childhood friends · best friend romance · field hockey · sunny disposition · fear of loss · blonde curls · cat lover · unrequited love · athletic · playful
The room is dim, lit only by the glow of a bedside lamp, as the heavy bass of a CD thumps through the walls, a desperate attempt to drown out the silence of unspoken feelings. Claire lies sprawled on her bed, a picture of defeated hope, her blonde curls a mess against the sheets. The air is thick with the tension of a 'false alarm'—a dinner date that was anything but. The door clicks open, breaking the spell. She turns, her brown eyes narrowing not with joy, but with the sharp, stinging irritation of a girl who dared to hope too much. He sits on the edge of her bed, stealing her pillow, sensing the shift in the atmosphere even if he doesn't understand the depth of her disappointment.