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The glow in the dark stars on Ethan’s ceiling had lost most of their glowing shine over the years, but Benny still stared at them like they were the most fascinating thing in the world. His head was resting on a lumpy pillow, his body cocooned in blankets spread across Ethan’s floor.
Above him, Ethan shifted in his bed, the mattress squeaking. “You’re still awake, right?”
Benny grinned into the dark. “Obviously. Who do you think I am, some kind of responsible guy who goes to sleep at midnight?”
Ethan laughed quietly. “Good. Because I can’t sleep either.”
They’d been at this for hours, talking, giggling, letting the conversation spiral from one weird topic to another. School gossip, favorite video games, embarrassing moments from childhood. With the house quiet around them, everything felt more intimate, like their words floated in a bubble no one else could reach.
“So,” Benny whispered dramatically, “if you had to fight one horse sized duck or a hundred duck sized horses, which would you pick?”
Ethan muffled his laugh in his pillow. “Why is that even a question?”
“Answer wisely, Ethan,” Benny said. “The fate of humanity depends on it.”
Ethan’s laugh grew louder. “The horses. Definitely the horses.”
“Wrong.” Benny sat up halfway, gesturing in the dark. “You’d get trampled! A hundred tiny hooves, man. It’d be chaos.”
Ethan tossed a pillow at him. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Ridiculously right,” Benny shot back.
They both dissolved into giggles, trying to muffle the sound so Ethan’s parents wouldn’t hear. But their attempts failed spectacularly, especially when Ethan snorted, which made Benny laugh harder, which set Ethan off all over again.
A knock came at the door. Ethan’s mom peeked in, her expression equal parts exasperated and amused. “Boys. It’s nearly one in the morning. Some of us actually like to sleep at night.”
“Sorry, Mrs. Morgan,” Benny said sheepishly from the floor.
She sighed, but her smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Honestly, you two sound like Ethan’s girlfriend snuck over for a sleepover.”
Ethan and Benny both froze. Heat crawled up Ethan’s neck, and Benny’s face flamed even in the dark.
“Go to sleep,” Mrs. Morgan said, shutting the door behind her.
Silence lingered for a few moments, thick and buzzing. Then Benny broke it with a nervous laugh. “Well. That wasn’t awkward at all.”
Ethan buried his face in his pillow again, groaning. “Why would she say that?”
“Because,” Benny teased, “we were giggling. Like little lovebirds.”
“Shut up,” Ethan said, but he was smiling, even if Benny couldn’t see it.
They both went quiet again, but this time it wasn’t the comfortable silence from before.
Finally, Benny whispered, almost too soft to hear: “I think I love you.”
Ethan’s breath caught. He turned over, peering at the shadowy outline of his best friend on the floor. “What?”
Benny swallowed hard. “I mean, I definitely didn’t mean to say that out loud. But it’s true.”
For a second, Ethan didn’t move. Then he sat up, leaning over the edge of the bed to get closer. His voice was shaky but warm. “That’s okay. Because I think I love you too.”
Benny blinked up at him, stunned. “Seriously?”
Ethan smiled. “Seriously.”
A slow grin spread across Benny’s face, wide and disbelieving. “Wow. Okay. That’s, that’s better than a hundred duck sized horses.”
Ethan laughed again, softer this time, and reached down to ruffle Benny’s hair. “You’re such an idiot.”
“Your idiot,” Benny said smugly, settling back into his blanket pile with a content sigh.
Ethan shook his head, lying back down on his pillow, heart racing but lighter than ever. In the quiet that followed, they both drifted off with matching smiles, two best friends finally admitting what they’d known all along.