"I need to tell you guys something."

All my friends stare at me in silence before they lose it.

"Did you kiss Luciana?"'
"One night stand?"
"Dariel beat you up?"
"Have you gotten over her?"

"That's the first thing you guys think of?"

"Duh. Your whole life revolves around Luciana," Newt says.

Frypan shakes his head. "Maybe he got arrested. Spent a night in jail and now he's about to tell us to defend him."

Their laughter fills the room. Normally, I'd roll with it, throw back something sarcastic, make fun of them just as much as they make fun of me. But not tonight.

I just stare at my hands, fingers clenched into my jeans so tight my knuckles turn white. A part of me wants to scream what's going on. Another part is crawling into a hole. What if they can't look at me the same ever again?

The laughter dies down when they realize I'm not laughing with them.

"Minho?" Newt's voice is softer now. Concerned.

I take a slow breath, trying to ease the tightness in my chest. I exhale. Inhale again. I don't look up.

"I went to the hospital a few days ago," I say.

"What? Why?" Thomas immediately asks.

"My mom took me. They ran a bunch of tests. Bloodwork. A lumbar puncture."

Frypan grimaces. "Dude. Isn't that where they stab your spine?"

I shoot him a look. "Yeah."

"Wait—why? What's wrong?"

Even though everything inside of me screams not to say it, I do it anyway. "They told me I have epilepsy."

"Epilepsy?" Thomas echoes a little too fast, like he misheard.

I nod. "Yeah."

Another beat of silence.

Frypan rubs the back of his neck. "That's the thing where you, like... have seizures, right?"

"Are you dumb—"

"Sorry." He holds up his hand. "Just trying to make it seem less... serious."

"Minho—" Newt warns.

"It's fine," I mutter. "I mean, it's not, but whatever. I have epilepsy. I had meningitis, and now I have epilepsy. And apparently, that means my entire life is about to change."

Alby leans forward. "How bad is it?"

I shrug, but the motion feels stiff. "I don't know. I don't think I've had a full-on seizure yet. Just moments where I kind of... zone out. Get dizzy. My head hurts a lot. And now I get to take meds every day and have my entire life monitored."

I don't mean for my voice to shake, but it does.

Thomas leans forward. "Minho, man..."

"Don't," I snap. "I didn't tell you guys so you could look at me like that. I don't want you to feel bad for me. I don't want any of that shit."

Newt frowns. "Mate, what do you want us to do?"

"I don't know. I don't even know what I'm supposed to do. My mom treats me like I might break if I breathe wrong. Dariel's acting all... I don't know, weird. And Luciana—" At her name, my stomach twists.

Out of everything, that's the part that scares me the most. Not the seizures. Not the doctors. Not even the meds. Luciana.

Because what if she starts treating me differently? What if she starts acting like Dariel does—careful, quiet, hesitant, like I might get a seizure if he says the wrong thing?

Or worse, what if she starts looking at me like I'm someone to worry about?

I can't have that.

"Minho."

Thomas' voice pulls me back, but I don't look at him. I stare at the floor, my jaw clenched so tight it hurts.

"You're pissed," Alby says, not like a question, just a fact.

I nod once. "Yeah. No shit."

Newt sighs. "Okay. You wanna be pissed? Be pissed. Scream, punch a wall—I don't care. But don't sit here acting like we're gonna disappear just because of this."

"Easy for you to say."

Frypan shrugs. "Yeah, we don't get it. But we're still here."

Thomas nods. "We're not gonna ditch you, Minho."

Newt crosses his arms. "Even if you're being a dramatic little shit about it."

I blink at him, thrown off.

"That's supposed to be comforting?" I mutter.

"Yeah. Kinda is, isn't it?"

Somehow, it is. They're not looking at me with pity anymore. Not like I'm about to break. They're just my best friends again. The same idiots who make fun of me on a daily basis, who never let me get away with bullshit, who—no matter what—always have my back.

The tension in my chest eases. Not completely, but enough. I exhale, dragging a hand down my face. "You guys suck at this."

A long beat of silence.

Then Thomas elbows me. "So... you didn't kiss Luciana?"

I choke on my own breath. "What the—no."

Newt smirks. "You sound real defensive, mate."

"I'm not defensive," I mutter, my face already heating up.

Thomas grins. "You totally are."

"Maybe Luciana finally realized Dariel is a boring old man and she's coming for you instead."

"For real. She is dating a guy who folds his socks," Alby murmurs.

"Organizes his fridge," Thomas adds.

"Probably schedules their sex life," Newt throws in.

That one makes them all lose it, howling like a pack of idiots. I groan. "Not again, please—" my phone vibrates in my pocket. Once. Twice.

I take a peek, and my heart stills for a moment. Luciana.

Newt narrows his eyes at me. "Who's that?"

"No one."

Alby leans over and snatches the phone out of my hand before I can react. His eyebrows shoot up. "Ohhh, shit—it's Luciana."

That sets them off.

Thomas practically launches himself over my bed to look. "She texted you?"

Newt whistles. "Oof."

Frypan claps his hands. "Let's read it!"

I lunge for the phone. "Give it back! If you guys send another text again—"

Alby dodges me, scrolling. His grin widens. "She said—" He clears his throat dramatically. "'Hey, Minho. How are you feeling?'"

Newt snickers. "How sweet."

I manage to take the phone from his hands, glaring at them.

"So? What are you gonna say?"

"Nothing," I grumble.

Thomas shakes his head. "Bro. She's texting you. This is your moment. Say something hot."

Frypan grins. "Tell her you just got out of the shower."

I blink. "What?"

"Yeah, yeah," Newt nods. "Say something sexy. Like, 'Just thinking about you, Luciana.'"

Thomas nearly falls over laughing. "Nah, way too desperate. He should go with 'Could be better. You gonna come take care of me?'"

"Ohhh, that's smooth."

My insides are burning with embarrassment and nerves. "I'm not saying any of that!"

Newt rolls his eyes. "Fine, at least say something. She obviously cares, Minho."

I swallow hard, staring at the screen.

Hey, Minho. How are you feeling?

It's simple. Normal. Nothing special. But the fact that she sent it at all—that she was thinking about me... I should just tell her I'm fine. Keep it casual. Not let it mean anything.

But before I can even start typing, she calls me.

I freeze, staring at her name on the screen.

Newt grips my shoulder. "Minho. Breathe."

Thomas shoves me. "Answer it, dumbass!"

Frypan whispers, "Sexy voice, sexy voice!"

Alby just stares at me. "Dude. If you don't answer, I swear to God, I'll throw your phone in the toilet."

"Shut. Up," I threaten. Then, before I can talk myself out of it, I slide my thumb across the screen and press the phone to my ear.

"Hey," I say.

Luciana's voice is soft. "Minho. Hey. Did I wake you up?"

I rub the back of my neck. "Nah. Just... hanging out."

Newt mouths, say something flirty!

I flip him off.

Luciana exhales. "Good. I just... I wanted to check on you.

I swallow, trying to steady myself, but I can feel my friends' eyes on me. They're practically vibrating with excitement, enjoying this way too much.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say, trying to keep it cool, but my voice shakes just a little.

She doesn't buy it, though. I can tell by the way her voice softens even further. "Are you sure? I just wanted to make sure you're okay. I'm sure you can handle a lot, but still—times are tough."

She's worried about me. She's always looking out for people, always trying to take care of things, but it still makes me feel special. "Yeah. Just... a lot to process, you know?"

"Yeah," she says quietly. "I get that." A short pause. "Well, you know I'm always here in case you need something."

There's a long pause. The words I want to say are right there on the tip of my tongue. I'm not supposed to be the one who needs her like this. That's Dariel's role, not mine.

But before I can say anything, she adds, "Also, I was wondering... you remember when you promised to help me at the gym?"

I straighten, and so do my friends. "Yeah, I remember."

She lets out a small, relieved breath. "Well, I'm going there later. I know you've got a lot going on, but... you think you could still help me out? Like we talked about?"

Thomas gasps dramatically. Alby smirks. My jaw nearly drops. Newt nods heavily. Fry grins wider than ever.

"Of course," I manage to say. "I'll meet you there."

Her voice brightens almost instantly. "Really? Thanks, Minho. That means a lot. I'll see you there, okay?"

"Sure. See you." I end the call and slump back against my bed, staring at the screen in my hands. My heart is racing.

"Man, you're in trouble now," Newt teases. "When Dariel finds out—"

I wince. "Shut up."

"You're totally going to be the one helping her with those squats, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I mutter, though the thought of being close to her, helping her with anything... it makes the whole epilepsy issue thing vanish. I genuinely want to help her, not watch her do squats like my friends assume. This surely won't make her like me back, but at least I'll be spending time with her. 

I try to hold back my frustration as I eye them. "I don't need you guys making it worse. I'm already freaking out enough as it is. You're very annoying, you know that?"

"Alright, alright. We're just saying. If you don't take this chance, you're a damn idiot."

"This is the part where we make him glow up," Fry decides. "But mentally. Please gain some more confidence, Minho. The kind of confidence you had before you met Luciana! Be cool, but not unemotional."

"Exactly," Thomas gulps.

"Just let me do this my own way. Even if you guys put a whole scene up, it won't change her love for Dariel."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Newt says mischievously.

The panic emerges from my voice. "What do you mean? Did you do something?"

"No. But don't you think it's a bit strange? Why would she call you to help her at the gym? Why not her boyfriend, who also lives a second life in that place."

"I don't know, maybe because she wants me to feel better about the fact I have an illness, and I offered to help her weeks ago?"

"Nah. She's getting drawn to your attention," Newt goes on. "She's starting to appreciate you more. Sooner or later, she'll realize you're a lot more fun than Dariel. But that won't put everything together. We just need to wait for Dariel to slip. He will start to notice Lucy's attention for you. The anger will start to build up. And then boom, he starts a fight with either you or Lucy. Doesn't matter, because both ways, you and Lucy will comfort each other and leave Dariel to live his miserable, boring life."

"I liked the first part," I state.

Newt pulls a face. "What's wrong with the second part?"

"How would you feel if I start calling Sonya's life miserable and boring, suggesting we should wait for her to crash out and ruin everything?"

Slowly, he crumbles. "Oh, right. Sorry. That was a tad mean."

"Whatever." I wave it off. "Let's not try to deal with my brother. I should focus on Luciana and you guys should focus on trying to become less annoying."