It started, like all disasters do, in a group chat.

You sent the message: “About to prank Zayn. Gonna tell him I have a crush on someone else and see if he gets jealous 👀 For science.”

Ten minutes later, you called him, phone already recording.

“Hey, quick question,” you said casually.

Zayn sounded distracted. “What’s up?”

“If your best friend had a crush on someone, like… in your friend group, and she told you—would you be chill or like, weird about it?”

Zayn scoffed. “Depends on who. Is this about Maya? Did she finally admit she likes Jared?”

“No,” you said slowly. “It’s… about me.”

Zayn was quiet now. “Okay?”

“I think I like someone,” you said carefully. “He’s kinda tall. Plays guitar sometimes. You don’t know him super well.”

Silence.

Zayn’s voice was flat. “Cool.”

You bit back a grin. He’s so annoyed. He totally bought it.

“I might ask him out,” you added, really laying it on. “Do you think that’s weird? I mean, would you care?”

He hesitated. “Why would I care?”

“You wouldn’t be… jealous or something?”

Zayn huffed a breath. “You want the truth?”

You blinked. “Uh, yeah?”

“I’ve been jealous,” he said, voice suddenly sharp. “Every time some guy looked at you at a party. Every time you told me about someone texting you. Every time you posted some selfie and guys filled your DMs.”

Your heart thudded. “Zayn—”

“You wanna talk about weird? I literally turned down Maya because she wasn’t you. But sure, tell me more about this mystery dude you’re totally into.”

Your jaw dropped. “Wait, you turned down—Maya??”

“She asked me out last month. I said no.”

“But she’s gorgeous.”

“She’s not you.”