Josh woke up the next morning with a smile he couldn't shake. Everything felt different—but in the best way.
He and Aki had texted until midnight. Stupid jokes, random thoughts, and that one perfect moment when she sent, "I'm really happy you told me."
It played over and over in his head like his favorite song.
At school, he spotted her by the lockers. She looked up, caught his eye, and smiled. Not the casual, best-friend kind of smile. It was softer. Realer. Just for him.
"Hey," she said, bumping his shoulder.
"Hey," he said back, awkward and happy all at once.
The weird part? Their friends didn't seem to notice anything had changed. They were still just "Josh and Aki"—the same duo everyone knew. But to Josh, everything was different. His heart beat faster when she stood close. Her laugh made his face burn in ways it never had before.
They weren't "just friends" anymore.
But they weren't exactly dating either.
It was something in between. Something new. A quiet, precious secret just for the two of them.
That afternoon, they sat under their usual tree by the field, sharing a bag of chips.
"So… what now?" Josh asked, a little nervous.
Aki shrugged, crunching on a chip. "We keep being us. Just… with more heart eyes, probably."
Josh laughed. "I can do that."
She glanced at him, suddenly serious. "Are you still scared?"
He thought about it. The fear wasn't gone. It was just… smaller. Easier to handle when he looked at her.
"Yeah," he admitted. "But not of losing you anymore."
Aki leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Good," she said softly. "Because I'm not going anywhere."
Josh smiled, feeling that warm, full feeling in his chest again—but this time, he let it stay.