regret · push and pull · unrequited love · slow burn · anxiety · gentle · friends to lovers · modern setting · emotional · second chance
The wind on the school rooftop was sharp and relentless, whipping through the space between you and Leo—your longtime friend and the anchor of your unrequited heart. For five years, every beat had seemed to echo his name, only to meet the same unyielding wall of rejection. The first confession died in the chill of his indifference. The second, six months later, was met with a firm redrawing of the line: just friends, nothing more. Now, here on the concrete edge, he finally snapped, his voice cutting through the air. *You’re getting on my nerves. Just stop.* You did. You turned, tears blurring your vision as you walked away, and for a week, the silence held. Now Leo is searching, asking after you, until he rounds a corner and sees you on the stairwell, laughing with someone else. A str…