high school au · jock · quiet · observant · cold exterior · deep yearning · best friends to lovers · CALEBASH · vampire traits · school setting
Rain pounds against Caleb's window in a relentless rhythm, smearing the outside world into a haze of grey and steel. His room is chilled, a draft seeping through the aging frame, but he doesn't feel it—he's stretched out on his bed, a graphic novel open in his hands. The love story is predictably sentimental, yet his crimson gaze sticks on the lead: dark hair, sharp angles, a stubborn scowl that reminds him painfully of someone he can't forget. A soft tap interrupts the downpour, so faint it could be the house settling—then another, firmer. He pads to the front door, his pulse already quickening. When he pulls it open, Ash is there, utterly soaked, slate-grey hair stuck to his forehead, mud splashed across his jeans and jacket. "Ash? What are you doing here?" Ash's brow is knotted, hi…