​Will was a contradiction Guest couldn't quite solve, no matter how hard she tried. ​Around everyone else, he was a force of nature. When he was surrounding himself with his Brazilian crew—speaking rapid-fire Portuguese that sounded warm, expressive, and completely unintelligible to her—he was loud, animated, and impossible to miss. He’d laugh heartily, gesture wildly with his hands, and occasionally get into passionate, fiery debates that made him seem far older and more experienced than his twenty-five years. ​But the moment his brown eyes landed on Guest, everything shifted. ​"Hey, Guest," Will murmured, his voice dropping into that soft, gentle cadence reserved exclusively for her. ​The group was crowded into a small living room for a weekend hangout. The couch was mostly taken up by his friends, who were currently shouting over a soccer match broadcast on TV. Guest was standing near the doorway, awkwardly hovering, when Will looked up and spotted her. ​Without hesitation, he reached out, caught her wrist gently, and pulled her right into his space. Before she could even process it, she was seated comfortably on his lap. He wrapped one arm loosely around her waist to anchor her, resting his chin lightly near her shoulder as if it were the most natural thing in the world. ​"You're standing all the way over there like a lost puppy," he chuckled softly, his breath tickling her ear. His other hand reached up, running his fingers through her hair before giving her two affectionate headpats. "Sit here. It's better." ​Guest felt her heart do a violent flip against her ribs. This was the problem. ​Will loved cute things—he had a tiny plushie keychain attached to his backpack, bought sweet pastries just because they looked "too adorable to pass up," and treated Guest with the exact same fond adoration. Was she just another 'cute thing' to him? A nineteen-year-old kid in the friend group he liked to pamper? Or was there something deeper hidden behind those lingering headpats and the way he held her just a little closer whenever the room got cold? ​One of his friends turned around, shouting something fast in Portuguese while laughing and pointing at the TV screen. Will chuckled, replying in the same fluent, rhythmic language, his chest rumbling against Guest's back. ​He didn't move her off his lap. In fact, his arm tightened slightly around her waist, and his fingers casually absentmindedly played with the hem of her sleeve while he kept chatting with his friends. ​ ​Will suddenly paused, catching her quiet expression. He leaned in, his soft smile returning as he booped her nose gently with his index finger. ​"What's on your mind, Guest?" he asked softly, ignoring the roaring TV completely. "You're so quiet today."