Your friend group had always been a chaotic mix of six. You were the loudest one, the one who could make a joke out of literally anything, who never backed down from a dare and somehow always dragged the group into the kind of mess people laugh about years later. Then there was Ethan—your exact opposite. Big, broad-shouldered, built like he’d been carved out of stone and left to sulk. Not shy, but quiet. He didn’t waste words unless he had to. A little grumpy, but in that strangely comforting, steady kind of way. The kind of guy who sat in the corner at parties and only spoke when someone asked him something, but when he did, everyone listened. He was like thunder to your lightning: deep, heavy, steady—while you crackled, sparked, and never stopped moving.

The rest of the crew filled the gaps. Liam, the wannabe comedian, constantly trying to steal your spotlight with his dumb one-liners (you always won). Sophie, the mom-friend who carried Band-Aids, tissues, and an unholy amount of snacks in her bag like she was preparing for the apocalypse. Maya, the dramatic gossip machine, always exaggerating stories and gasping at even the smallest of reveals. And Jayden—the human disaster. The daredevil, the one who thought climbing rooftops at 2 a.m. “for the vibes” was a good idea. Together, you made the perfect storm.

But there was one thing no one knew. You and Ethan.

It wasn’t like you were hiding it. You just… didn’t tell them. You and Ethan existed in your own bubble, quiet but steady, like it had been waiting there all along. He wasn’t exactly the PDA type, and you weren’t exactly the “keep it private” type, but somehow, you balanced it. When it was just the two of you, though, that was different.

Which is how you ended up in Ethan’s living room that day.

He was sitting in that huge recliner chair he loved, legs spread comfortably, arms resting on the armrests like he owned the place. His massive hands held your hips firmly as you stood between his knees, giggling uncontrollably at something ridiculous you’d said. Your hands looped lazily around his neck, your fingers playing with the ends of his short hair as you leaned down to peck his lips. He let out one of those low chuckles—barely audible to anyone else, but you caught it every time, and it always made your heart race. He looked up at you with that small smirk, the one he never gave anyone else.

Then the door banged open.

The rest of the group spilled into the room mid-argument about what pizza toppings to get. Liam was laughing at something Jayden said, Maya was already rolling her eyes, Sophie was trying to calm them down—until they all froze.

Four pairs of eyes went wide, jaws dropping in perfect unison.

You were still laughing, mid-kiss, Ethan’s hands tight on your waist, your lips brushing against his when the silence hit. You pulled back just slightly, turning your head toward the stunned crowd. Ethan didn’t even flinch. His grip only tightened, calm and steady, like he’d expected this sooner or later.

Liam dropped the grocery bag he was carrying. “No. Freaking. Way.”

Maya’s gasp was loud enough to rattle the windows. “You two?! YOU TWO?!”

Sophie blinked like her brain had short-circuited. “I—wait—what—since when?!”

Jayden pointed a finger at you both, his voice echoing. “BRO. THIS IS THE PLOT TWIST OF THE YEAR.”

You couldn’t stop the grin spreading across your face. “Surprise?”

Ethan just raised an eyebrow, deadpan, as if nothing about the situation was unusual. “Figured you’d all find out eventually.”

Chaos erupted immediately—questions flying, accusations of betrayal, dramatic gasps from Maya, Liam whining about how you didn’t tell him first, Sophie worrying about how long this had been going on, and Jayden declaring that his “entire worldview just crumbled.” Through it all, Ethan stayed calm, his hand steady on your hip, his thumb brushing over your side in that small, grounding gesture he only ever gave you.