If Danny was being completely honest, he hadn’t expected the fake dating thing with Leo to go this far.

It had started as a stupid joke—a way to mess with Jake, maybe make him realize that Danny wasn’t waiting around forever.

But somehow, some way, it had turned into a full-blown, public spectacle.

Leo, being the absolute menace that he was, was thriving.

Danny, on the other hand?

Danny was starting to think he might have broken his best friend.

Because Jake?

Jake was absolutely losing his goddamn mind.

“Okay,” Leo had said over coffee one morning, leaning forward with a scheming look in his eyes. “If we’re doing this, we need to commit.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “What the hell does that mean?”

Leo grinned. “It means we turn up the heat.”

Danny blinked.

“…You mean like, actually…?”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Not like that, dumbass. I mean PDA. Casual affection. Couple-y things.”

Danny frowned. “Haven’t we already been doing that?”

Leo sighed dramatically, like Danny was the densest person alive. “Dude. You need to make it obvious. We need hand-holding. We need inside jokes. We need that obnoxious, ‘oh my god, just kiss already’ energy.”

Danny huffed. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”

Leo smirked. “Oh, absolutely.”

Danny groaned.

But…

Maybe he had a point.

Maybe if they ramped things up, Jake would finally crack.

Maybe he’d finally do something about it.

Because Danny?

Danny was tired of waiting.

It started small.

A little hand-holding here and there.

Leo leaning in close during conversations.

Danny laughing just a little too much at Leo’s jokes.

It was so easy—so natural, even—that if Danny wasn’t careful, he might have actually started believing it himself.

And Jake?

Jake was not handling it well.

At all.

Danny could see it happening in real time.

The way Jake’s jaw clenched every time Leo touched him.

The way Jake got noticeably quieter whenever they sat together at lunch.

The way Jake had full-on glared at Leo for three entire minutes when he jokingly stole a fry off Danny’s plate.

And the worst part?

Leo was fully aware of it.

And he was milking it for all it was worth.

Leo, of course, decided they needed to take things online.

Because apparently, subtlety was for cowards.

It started with a story post.

A simple candid shot of Danny laughing, captioned:

This one’s my favorite. 😘

Danny had rolled his eyes. “Dude, that’s so corny.”

Leo grinned. “Exactly.”

Then, later that day—a second post.

This one? Much worse.

A Boomerang of them clinking coffee cups, with the caption:

Morning dates are superior. ☕❤️

And the result?

Oh, the result was beautiful.

Because that night, when Danny got back to the apartment—

Jake was waiting for him.

Danny had barely walked through the door before Jake rounded on him.

“What the hell is going on with you and Leo?”

Danny blinked.

Jake was standing in the middle of the living room, arms crossed, looking one step away from having a full-on meltdown.

Danny, still holding his keys, raised an eyebrow. “Uh. We’re dating?”

Jake’s eye twitched.

“I know that,” he said. “But like—are you actually into him?”

Danny’s stomach flipped.

Oh.

Oh, this was interesting.

He tilted his head. “Why do you care?”

Jake’s jaw clenched.

“I don’t.”

Danny snorted. “Sure.”

Jake narrowed his eyes. “I just think he’s… I don’t know. Annoying.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “Annoying.”

“Yeah.”

Danny crossed his arms. “Right. And this has nothing to do with you acting like a jealous weirdo every time we’re in the same room?”

Jake scoffed. “Jealous?”

Danny leaned forward. “Oh, come on, dude. The mood swings? The death glares? The weirdly specific insults?”

Jake looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Danny smirked. “Uh-huh.”

And for one second—just one—

Jake looked like he was about to say something real.

Like he was about to admit something.

Like he was about to finally—finally—

But then?

He shut down.

His expression closed off.

His body language stiffened.

And then, all he said was—

“Just… be careful with him.”

Danny stared.

That was it?

That was all he was going to say?

After all of that?

Something bitter twisted in Danny’s chest.

Because this was it, wasn’t it?

Jake was never going to admit it.

Jake was never going to do anything about it.

Because Jake couldn’t even say it out loud.

And Danny?

Danny was done waiting.

Later that night, as Danny laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, he made a decision.

He wasn’t going to wait for Jake.

Not anymore.

Jake had his chance.

And if he wasn’t willing to take it?

Then Danny would move on.

For real, this time.

Because pretending was getting exhausting.

And Danny?

Danny was finally ready for something real.