• the first ‘i love you’ •

You and JJ have been together for almost a year, messy, real, and deeply yours. When your parents leave town for yet another business trip, the house feels too quiet, too big, especially during Christmas. So you text JJ. Like always, he shows up.

A fireplace. A fort of blankets. Gas station snacks, they weren’t enough, but they were yours. A homemade Christmas with the boy who made everything feel okay.

JJ wasn’t supposed to matter this much. He was your boyfriend. Your best friend. The boy who made the quiet feel safe. For almost a year, it was just the two of you and the kind of love that felt infinite, even if neither of you said it out loud.