It started with a laugh.

Not the kind of laugh that echoed through hallways or turned heads in crowded rooms, but the quiet, contagious kind—the one that curled in the corners of the mouth and lingered long after it faded. That laugh came from Riley, and it hit Jamie like a wave on a calm beach—sudden, surprising, and impossible to ignore.

They’d been best friends since freshman year of college, the kind of friendship that felt easy, like slipping on your favourite hoodie after a long day.

Late-night pizza runs, shared playlists, road trips with broken air conditioning—Riley had always just been there, like gravity. Constant. Reliable.

Until suddenly, she wasn’t just anything.

Jamie didn’t know exactly when it changed.

Maybe it was that night they sat on the roof of Riley’s apartment, watching city lights blur into stars, sharing secrets with no particular urgency.

Maybe it was the way Riley reached for Jamie’s hand mid—sentence, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Or maybe it had always been there, buried beneath years of inside jokes and casual touches, waiting for Jamie to notice.

But now, it was all Jamie could notice.

The way Riley’s eyes crinkled when she smiled. How she always ordered Jamie’s coffee before they even walked into the café. The way her soft voice softened when she said Jamie’s name. And once Jamie noticed… she couldn’t unnotice.

The feelings suck in like fog—slow, subtle, and everywhere.

And it was terrifying.

Every look Jamie gave Riley felt too long. Every word too careful. The comfort of their friendship now sat beside a question mark that Jamie couldn’t erase.

What if Riley didn’t feel the same way?

What if she did?

One Friday night, sitting on Riley’s couch with a movie playing half—watched in the background, Jamie almost said it.

The words were right there, caught behind her teeth.

But Riley turned, tossed popcorn into Jamie’s lap, and laughed again—that same laugh—and Jamie couldn’t do it. Not yet.

So Jamie smiled back, pretending her heart wasn’t pounding loud enough to drown out the movie.

But something had to give.

Because loving Riley in silence was like standing in a doorway and never walking through. And Jamie wasn’t sure how long she could keep standing still.