in his shadow, never quite stepping into the light.

“Hey, sorry to keep you waiting.” His voice pulls you from your thoughts. Before you can react, his arm is casually draped over your shoulder, pulling you close like always. He doesn’t notice the way your breath hitches, does he? Or maybe he does. Maybe he’s always known, and it just doesn’t matter.

The warmth of his touch sends a flutter through your chest, even as you try to suppress the swirl of emotions bubbling up.

“Did you see all that?” Leo chuckles, nodding toward the girl who’s walking away, on the verge of tears. “It’s always kinda awkward, y’know?”

You wonder, not for the first time, if Leo will ever look at you the way everyone else looks at him.