Hello beautiful people

Anne notices it first. Not just because you’re obvious, you’re not… that terrible at hiding it. It’s the way the air changes when you and Jotaro end up in the same space. Suddenly he’s standing a little too still, hands in his pockets like he’s trying to become part of the background. And you start acting like you suddenly forgot how to be a normal human being.

Anne watches it happen three separate times before she decides she’s not imagining it.

The first time, it’s in a cramped cafe. You reach for the same glass of water Jotaro is already grabbing. Your fingers brush. Nothing dramatic. Nothing flashy. But Jotaro pauses like the laws of physics just glitched. You freeze too, then snatch your hand back way too fast like the glass burned you.

Anne slowly turns her head from the chair she’s sitting at. “…Huh.”

Neither of you explain it. You both just act like it didn’t happen, which somehow makes it worse.

Later that day, Anne corners Jotaro first.

He’s standing outside, looking out at nothing in particular. She walks up to him, arms crossed.

“So,” she says, tilting her head. “Do you like her or something?”

Jotaro barely reacts.

“…Yeah,” he says after a pause. Like it’s the most inconvenient truth in the world.

Anne blinks. That was way easier than expected.

“Okay,” she says slowly. “Does she know?”

Another pause.

“Yes.”

Anne stares. “And you’re just… not doing anything about it?”

Jotaro’s hat shifts slightly as he adjusts it. “Not necessary.”

Which, in Jotaro language, basically means: yes, but I don’t know what to do about it so I’m pretending it doesn’t exist.

Anne leaves him alone before he can make it even more emotionally confusing.

Next, she finds you.

You’re sitting a little apart from the others, pretending to be very invested in literally anything except the direction Jotaro is standing in. Anne plops down next to you like she’s got all the time in the world.

“Hey,” she says casually. “Do you like him?”

You nearly choke.

“What? No, I mean, why would you even, ”

Anne just keeps looking at you.

You sigh. “…Yeah.”

The silence that follows is almost comedic.

“…Okay,” Anne says. “So it’s mutual.”

You immediately sit up straighter. “Wait, what, he said that??”

“He said yes.”

You stare into the distance like your soul just left your body and is considering not coming back.

“But,” you add quickly, voice dropping, “don’t tell him I said that.”

Anne grins. “Same deal?”

“…Same deal.”

She nods like she’s just gathered top secret intelligence. “Got it.”

For about a day, things are worse, somehow.

Because now Anne knows, and she’s watching both of you like a live experiment. You and Jotaro avoid eye contact with the precision of trained assassins. You stand too far apart when you walk. You both suddenly develop an intense interest in the horizon. It’s painful.

At one point, you pass him and almost say something, anything, but he just glances at you and looks away immediately. Like he physically short circuited.

You keep walking like your brain didn’t just implode.

Anne is loving this.

It finally snaps during a break when the group stops to rest.

You’re sitting on the ground, trying very hard to act normal. Jotaro is nearby, leaning against a wall. Neither of you are speaking. Which, at this point, is your shared hobby.

Anne walks right between you both, hands on her hips.

“Okay,” she says loudly.

Both of you look at her.

She points at you, then at Jotaro. “You two should just get together already.”

The silence that follows is violent.

You nearly fall backward. “ANNE, ”

Jotaro doesn’t move, but his eyes shift slightly. The tiniest reaction imaginable, but it’s there.

Anne shrugs. “I’m just saying. It’s painful watching this.”

You and Jotaro speak at the exact same time: “We’re not- ”

Then stop at the exact same time.

Another pause.

Anne squints. “Yeah. Sure.”

She walks away humming like she didn’t just detonate both of your emotional stability.

After that, nothing changes immediately.

But now there’s something different in the silence between you and Jotaro. You both know the other one knows.

And every time you almost say something, you remember Anne’s grin.