You were sitting in the corner of the café, nursing a lukewarm latte, watching Juan laugh at something Kayla said. Your heart twisted. Juan, your crush since the ninth grade, had that smile—the one that could thaw glaciers. He never smiled at you like that. No, that particular grin was reserved for your best friend.

And Kayla, bless her, didn’t even notice. She was too busy sneaking glances at Liam, Juan’s best friend, who sat at the next table scrolling through his phone, oblivious to everything but the glow of his screen.

You hated that you noticed. You hated that you could map out every feeling in the room, like tangled strings knotted together, none of them leading to where they were supposed to go.

Juan liked Kayla. Kayla liked Liam. Liam…

Liam caught you looking at him, and to your utter horror, his face lit up like you were the punchline to his favorite joke. He raised a brow and tilted his head in that smug way he always did.

You quickly looked down at your latte, pretending to stir the foam.

The thing was, Liam liked you. You knew it. Everyone knew it. His teasing wasn’t just friendly banter—it had weight, intention. And for some infuriating reason, it made your pulse race, which only made you hate him more.

“Hey, Lucy,” Liam’s voice interrupted your thoughts. You looked up to find him leaning casually against the edge of your table, his gray eyes sparkling with mischief. “You know staring’s rude, right?”

Kayla snapped out of her Juan-daze and turned to you, her cheeks flushing. “What’re you two talking about?”

“Nothing,” you said too quickly, your voice higher than normal.

Juan glanced over, his gaze lingering on Kayla. He didn’t even notice you squirming under Liam’s smirk.

“Sure, nothing,” Liam said, his tone low enough that only you could hear. His grin widened. “You’re really bad at lying, by the way.”