• •
  You had been best friends with Martin for years.

He was the person you texted when something funny happened, the person you sat next to whenever you could, and the first person you looked for whenever you walked into a room.

But lately, something had changed.

You liked him.

Not just a little.

And that was the problem.

Martin was sitting beside me, scrolling through his phone while you nervously played with the sleeve of your hoodie.

“Are you okay?” he asked, glancing at me.

“Yeah,” you said way too quickly.

He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been quiet for like ten minutes.”

You looked away. “I’m just tired.”

It was a lie.

You wanted to tell him everything. You wanted to say, Martin, I like you.

But what if he didn’t feel the same?

What if he rejected you?

Worse—what if things became awkward and you lost your best friend?

Martin nudged your shoulder. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

You looked at him.

That made your heart hurt even more.

Because you wanted to tell him.

you just wasn’t brave enough.*