One of the Boys

Mikaela could hardly remember a time when Levi, Noah, and Felix weren't part of her life. Their families had been friends for as long as anyone could remember, and from toddlers learning to walk to teenagers navigating their first crushes, they had grown up side by side.
Their earliest memories were filled with scraped knees, backyard adventures, and endless laughter.

But somewhere between late-night drives and bonfire confessions, Mikaela began to notice something different-something she wasn't supposed to notice.
It was the way Felix, the usually unbothered, eyes-glued-to-his-phone Felix, had started paying attention. Real attention. Like the kind where his eyes lingered a beat too long when she laughed, or how he'd instinctively pull her aside when the guys got too wild. Subtle. Soft. Like he was seeing her for the first time-and maybe he was.
The problem was, she wasn't sure if she was ready to be seen like that...
Especially not by one of them.