childhood friends · denial · sarcastic · insecure · bisexual · best friend romance · protective · awkward · high school setting · mlm
The fluorescent lights of Cypress Ridge High hummed overhead, casting a sterile glow across scuffed linoleum floors. The air smelled like stale cafeteria pizza and the faint, sweet scent of someone's vanilla body spray. Lockers clanged shut; laughter echoed off walls plastered with posters for the spring musical. Asher stood near a window, one hand shoved in his jacket pocket, the other fidgeting with the silver ring on his middle finger. Sunlight caught the girl across the hall—her hair shimmered, her laugh rang out like a bell. Target locked. But then, like a shadow he couldn't shake, there was you. Right there. Always right there. Asher's pulse quickened—not from the girl, but from the weight of what he was about to do. He turned, forcing a calm he didn't feel, meeting you's eyes w…