The Ones Who Knew First- How it all started

Daniel had always believed that some people came into your life by accident — and others by design.

Liam and Noah had been both.

They met in college — Daniel and Liam first, during a seminar on design theory, where Daniel had made a joke about the professor's tie and Liam had been the only one to laugh.

They were roommates by the end of the week.

And friends for life.

Noah came later — a mutual friend from a shared internship, someone who had a way with words and an even better way with silence.

He was the kind of guy who could make you forget your own name with a single sarcastic comment, but who could also sit with you through the quietest moments without needing to fill the space.

They had been Daniel's constants — the ones who had seen him through every failure, every heartbreak, and every decision that had shaped the man he had become.

And now, they were the first to know.

The first to see what had been growing for years.

The first to understand that Sophia Thomas wasn't just someone Daniel had fallen for.

She was someone he had always loved.

Just never in the way he had let himself admit.

The truth didn't come out all at once.

It wasn't a grand confession or a dramatic moment in a crowded room.

It was a quiet evening at the office — Daniel had been working late, and Liam had stayed behind to finish a project they were presenting the next day.

Noah had walked in with coffee and a smirk.

"Why do you keep smiling at your phone like that?" he asked, tossing Daniel a mug.

Daniel blinked. "What?"

Noah pointed. "You've been looking at it for the last ten minutes. And every time you do, you look like you've just won the lottery."

Liam looked up from his laptop. "Is it Sophia?"

Daniel froze.

Noah grinned. "I knew it."

Liam raised an eyebrow. "You two finally together?"

Daniel didn't answer.

He just looked at his phone — at the last message from Sophia.

"Miss you."

He exhaled.

Then said, "Yeah. We are."

And just like that, the secret was out.

Liam was the quiet one — the kind of guy who had always been the observer, the one who saw more than he said.

He had met Daniel in their second year — both of them had been assigned to the same dorm block, and within a week, they were sharing meals, study notes, and late-night conversations about life and the kind of people they wanted to become.

Liam had always been the one to ask the hard questions.

He was the kind of person who made you think before speaking, who made you pause before making a decision.

And now, he studied Daniel like he was trying to figure something out.

"She's Nathan's sister," Liam said quietly.

Daniel nodded. "I know."

Noah leaned back in his chair. "You do realize that means Nathan is going to lose his mind, right?"

Daniel groaned. "I know that too."

Liam gave him a long look. "But you're serious about her."

Daniel met his eyes — steady and sure.

"I've never been more serious about anything."

Noah smirked. "Well. Took you long enough."

Liam shook his head. "You should've told us sooner."

Daniel gave a tired smile. "I didn't know how to say it out loud."

It wasn't just Daniel's friends from work who found out.

Sophia's roommates — Mira, Zara, and Claire — had started noticing the changes too.

It wasn't obvious at first.

Just small things.

The way Daniel showed up at the dorm more often.

The way Sophia looked at him — not with the quiet admiration of a girl who had loved him from afar.

But with the soft certainty of someone who had finally been chosen.

And it was Zara who noticed it first.

She had been lying on her bed one evening, flipping through a book, when Sophia came in with a soft smile and a glow in her eyes that hadn't been there before.

"You're different," Zara said, not looking up.

Sophia blinked. "Huh?"

Zara tilted her head. "You've been smiling more. Laughing more. And don't think I haven't noticed that Daniel has been showing up like clockwork."

Sophia blushed.

Zara sat up. "Wait. You two are together, aren't you?"

Sophia hesitated — just long enough.

Zara grinned. "Oh my god. You are."

Mira and Claire walked in just then, arms full of snacks and late-night study materials.

Mira frowned. "Why is she smiling like that?"

Zara smirked. "Because she's finally dating the guy she's been in love with since she was twelve."

Claire dropped the snacks.

Sophia groaned. "Can we not make it sound like I'm some kind of stalker?"

Zara laughed. "You kind of were."

Mira sat beside her. "But now you're not."

Sophia looked at them — really looked.

And whispered, "We didn't plan for it to happen like this."

Claire tilted her head. "Then how did it happen?"

Sophia gave a small smile.

"Slowly," she said. "And quietly."

And that was the truth.

Because their relationship hadn't started with a kiss or a grand gesture.

It had started with a look.

A moment.

A realization that had been waiting to be spoken for years.

Liam and Noah had been the first to know.

But they weren't the last.

Daniel had always been good at hiding things — at keeping his emotions locked behind jokes and easy smiles.

But not from them.

They had seen the way he looked at her.

The way he held her hand when he thought no one was watching.

The way he would pause mid-sentence when she walked into the room.

And when they asked — not just about Sophia, but about what this meant — Daniel didn't hesitate.

"She's not just someone I'm dating," he said. "She's the person I've always loved."

Noah raised an eyebrow. "That's deep."

Liam gave him a long look. "You sure about this?"

Daniel nodded. "More than anything."

Noah leaned back. "Then I guess we're officially meeting the girl who made Daniel Harper a romantic."

Daniel groaned. "Don't call it that."

Liam smirked. "Too late. We're already planning the introduction."

And just like that, Sophia's world and Daniel's world started to merge.

Back at the dorm, Sophia was explaining everything to her roommates — not in a rush, not in a panic, but with a quiet honesty that made them all sit up and listen.

"He was always the one," she said softly. "Even when I thought he didn't see me."

Zara studied her. "And now he does."

Sophia nodded. "Now he does."

Mira gave her a small smile. "You deserve this."

Sophia bit her lip. "I just… I don't want to lose it."

Claire gave her a knowing look. "Then stop doubting him."

Sophia looked down.

She had spent years loving him from afar.

Years watching him walk away.

Years pretending she was okay with being invisible.

And now, standing in the middle of it all, she wasn't sure how to believe it was real.

But Zara, ever the realist, leaned in and said, "He's not going anywhere."

Sophia blinked. "How do you know?"

Zara smirked. "Because he keeps showing up."

And that was enough.

For now.

Liam and Noah finally met Sophia a few days later — at The Willow Bean, the café where Daniel had taken her for their first real conversation after the accident.

He had invited them.

Not to judge.

Not to tease.

But to understand.

Because they were the ones who had seen him through everything.

And now, they were seeing him through her.

Liam was the first to speak.

"You're the one who wrote his name in your diary."

Sophia froze.

Daniel groaned. "Please tell me you didn't tell them that."

Liam smirked. "She did it for years. You're lucky I didn't print it on a T-shirt."

Sophia buried her face in her hands.

Noah grinned. "Relax. We're not here to embarrass you. Just to make sure he's not being a jerk."

She looked up.

Noah added, "He's been in love with you for a while. He just didn't know how to say it."

She blinked.

Daniel gave them a tired look. "You two are the worst."

Liam leaned forward. "But we're also the ones who make sure you don't mess this up."

And Sophia, for the first time in a long time, felt like she wasn't just holding onto something fragile.

She was holding onto something real.

The roommates didn't stop asking questions.

And neither did Liam and Noah.

They met again a few days later — this time at the dorm, where Mira had insisted on hosting a movie night.

Liam had shown up with popcorn.

Noah with a six-pack of soda and a playlist that made Sophia blush.

"You two are ridiculous," she muttered.

Noah grinned. "We're just making sure we're part of the story."

And they were.

Because they were the ones who had been there before anyone else knew.

The ones who had seen the shift before it was real.

The ones who had been there when Daniel had finally stopped pretending.

And when they looked at her — really looked — Liam said what none of them had dared to ask yet.

"You know he's serious, right?"

Sophia swallowed hard. "I think so."

Liam nodded. "Then don't let fear take it from you."

Daniel's world had changed — and so had Sophia's.

But the biggest change came in the way they started showing up for each other.

He picked her up from class.

He texted her in the mornings.

He met her roommates.

And for the first time, he wasn't hiding.

He was choosing.

And Sophia was finally being chosen back.

Later that week, Nathan showed up unannounced.

He had been quiet for days — since the confrontation, since the truth had settled in his bones.

And now, he was standing in the doorway of Daniel's apartment, arms crossed, eyes unreadable.

Daniel looked up from his desk.

"You're here again."

Nathan didn't smile.

"I need to talk to you."

Daniel frowned. "About what?"

Nathan stepped inside.

"About her."

Daniel's chest tightened.

He sat down slowly.

And said, "Okay."

Because Nathan wasn't just Sophia's brother.

He was Daniel's oldest friend.

And if this was the moment he finally asked for the truth…

Daniel was ready to give it.

Liam and Noah had stayed longer than they intended — Daniel had asked them to, not out of fear, but out of instinct.

He had a feeling Nathan was coming.

And when the doorbell rang, he didn't hesitate.

He opened it.

And there he was.

Nathan.

Daniel didn't say much.

Just stepped aside.

"Come in."

Nathan walked in, glancing around.

His eyes landed on Liam and Noah.

"You two are here too?" he asked.

Noah grinned. "Turns out we're part of the drama now."

Nathan gave Daniel a long look.

Then said, "We need to talk."

Daniel nodded.

"We do."

And just like that, the past and the present collided.

Liam and Noah had come to check on Daniel — to make sure he wasn't making a mistake.

Instead, they were now witnesses to a conversation that had been waiting to happen for years.

And as Nathan quickly stepped out of the apartment, Daniel knew.

This was the moment everything changed.

Because Nathan wasn't just here to ask questions.

He was here to hear the truth.

And Daniel was ready to give it.

As a matter of fact, he indeed gave it his all!

That was how things happened then.