You and Jey had known each other for as long as you could remember. Though you weren't as inseparable as he was with your brother, Josh, there was still an easy, undeniable connection between you two. You could always count on Jey to brighten your day with his reckless charm and his contagious energy. Your friend group often teased the two of you, claiming you were a "perfect match." But you always brushed it off, laughing with them, unwilling to entertain the idea for fear of ruining your friendship with him.
That worked—at least for a while.
Then things changed. You weren't sure exactly when it happened, but somewhere along the line, you started to notice the way his laughter could light up your day, even on the worst ones. The way he seemed to know how to lift your spirits when you needed it most. Your heart would race every time he casually draped an arm around your shoulders or tossed one of his infamous smirks your way.
You made excuses to avoid hanging out with him and your friends, even at work if they wanted to hang all together in the locker room, you would always turn them down if you knew that jey was gonna be there , kept conversations short, and tried to put distance between you two before he could suspect anything. But Jey wasn't stupid—at least not when it came to the people he cared about.
One afternoon, as you rummaged through the back of your closet , searching for a spare flashlight, JJ's voice cut through the stillness like a knife.
"You good?" he asked, his tone more serious than usual.
You froze, your hands lingering over a pile of junk in the van. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" you replied, your voice light but forced.
Jey stepped closer, leaning against the side of the closet with his arms crossed. His brown eyes studied you carefully, and you felt exposed under his gaze. "Don't give me that," he said, his voice softer now. "You've been acting really weird the past few days. Actually, no, the past few weeks. What's going on?"
"Jey im fine" you said with a hint of dishonesty in your voice
but for crying out loud, you could tell by the tension in the room and by the feel of feeling like you were being watched, he wasn't gonna let up not at all.
"Y/n im serious" he spoke as you sighed while turning and looking at him
"those eyes." you thought to yourself as you guys made eye contact
then yet again there you went, you could barely be around him with being scared that your real feelings for him were gonna show
"jey please, just let me be. I'm fine" you spoke softly and you heard him sigh not only in discomfort but also worry for his best friend
"if that's what you want." you heard him say softly before the door to your room closed
you sighed as you sat down on the closet floor not knowing how much longer you could keep hiding how you really feel from him
