Are you the Worst?

12: Slipping that One Line

♧ T W E L V E ♧

Slipping that One Line



Zeke's room was warm with the soft buzz of two laptops running, their screens casting faint glows into the space. The desk lamp on Eve's side of the room lit her focused face while she hunched over Zeke's drawing tablet, stylus dancing in her hand as she worked on her webtoon submission for Disney's apprentice program.

Zeke lay on his stomach across the bed, highlighter in one hand, textbook splayed open, his reading glasses slowly sliding down his nose. His head was tilted sideways, just enough to watch Eve every now and then.

It had been like this for two hours: quiet companionship, the sound of soft music playing from Eve's phone, and the occasional stretch or sigh as they took breaks from their intense focus.

Zeke's eyes drifted toward her again her hair tucked in a messy bun, hoodie sleeves rolled past her elbows, one sock on, the other kicked off somewhere under his chair. She was in full work mode. And for some reason, that was when she looked the most like herself.

"Hey," Zeke said suddenly, resting his chin on his arm. "Can I ask you something?"

Eve didn't look up. "Hmm?"

"What's really going on with you and Ames?"

That made her pause.

She let the pen hover mid-air, blinking once before setting the tablet pen down. She looked over at him and tilted her head. "You really wanna know?"

Zeke raised a brow. "Would I ask if I didn't?"

Eve leaned back on her chair, stretching with a groan. "Alright," she said, exhaling. "Honestly? It's purely platonic."

Zeke raised a skeptical brow, still lying on his bed like a sleepy cat. "Really?"

"Yeah," she said, firmer this time. "I mean... I'm not gonna lie. Ames was my first love. And I won't erase that. But it's... gone. Whatever that was, it's just not the same anymore. I've changed. He's changed."

Zeke rolled onto his side, listening.

Eve fiddled with the stylus in her hand. "I haven't even forgiven him fully yet," she admitted, her voice softer now. "The way he reacted to things before his views about queerness, about people who don't fit the mold of his world it really hurt. As a straight person who have friends and relatives that are gay and lesbian. I get it's part of his upbringing, his faith... but still, it's not something I can overlook just like that."

She let out a dry laugh. "And besides, I'm six years older than him. I'm practically his big sister now. And I think... that's what I want to be for him. Someone who can help him grow, but not someone who loves him romantically. That door is closed. Locked. Boarded up. Buried under five tons of denial."

Zeke chuckled from the bed.

She smiled faintly, gaze trailing to the window. "There's no plan for me when it comes to love. Not now. Maybe not ever."

Zeke sat up slightly. "You really think that?"

Eve nodded. "I believe in love. For everyone else. I think it's beautiful. It makes songs make sense. Makes people write books and do crazy things. But for me?" She glanced at him. "It feels like an idea that doesn't stick. Every time I've let myself get close to it, it hurt me. It scarred me."

Zeke frowned.

"I don't want that again," she whispered, turning back to the screen. "So yeah. Love is... a concept I admire. But not something I think I'm built for."

There was a heavy pause. Then she added with a teasing smirk, "Even if I fell for you which I'm not saying I have, but if i wouldn't tell you."

Zeke blinked. "Wait, what?"

She leaned closer over the desk, tapping his knee with the stylus. "Because it would ruin what we have. This.." she gestured between them. " ...this friendship is the most real, most safe thing I've ever had. And I'd rather keep it than gamble it on feelings that might not last."

Zeke stared at her for a long beat. Then he whispered, almost in disbelief, "You really think you're unlovable?"

She opened her mouth, surprised at the question.

But before she could answer, he stood up from the bed and walked over. He didn't touch her just crouched beside her chair, level with her face.

"I'm not saying this as a guy who might or might not have feelings," he said, voice low and steady. "I'm saying this as your friend. As someone who watched you stand up after heartbreak. As someone who sees the way you light up when you draw, or help people, or talk about space and dancing and dreams. You are not unlovable, Eve."

Eve stared at him, stunned by the earnestness in his voice.

"You just haven't met someone brave enough to stay," Zeke added gently.

Eve looked away, blinking hard. "That's... sweet," she whispered. "But I don't need saving."

"I know," he said, standing up again. "That's why I like you."

She gave a small laugh. "You're seriously confusing, you know that?"

Zeke winked, picking up his textbook again. "Stop being delusional, Bro"

She rolled her eyes, returning to her tablet, heart just a little louder than before.

And in the background, the silence between them softened into something safe again. Something steady.

Something that felt a little like love but disguised as friendship.

◇◇◇

The late afternoon sun poured through the window of Zeke's room, casting golden streaks across the floor where Eve had her feet stretched out, cross-legged, a cup of cold cocoa beside her. Her tablet was asleep now, work paused, while Zeke rummaged through his closet for clean clothes after finally deciding he needed a proper shower.

"Zeke," she called sweetly from where she sat, her voice filled with an innocent lilt that made Zeke wary immediately.

"No," he said without even turning. "Whatever you're planning no."

"You don't even know what I'm going to say yet!"

"I don't need to. I heard that tone," he replied, now stepping out from the closet in nothing but sweats, a towel draped around his neck, his chest still glistening slightly from his quick rinse. His hair was slightly messy, the ends of his blonde strands sticking up where they'd dried unevenly. "That's your persuasion voice."

Eve narrowed her eyes. "Why are you so dramatic? It's not like I'm asking you to jump off a bridge."

Zeke raised a brow. "Yet."

Eve laughed and got up, brushing imaginary dust from her pants. "Okay, listen. Ames and the basketball team are holding a charity basketball game this weekend. It's for the foundation the one we helped at last week. The proceeds go to the same kids. It's a huge thing. And I want to go."

Zeke grabbed a plain black shirt from the closet and moved to put it on. "Good for Ames. Go."

Eve folded her arms. "I want you to go."

Zeke paused mid-motion, shirt halfway over his head. "Why?"

"Because it matters to me," she said. "And maybe to you too, if you gave it a chance."

Zeke tugged the shirt on and pulled his hair through. "Eve, I barely even know the guy. And that event sounds like a people-heavy, public, flashy, basketball-themed headache."

"It's not about Ames," she insisted, stepping closer. "It's about the kids. It's about showing up. About being part of something good."

Zeke grabbed his deodorant from the shelf, spraying his underarm with an exaggerated flair. "Still sounds like a no."

Eve let out a sharp breath, then suddenly marched toward his closet again.

"What are you doing?" he asked, turning as she disappeared inside.

"Plan B," she said, voice muffled behind his clothes. And before he could say anything else, she stepped out again and walked straight up to him.

He was still standing by the mirror, now checking his hair.

And Eve tiny compared to his tall, broad frame wrapped her arms around his bare waist without warning, her face resting against his chest.

Zeke froze. Every muscle, every inch of him locked in place.

She was warm. Soft. Scented faintly like lavender and pencil shavings.

"E-Eve?"

She didn't look up. "If you don't say yes, I'm not letting go."

Zeke stared down at the top of her head. "This is blackmailing"

"Emotional persuasion," she corrected.

He felt her arms tighten slightly.

And that was it. That was the moment his heart stuttered.

He wasn't even sure why. It wasn't the first time she touched him. They'd shared close space before passing coffee mugs, sitting shoulder to shoulder during late-night study sessions. But this? Her hugging him like that, like it was natural. Like he was something familiar and safe?

It made the air shift.

Zeke placed his hands lightly on her back. "What if I say no, and you hug me for the next twenty years?"

She laughed softly, the sound rumbling against his chest. "Then I'll make sure you don't forget this game ever again."

He smiled. He could hear the determination in her voice, the little flicker of her fire he loved seeing when she believed in something.

"You're persistent, you know that?"

She looked up at him now, eyes sparkling, nose slightly pink from the cold in the room. "You're going, right?"

He sighed, dramatically, resting his chin atop her head. "You're evil."

"That's a yes," she said smugly, pulling back a little but still keeping her arms around him.

He met her gaze, his hands now resting gently on her sides. "Only if you stop weaponizing hugs."

"No promises."

He grinned and finally stepped back. "I'll go. But only because the kids are cute and your death grip is terrifying."

Eve clapped her hands. "Yay! Also, Madi's invited too. I texted her already."

Zeke blinked. "Wait..what?"

"She replied with like ten heart emojis. She's excited."

Zeke groaned and flopped onto his bed. "I hate how efficient you are."

Eve winked, picking up her cocoa. "It's a skill."

He watched her, eyes lingering longer than they should, heart still echoing that moment of warmth from her hug. Something was shifting between them something unsaid, unspoken but not unwelcome.

She didn't know it, but she was the one person who could still get to him without even trying.

And maybe, just maybe, this wasn't going to be just another basketball game.

☆☆☆

The charity basketball game had turned NYU's gymnasium into a sea of excited chatter, colorful banners, and cheerful chaos. The bleachers were packed with students, faculty, and families, all buzzing with energy, their eyes on the court where Ames and his team warmed up. Volunteers passed around donation buckets. Kids from the foundation sat front-row, clutching little signs they'd made with glitter pens and bright markers.

Eve sat near the middle row of the bleachers, right in the heart of it all, clapping and cheering. She wore a navy hoodie one of the event's giveaways and her sketchpad rested on her lap, half-filled with messy doodles of bouncing basketballs and wide-eyed children. She kept craning her neck to catch glimpses of Ames on the court, smiling whenever he turned her way. He'd wave briefly, mid-warmup, before returning to his team.

Zeke sat next to her.

Slouched low.

Arms crossed.

Expression unreadable.

He wore a cap, pulled slightly low over his freshly dyed blonde hair, and headphones hanging around his neck like a half-hearted attempt to be detached. Madi sat beside him, visibly enjoying the game, clapping along, but glancing sideways now and then curious.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

Zeke shrugged. "It's loud."

"Obviously. It's a game," Madi replied, nudging his knee playfully. "You're quieter than usual."

"Just not into basketball," he replied flatly.

Madi didn't say anything right away. Instead, she turned her gaze to where Eve was now standing, yelling, "Go, Ames!" with cupped hands.

Zeke's jaw tensed.

He didn't even know when it started that clenching, pressing, uneasy feeling. Somewhere between Eve hugging him in his room and now, sitting beside her and watching her cheer for her ex like her whole heart was in it.

He didn't want to admit it, but he hated it.

He hated the way Ames looked so alive on the court, like some golden boy out of a teen movie. He hated how Eve laughed every time Ames did something even slightly impressive, like she couldn't help but be proud.

He especially hated how she kept scribbling sketches of the kids and now Ames, mid-jump shot.

"Wow," Madi said beside him.

Zeke blinked. "What?"

"You've been staring."

He straightened. "What? No. I'm just...watching the game."

Madi tilted her head. "Sure you are."

Zeke gave her a confused look, but Madi didn't press. She just smiled, polite but distant now, and leaned away slightly to sip her soda.

On the court, the referee blew the whistle, and the game began. Ames took the lead in the first quarter, weaving through the defense like he was born to do it, scoring point after point. The gym erupted with cheers every time the ball swished through the net.

Eve nearly jumped up, waving both hands. "THAT'S MY FRIEND!"

Zeke muttered under his breath, "You mean your ex."

Eve heard him. She glanced sideways. "What?"

"Nothing."

She raised a brow, then smirked. "Are you... jealous?"

Zeke scoffed, slouching lower. "Why would I be jealous of Ames?"

"You tell me," she teased, nudging him with her elbow.

He rolled his eyes, but he didn't answer. Madi caught the interaction, her lips pressed into a tight line. Her gaze flickered between the two of them, something sharp and uncertain forming behind her eyes.

At halftime, there was a short break, and kids were invited onto the court to shoot around with the players. Ames knelt down, helping one small boy tie his shoelaces, before lifting him for a slam dunk on the kiddie hoop. The crowd melted. Eve was one of them, grinning like the proudest sister on Earth.

"Eve," Zeke said suddenly, voice lower now. "You said you didn't love him anymore."

"I don't," she said, confused.

"You sure? Because you're looking at him like..."

"Like what?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he pulled off his cap and ruffled his hair, his expression all tangled up. He looked over at her-not at her hands, not her sketchbook, not even the court just her.

And she paused.

It was one of those moments where the crowd didn't matter, the game faded out, and it was just them.

Their silence was louder than the cheering.

Zeke finally looked away first, shaking his head, like shaking off a thought he wasn't ready to say.

When the second half started, Eve leaned back against the bleachers and didn't cheer as loudly anymore.

Something had shifted.

Not just in Zeke.

But in her, too.

She found herself watching him more than the court now his clenched jaw, the way he kept fiddling with his fingers, the tight way he was sitting beside Madi but never quite with her.

And Madi?

Madi noticed everything.

Every pause. Every glance.

She didn't speak a word about it. But something in her expression said she wasn't as comfortable in this little triangle anymore.

By the time the final buzzer rang, the scoreboard lit up in favor of Ames's team. The crowd erupted in celebration.

Zeke didn't move.

Eve stood and clapped politely, unsure now where her excitement had gone. She looked down at Zeke.

"You coming to say congrats?"

Zeke shrugged. "I'll wait here."

Eve didn't push. She just looked at him a second longer like she was seeing something clearly now.

The party was beginning to wind down. The kids had started curling up beside their guardians or falling asleep on the picnic blankets spread out on the grass. Some students from the theater club had begun packing away speakers and folding chairs. The warm hum of the evening had faded into a gentle quiet, with only soft conversations floating through the air.

Eve stood beside the refreshment table again, placing used cups into the recycling bin. She wiped her hands on a napkin, glancing around to see where Ames had gone.

Ames reappeared behind her just a moment later, holding two cupcakes in his hand.

"Hey," he said casually, offering her one. "I saw you eyeing the last brownie."

Eve laughed, accepting it. "You really do know my weakness."

They stepped off to the side, away from the lingering crowd, and sat on a low stone bench beneath a tree where fairy lights flickered overhead. They ate in silence for a minute, their knees almost brushing, the cupcake wrappers crinkling softly in their hands.

Ames wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at her.

"I had fun today," he said gently. "It was... really nice. Seeing you again like this."

Eve smiled, brushing frosting from her thumb. "Yeah. It reminded me why I used to talk to you all night back then. You haven't changed much."

He gave a soft chuckle, but there was a tension behind it. "I wish I could say the same. I've changed a lot, Eve. And it's mostly because of you."

She looked at him, a little startled. "Ames..."

"I'm not trying to rush anything," he said, his tone quiet, more serious now. "But being around you today it felt like old times. It felt like something I never really got over."

Eve's heart beat unevenly. She opened her mouth to speak, to gently shift the moment before it became something else but it was already too late.

Ames leaned in, slow and uncertain but hopeful.

And then he kissed her.

It was soft and brief, more of a question than a statement.

Eve froze.

And a few feet away half-hidden behind the tent where the kids' art corner had been packed up and Zeke stood. His hands had been in his pockets, walking over with a bottle of water he grabbed for her. He saw it all in that frozen second, the way Ames leaned in, the startled look on Eve's face, and the quiet closeness between them under that flickering tree.

Something deep in his chest pulled tight and too tight.

He didn't move.

Didn't speak.

Just stared for one heartbeat too long before turning away, back into the fading light of the garden, the bottle of water still clenched in his hand.

The sweetness of the evening had vanished.

And for the first time in a long while, the space between Eve and Zeke felt colder than ever.

Chapter Nineteen: What We Don't Say

The kiss only lasted a second-barely long enough for Eve to process it. Her eyes widened, and she pulled back immediately, her heart thudding in her chest.

"Ames..." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. There was no anger in her tone, just a stunned softness. Her fingers trembled slightly, the crumpled cupcake wrapper still in her hand.

Ames blinked at her, reading her expression. "I...I'm sorry. That was... I don't know why I did that. I guess I just..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. "I got caught in the moment."

Eve stood up slowly, brushing her hands on her jeans. Her voice stayed calm, but something had shifted in her posture. "You shouldn't have done that."

Ames stood too, his face clouded with guilt. "Yeah. I know. I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to ruin anything."

"You didn't ruin anything," she said quickly, almost instinctively because that's who she was. Forgiving, gentle, even when confused. "But... I thought we were clear."

Ames nodded. "We were. We are. I just there's a part of me that still hopes, I guess. And I can't lie about that."

Eve sighed, her eyes flickering over the quiet garden around them. The twinkling lights above made it feel like time had stopped. "Hope can be kind. But it can also be selfish, Ames."

He looked down. "I know. And I really didn't mean to cross a line. You mean a lot to me, even if it's just as friends."

Eve didn't reply right away. Her gaze wandered, unknowingly toward the path Zeke had walked minutes earlier though he was long gone now. Something in her chest felt heavier than before. Confused. Uneasy.

After a long pause, she looked back at Ames. "We're okay. But please... don't do that again."

Ames nodded solemnly. "You have my word."

Meanwhile, Zeke sat on the edge of the stone fountain a few yards away, his elbows resting on his knees, the water bottle still unopened in his hands. His jaw clenched as he kept rewinding the image in his head, Ames kissing her, Eve frozen like a deer in headlights.

He knew he had no right to feel this way.

She wasn't his.

She never was.

But that didn't make the ache in his chest any smaller.

Madi appeared a few moments later, settling down beside him with a small, thoughtful smile. "Hey, you okay?"

Zeke didn't look at her right away. "Yeah," he said, but his voice was flat.

Madi followed his gaze. She didn't see anything strange, but she knew Zeke well enough now to recognize when something was off.

"Was it Eve?" she asked gently.

Zeke turned his head toward her, a little surprised.

Madi smiled, almost sadly. "You look like you just lost your favorite painting to someone else's gallery."

Zeke huffed a small breath of laughter. "That obvious?"

"I'm your girlfriend, Zeke," she said, nudging his knee. "I notice things."

There was silence between them for a while before he said, "It's just... complicated."

Madi nodded, her voice still soft. "Do you still have feelings for her?"

Zeke hesitated. "I don't know."

Madi looked at him, calm and steady. "Zeke, I'm not asking so I can fight for your attention. I just want honesty."

Zeke finally met her eyes. "I care about her. A lot. She's... she was like this light that just came into my life out of nowhere. And I guess... I didn't realize how much I missed that until tonight."

Madi didn't flinch. She gave a slow nod. "I can't tell you what to do. But I'll say this-, want to be with someone who wants to be with me. All the way."

Zeke looked down, guilt threading through his chest. "You deserve that."

She smiled again, more wistful this time. "So do you."

Later that night, Eve returned to her dorm alone. She stood by the window, arms crossed, staring out at the garden lights still glowing outside. Her heart felt strange like it had been pulled in different directions all day. There was warmth, sure. But also confusion. And maybe something that felt a little like... loneliness.

She grabbed her phone and opened her notes app, the one where she always drafted story ideas for her webtoon.

She typed:

"Sometimes, it's not the love story that hurts. It's the silence that grows in between the chapters."

She stared at it for a long while.

Maybe everything really was complicated.

But maybe, just maybe, it wasn't over.

◇ END OF CHAPTER TWELVE ◇