On the Edge of Love (CarlxAlan)

Chapter 20: Carl

I didn't mean to notice it.

It was just a small thing—one of those moments you catch when you spend enough time around someone. We were walking out of class, joking about something dumb, when Alan nudged my arm. It wasn't anything unusual; he did stuff like that all the time.

But this time, for a split second, he left his arm there.

It wasn't really holding onto me, not exactly. Just this lingering brush of warmth.

And then, just as quickly, he pulled away, shoving his hands in his pockets like he hadn't meant to do it in the first place.

That's when I realized.

He was overthinking.

I didn't say anything right away. I let the conversation continue, let us keep walking down the hall like normal. But after we rounded the corner, I glanced over at him and said, low enough that no one else could hear, "You don't have to overthink every little thing, you know."

Alan looked at me, eyes flicking up like he'd been caught. "I wasn't overthinking."

I gave him a look. "Alan."

He huffed, looking away. "Okay, fine. Maybe a little."

I smirked. "It was nice."

Alan raised an eyebrow. "Nice?"

"Yeah," I said, shrugging. "I liked it."

Alan swallowed. "Oh."

I chuckled, bumping his shoulder. "You're ridiculous."

Alan groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "This is why I don't do things."

"And yet, you do them anyway," I said, grinning.

Alan rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

I laughed.

We ate lunch outside since the weather was nice. Alan was distracted, playing with the tab on his soda can while the rest of our friends talked.

And then, out of nowhere, he sighed. "I can't believe my birthday is next weekend."

Elie perked up. "Oh, yeah! That's coming up fast."

Alan groaned. "Please don't make it a big thing."

I raised an eyebrow. "You don't like your birthday?"

"I like it," Alan said, making a face. "I just don't want a big deal made out of it."

Elie smirked. "Define big deal."

Alan narrowed his eyes. "Anything that involves me walking into a room and everyone yelling 'surprise.'"

I swallowed.

Because that was exactly what we had planned.

Elie had offered up her house for a pool party, and Luke had already spread the word. The plan was to get Alan there under some excuse, have the decorations set up, and ambush him with a proper birthday party.

And now Alan was saying he hated surprise parties.

I forced a casual expression. "Yeah, totally. No surprises. Just a chill birthday."

Alan squinted at me. "Why do you sound fake?"

"I don't sound fake."

Elie nodded along. "Yeah, Carl doesn't sound fake."

Alan looked between us. "You both sound fake."

Luke cut in smoothly. "So, Alan, any idea what you wanna do? Like, just a small get-together?"

Alan sighed. "I dunno. Maybe just hanging out with friends. I don't really need anything crazy."

I could tell he was being honest, and for a second, I actually felt guilty.

But at the same time... Alan deserved a celebration. And I knew for a fact that half our friends were really excited about this party.

So, I swallowed the guilt, plastered on my best I'm definitely not hiding anything face, and said, "We'll make sure it's something you want."

Alan still looked suspicious, but he let it go.

Elie caught my eye and smirked.

We had some work to do.