PAIRING: Sylus x NonMC!Fem!Reader
SUMMARY: One sleepless night, you couldn’t get Sylus off of your mind. The only problem is, Sylus belongs to MC, your best friend.
SONG INSPO: Girl’s Girl by Zara Larson
WARNINGS: Friend Betrayal (MC and Sylus aren’t an item here)
Having a crush isn’t a crime…right?
It hit you the other night, sleepless, you couldn’t get the thought of Sylus off of your mind.
MC introduced you a few months back, mostly because she wanted your approval…and boy, did you approve.
He was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. Sylus was intimidating, yes, but he was a sweetheart with a hard exterior. Just your type, unfortunately.
He doted on MC, protected her, and it was clear that he cared deeply for her. So why the hell were you thinking of him like this?
What you would do to live a day in her shoes… and wake up next to him.
You couldn’t help the way your heart raced at the mere thought of him, not to mention how loud it was when he was near.
He’d never think of you that way. That was the only thing that kept you grounded…this crush would pass, and you’d move on.
If only it were that easy…
You’ve known MC since you were 12, and she was 10, so you were the person people came to for advice on gifts.
Sylus knew that. That’s why he’d been texting you recently, and you’re sure that’s why he’s been on your mind so much.
You shouldn’t have sent it, temptation was getting to you. You should be cautious, but you were playing with fire instead.
The text read, and you hadn’t expected Sylus to respond, why would he? There wasn’t anything he could do to help, right?
For a second, you just stared at the screen in horror, thumb hovering over the keyboard while your mind scrambled for an excuse. You could still play it off. Pretend it was an accident. Say you meant to text MC instead.
But before you could type anything, another message appeared.
“Or are you thinking about something?”
Your pulse throbbed in your ears. You hated how easily he got under your skin. You inhaled sharply and finally replied.
The typing bubble appeared almost instantly.
That one little response shouldn’t have affected you the way it did.
Still, you found yourself clutching your phone tighter beneath the blankets, staring at the conversation like it might magically disappear.
Your heart skipped. This was dangerous territory.
Sylus wasn’t openly flirtatious. That would’ve been easier to deal with, honestly. Easier to dismiss. But everything about him felt intentional instead. The prolonged eye contact. The subtle teasing. The way his voice softened when he spoke to you alone.
It blurred lines you desperately needed to keep clear.
“You should probably sleep,” you typed carefully.
“What’s keeping you awake?”
The thought nearly made you throw your phone across the room. Instead, you forced yourself to answer normally.
“You always lie when you’re uncomfortable?”
Your face burned instantly. You rolled onto your back with a groan, dragging a pillow over your face. Why was he like this? Why did every conversation with him feel like he was peeling layers off of you without even trying?
“I am not uncomfortable.”
You bit your lip hard to stop yourself from smiling. That was the problem. You liked talking to him. Too much.
Eventually the conversation drifted into safer territory somehow…music, insomnia, the terrible takeout place near your apartment that MC inexplicably loved. Simple things. Innocent things. But even then, it still felt intimate.
By the time you finally fell asleep, your phone was still warm in your hand.
After that night, Sylus texted you more often.
At first, it was practical. Questions about gifts for MC. What flowers she’d like. Whether she’d mentioned a necklace while shopping.
But then the conversations started stretching longer.
He’d send you pictures of random things that reminded him of inside jokes you’d made. You’d complain about work and he’d respond with dry humor that always made you laugh despite yourself.
At least that’s what you kept telling yourself.
One evening, MC invited you over for dinner. You almost said no.
The crush had become unbearable lately, festering beneath your ribs every time Sylus looked at you for too long. You needed distance. Space. Anything.
But MC sounded excited, so you agreed.
Which was how you ended up sitting at their kitchen counter watching Sylus cook while trying not to stare.
He looked unfair tonight. Dark sleeves rolled to his forearms. Silver rings catching dim kitchen light. His calm, composed expression always made him look untouchable.
You were so distracted that you barely noticed him speaking until MC nudged your shoulder.
“I said you’re zoning out,” she laughed.
Sylus glanced over his shoulder briefly, “Tired?”
Your chest tightened at the familiar question. You nodded quickly. “Couldn’t sleep.”
His gaze lingered for half a second too long, “You should fix that.”
MC snorted. “He says that like he sleeps.” Sylus ignored her.
You looked away first. Coward.
The entire dinner felt like torture after that. Not because Sylus did anything inappropriate. Because he didn’t. He acted normal. Calm. Collected.
Meanwhile you were hyperaware of everything. The way he rested a hand on MC’s waist absentmindedly when passing behind her. The way she leaned into him automatically. The quiet domestic intimacy between them.
Jealousy was an ugly thing. And god, it looked hideous on you. Because MC trusted you completely.
She smiled at you across the table while talking about future plans, while Sylus listened with that soft expression he only seemed to wear around her.
You should’ve been happy for her. Instead, your chest ached. The guilt nearly swallowed you whole.
After dinner, MC disappeared upstairs to take a work call, leaving you alone in the kitchen with Sylus.
You stood immediately. “I should go.”
You grabbed your bag without meeting his eyes. “It’s late.”
He watched you quietly for a moment.
“You’ve been avoiding me.”
Your fingers tightened around the strap. “I haven’t.”
“You take longer to answer texts now.”
Heat flooded your face. Of course he noticed.
Sylus moved closer slowly, not enough to corner you, just enough to make your pulse stutter.
“Did I do something?” The question sounded genuine. That somehow made it worse.
You laughed softly, but there wasn’t any humor in it. “You really don’t know?”
Then his expression shifted slightly.
Dangerous, devastating understanding.
Your stomach twisted. “Sylus…”
“You look at me differently now.” There it was.
The thing both of you had been dancing around for weeks. You felt exposed suddenly. Humiliated.
“You should stop noticing things like that.”
His eyes held yours steadily.
Your breath caught. No. That was the horrible part. You couldn’t. You couldn’t stop noticing him either. The scar near his throat. The rare moments he smiled fully. The way his voice dropped lower when he spoke only to you.
You stepped back immediately. “This can’t happen.” Nothing had happened. Not technically. But it felt dangerously close to becoming something.
Sylus was quiet for a long moment. Then he said softly “I know.”
That hurt more than denial would’ve. Because there was no confusion in his expression. No rejection either. Just restraint. And maybe that was worse.
You shook your head quickly, heart hammering violently. “I love her,” you began.
His gaze softened instantly. “I know you do.”
Tears burned unexpectedly behind your eyes. Because MC wasn’t just some casual friend. She was family. Your oldest friend.
The person who stayed on the phone with you through heartbreaks and funerals and every terrible thing life threw at you. And here you were wanting someone she loved.
Someone who, terrifyingly enough, might’ve wanted you too. You hated yourself for it.
“I don’t want to ruin this,” you whispered. Sylus looked away briefly then back at you.
Your chest tightened painfully. For a second neither of you moved. The tension between you felt alive now. Breathing. Impossible to ignore.
Then footsteps sounded upstairs. Reality slammed back into place instantly. You stepped away from him so quickly it almost hurt.
MC’s voice drifted closer. You grabbed your coat. “I should go.”
Sylus didn’t stop you this time. But as you walked past him, he spoke quietly enough that only you could hear.
“You should probably stop texting me at two in the morning.”
“Or I might start looking forward to it…”
You left before he could see how badly that affected you.
After that, you did what you were supposed to do. You created distance.
You stopped answering Sylus’s late-night texts unless they were important. You stopped lingering after group outings. When MC invited you over, you made excuses more often than not.
It hurt. Embarrassingly so.
But eventually, things started changing on their own. Mostly because MC had been spending more and more time with Zayne lately.
At first, you didn’t think much of it. Zayne had always hovered around her orbit in one way or another, calm and reliable in a way that grounded her. But then came the missed dinners with Sylus. The canceled plans. The subtle shift in her voice whenever she talked about Zayne.
And Sylus noticed too. You could tell. Not because he complained…he never would.
He became quiet. Sharper around the edges.
You saw it one evening when the group met for drinks. MC had left early after getting a call from Zayne, apologizing quickly before rushing out the door.
Sylus had watched her leave with that unreadable expression of his. Then his eyes shifted to you across the table. And stayed there.
You looked away immediately. Big mistake.
Because after that, it got harder for him to pretend too.
The texts started again. Short at first.
“You’re avoiding everyone.”
Then longer. One night he sent:
“MC stayed with Zayne again.”
You stared at the message for a long time. You knew what he was doing. Opening a door. Or trying to…
And you hated yourself for how quickly you stepped through it.
The typing bubble appeared immediately.
Your chest tightened. You shouldn’t care this much. But you did. Always did.
The conversations became dangerous after that. Not overtly flirtatious. Worse. Intimate.
Sylus started talking to you in ways he never had before. About exhaustion. About loneliness. About how quiet his place felt lately. And you listened every single time.
Because despite everything, you understood him. Maybe too well.
Tonight was no different.
You lay awake in bed, phone glowing dimly against your face as rain tapped softly against your apartment windows.
“Your bedroom light is on.”
Your entire body froze. Slowly, you sat upright in bed. What? Before you could even process the message, your phone buzzed again.
Your heart nearly stopped. You scrambled out of bed so quickly you almost tripped, rushing toward the front window. Pulling the curtain aside revealed a familiar black car parked across the street. And Sylus leaning against it. Dark coat. Hands in his pockets. Looking directly up at your apartment.
You should not let him in. Every rational thought in your body screamed that at you. Instead, five minutes later, you were opening your apartment door with trembling hands.
Sylus stood there looking unfairly good for two in the morning. Rain dampened the edges of his hair slightly.
His eyes dragged over you once, an oversized sleep shirt, bare legs, nervous expression, and something in his gaze darkened immediately.
“You’re here,” you whispered before you could stop yourself.
One corner of his mouth twitched faintly. “You opened the door.”
God. You stepped aside silently, letting him in. The apartment suddenly felt too small with him inside it.
Sylus glanced around once before settling his attention back onto you fully. Neither of you spoke at first.
The tension was palpable. Thick enough to choke on. Finally, you crossed your arms tightly. “What are you doing here?”
He looked at you for a long moment before answering. “I was driving.”
A quiet exhale left him that almost sounded like amusement. “You always know when I’m lying?”
“Only when it’s obvious.” Silence stretched again after that. Then Sylus stepped closer. Just close enough that your breathing became difficult.
“I knew you’d be awake.” He said. Your stomach twisted.
His eyes held yours steadily. Because of you. He didn’t say it. He didn’t need to. Your chest ached violently.
“We were never together.”
You blinked slowly. Sylus watched your expression carefully.
“We care about each other,” he continued quietly. “But not like that.”
Your heartbeat stumbled. “And Zayne?”
A tiny shrug. “I think she figured out who she actually wanted.”
You looked down immediately, overwhelmed by the sudden flood of emotions crashing through you. Relief. Guilt. Hope.
Dangerous, reckless hope.
Sylus stepped closer again. This time close enough that you could feel his warmth.
“You’ve been avoiding me.” His voice had gone softer. Lower.
You swallowed hard. “I was trying to do the right thing.”
You looked up at him finally. Big mistake. Because he was already staring at your mouth. Your pulse spiked instantly.
“You know what’s cruel?” he murmured. You couldn’t think straight enough to answer.
“I spent months thinking you hated me.”
Your eyes widened slightly. “What?”
His jaw tightened faintly. “You’d look at me like you wanted to run every time I got close.”
Because if I didn’t run, I would’ve kissed you. The thought flashed through your head too late.
Sylus must’ve seen something on your face because his expression shifted instantly. Sharper. Hungrier. The air between you snapped tight.
“You have no idea,” he said quietly, “how hard it was not to cross lines with you.”
Your breath caught painfully. “Sylus…”
He lifted a hand slowly. Carefully. Like he was giving you time to stop him. His fingers brushed against your jaw. The contact nearly destroyed you.
“You should tell me to leave.” He said. You knew that. You absolutely knew that. Instead, your body betrayed you completely, leaning into his touch without permission.
Sylus exhaled softly at the movement. That sound alone made your knees weak.
“I think about you constantly,” he admitted quietly. “It’s getting exhausting.”
Your heart nearly burst. All those nights spent convincing yourself it was one-sided suddenly felt ridiculous.
You looked up at him helplessly. “This is a bad idea.”
“Probably.” Neither of you moved away.
Rain continued tapping softly against the windows. The city outside had gone quiet. And Sylus was looking at you like he’d already lost this fight weeks ago.
“You gonna keep staring at me like that?” you whispered shakily. His thumb brushed lightly across your cheek.
“You gonna keep looking at me like you want me to kiss you?”
That did it. Every ounce of restraint you’d been clinging to finally snapped.
You grabbed the front of his coat and kissed him first. Sylus made a rough sound against your mouth like he’d been waiting for that.
Then his hands were suddenly on you. One at your waist. The other cradling your jaw carefully as he kissed you back hard enough to steal the air from your lungs.
God. It was worse than you’d imagined.
Sylus kissed like he did everything else…controlled at first, until the restraint cracked apart. And you could feel it happening.
Months of tension. Late-night conversations. Lingering looks. All of it poured into the kiss at once.
You stumbled backward slightly, and Sylus followed immediately without breaking away from you for more than a second.
His forehead pressed against yours as both of you struggled to breathe.
“You have no idea,” he murmured roughly, “how long I’ve wanted to do that.”
Your entire body burned. You laughed shakily despite yourself. “I think I do.”
That rare, real smile appeared briefly on his face.
Then, he kissed you again.
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