Some feelings don't start with a confession.
They start with something smaller.
A joke.
A look.
A moment that means nothing to one person… and everything to another.
Dean didn't remember the exact moment she started liking Ezekiel.
Maybe it was the way he always saved her a seat in class.
Maybe it was the way he looked at her when she said something sarcastic, like she was the most entertaining person alive.
Or maybe it was the way he sometimes said things that sounded a little too close to flirting… before laughing it off like it meant nothing.
The problem with Ezekiel was simple.
He treated everything like a game.
And Dean had always been good at playing along.
Until the day she realized she wasn't playing anymore.
Because somewhere along the way, between teasing and late conversations and stupid smiles—
Dean fell in love with her best friend.
And by the time she understood it…
It was already too late.