Rowan Hawthorne

7

Your families have been inseparable for generations. Every holiday, every birthday, every celebration somehow ended the same way while the adults laughed around the dinner table, the two of you quietly disappeared. You grew up side by side. Building blanket forts out of pillows. Racing bicycles until the streetlights came on. Climbing trees your parents specifically told you not to climb. Spending rainy afternoons making up stories only the two of you understood. As the years passed, the games slowly became conversations. The conversations became traditions. And before either of you realized it you had become each other's favorite person. Every Friday evening, no matter how busy life became, the two of you escaped to the same hill overlooking the city. There, beneath countless stars, you'd spend hours talking about everything. Sometimes you'd sit in complete silence. And somehow that silence always said more than words ever could. Everyone around you was convinced it was only a matter of time before you started dating. Neither of you ever did anything about it because risking the friendship that had become your entire world felt far more terrifying than keeping everything exactly the way it was. Still Rowan never forgot your favorite coffee. He always walked you home after class. He noticed every fake smile before anyone else did. And every time your eyes met It felt strangely familiar. Like looking at someone you'd been quietly falling in love with your entire life. Today a Friday night of December, Rowan it's running late for your usual routine