25/06/2026
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐
Neither of us meant to fall in love with the other.
It wasn't sudden, there was no grand moment, no dramatic realization, it just happened over the years, in the ordinary moments we shared, somewhere between late-night conversations and familiar routines, between knowing each other's favorite songs and recognizing each other's silences, a friendship became something neither of us had planned for, and without ever saying it loud, we started loving each other in the only way we knew how.
No one noticed.
Not even us, at first.
We were just two best friends who spent too much time together, who understood each other a little too well, who always found their way back to each other, no matter how busy life became.
But eventually, the small things became impossible to ignore.
The lingering glances,
the conversations neither of us wanted to end,
the comfort of being close to each other,
and the unspoken certainty that if one of us reached out, the other would always be there.
We never gave it a name.
Maybe because we didn't need to.
Or maybe because we were afraid of what that name would mean.
For a while, it didn't matter. We built a small world of our own, one where we could exist somewhere between friendship and love; a world where a touch lasted a little longer than it should, where every goodbye felt unfinished, and where being together felt more natural than being apart.
For a while, that was enough.
But the longer I stayed,
the more afraid I became.
๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ข๐ด ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ต.
And instead of growing braver, we grew quieter. We stopped saying the things we almost said. We stopped letting ourselves get too close to the edge of honesty.
Until one day, we both understood without needing to say it: something had to change.
And I thought maybe that meant letting go of everything we had become.
We decided to step away from what we were.
To try and live a life that looked more "normal," more acceptable, something that wouldn't have to be explained or defended or hidden in the shadows of other people's opinions.
And I thought you deserved a life that would be easier than the one we might have had together.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐บ.
Written by Trevor Basiloy
Illustration by Amara Dy
