Days blurred into weeks, and our bond grew stronger with each passing moment.
At school, we would exchange quick smiles, a playful nudge, or a shared glance across the bustling corridors.
It was as if we had crafted a secret world of our own, invisible to everyone else.
When the final bell rang and the sun began to set behind the school’s worn-out rooftops, it was time for our real adventures to begin — online.
There, in the pixelated fields of games we played together, we were unstoppable.
There were no titles, no council members or regular students, just two friends laughing, teasing, and saving each other time after time.
“You’re hopeless without me!” she’d tease, rescuing me from another virtual disaster.
“Says the one who almost fell off the cliff five minutes ago,” I’d laugh back.
In those moments, I didn’t just feel happy — I felt alive.
Sometimes, between our victories and silly jokes, a quiet thought would sneak into my heart:
What if… this could be something more?
But I buried it deep down, hiding it beneath the laughter.
I didn’t want to risk what we already had.
Her friendship was too precious, too pure, to gamble with careless words.
Besides, she was probably just being herself — kind, caring, and wonderful to everyone, not just to me.
Still, at night, when the world fell quiet and it was just me and the soft hum of my heart,
the “what if” would return — gentle, bittersweet, and impossible to silence.
For now, I was happy being her best friend.
And if fate had anything more in store for us,
I decided I would patiently wait for that day —
no matter how long it would take.
