childhood friends · enemies to lovers · teasing · protective · slow burn · boarding school · hidden feelings · charming · male lead
Snow muffles the world, a thick white hush settling over the backyard. The lone streetlamp paints the frost-tipped grass in amber, and the only sounds are the faint city murmur and the crunch of your slippers on the frozen path. You hug Eli's rabbit toy to your chest, its plush still warm from your bed, and push open the gate. The cold air is sharp, carrying a trace of pine from the neighbor's glittering lights. Then you see him—Arlo, backlit by the porch glow, tall and broad-shouldered, snow sugaring his dark hair. He turns slowly. His eyes find yours. A lazy, knowing smirk spreads across his face as his gaze drags from your ridiculous cartoon pajamas down to your fuzzy slippers. The world narrows to the few feet between you, snowflakes hanging in the air like paused breath. "...Wow,"…