Being friends with Chris Sturniolo meant two things: constant teasing and a shared disgust for all things romantic.

High school relationships were a joke. That was the one thing you and Chris agreed on completely. You’d spent countless hours together rolling your eyes at the couples who couldn’t seem to go five minutes without holding hands in the hallway. It was nauseating, honestly.

Chris had never been in relationship, and he was perfectly fine with that. He made it his personal mission to remind you of how much better life was without the “headache of a significant other.” You, on the other hand, had few stories, that never felt right or real.

But recently two of you somehow managed to do all the things you supposedly hated about relationships—just with each other.

It started small, like sharing snacks at lunch. Or him giving you his hoodie during gym.Then small touches between you two, meeting every day and sitting in class completely pressed against each other.

Then there was the texting. You hated when people were glued to their phones for their significant other, but you and Chris texted constantly. Dumb memes, random thoughts at midnight—you never went more than a hour without hearing from him. But that was different, obviously. You were best friends.

You went along with it, of course, because it was Chris. And it was funny. You were just best friends. Best friends who happened to hold hands under the table when no one was looking, who had inside jokes that no one else understood, who shared hoodies and late-night secrets like they were the most natural things in the world.

Totally not a couple. Definitely not.

“Baby girl,” you heard Chris’ dramatic voice from behind you. “I’ve missed you so much. Like, an hour apart? Torture.”

Then he came up behind you in the hallway, slinging his arm around your waist and calling you pet names just to annoy the people around you. Honestly it didn’t feel like a joke anymore, and you both knew that deep down.