BROOKS HARVEY X YN (FEM)

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Chapter 10 – The Moment It All Changed

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1 – Morning Vibes

When I woke up the next morning, I knew something had shifted.

Not in a loud, fireworks kind of way. It was subtle. Like the air felt softer, quieter. Like the world was still half-asleep, holding its breath.

Deja, of course, noticed immediately.

“Why are you smiling like that?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as she leaned against my doorway.

“I’m not smiling,” I said, shoving my phone under my pillow before she could see the texts from Brooks.

“Oh, you’re definitely smiling,” she said, crossing her arms. “What happened last night? Did he—”

“Nothing happened,” I cut her off, trying not to sound suspicious.

She smirked. “So… nothing happened on the rooftop?”

I froze. “How do you—”

“Girl, it’s me. I saw the way you both walked back in last night. You looked like you’d just solved world hunger or something.”

I sighed, sitting up. “He just… told me how he feels. That’s all.”

Deja’s grin widened. “And?”

“And… I told him I feel the same,” I admitted, my cheeks heating up.

“OH. MY. GOD.” Deja threw herself dramatically onto my bed. “It finally happened. My OTP is real. BrooksYN confirmed.”

I laughed, throwing a pillow at her. “Stop.”

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2 – Breakfast Teasing

By the time we walked into Paul’s kitchen, the rest of the squad was already awake. Brennen and Ayden were arguing over who made the worse pancakes, Marcus was trying (and failing) to flip an omelet, and Paul was pretending to be everyone’s “dad,” telling them to stop burning the food.

“Look who finally decided to show up,” Ayden said when he saw us. “Y/N, did Brooks keep you up late last night?”

I froze. “What—”

Brooks, who had just walked in behind us, raised an eyebrow. “Really, dude?”

Ayden grinned. “I’m just saying. The way you two were whispering last night? Suspicious.”

Brennen smirked. “Wait, wait—are we ignoring the fact that Brooks and Y/N walked in last night looking like they just had a moment?”

“Shut up,” I muttered, grabbing a plate just to avoid their eyes.

Jackson, of course, added fuel to the fire. “So, is this the part where we start calling her Y/N Harvey?”

“Jackson,” Brooks said warningly, but his ears were turning red.

Deja laughed so hard she nearly choked on her toast. “Oh my god, you guys are too easy.”

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3 – Flashback #1: Age 8

While the others argued over breakfast, my mind wandered back to when Brooks, Jackson, and I were just kids—maybe 8 years old—playing outside in our front yards.

We’d been building some kind of “fort” out of cardboard boxes and duct tape, and I had accidentally cut my hand. It wasn’t bad, just a small scrape, but I remember tearing up anyway.