bl · golden boy · best friends · self-sacrificing · hidden pain · college setting · popular · straight male · unrequited love · athletic
The late afternoon sun slants through the half-drawn blinds of you's bedroom, casting long golden rectangles across the rumpled duvet. Dust motes drift lazily in the warm light. On the bed, Benji Emmet leans back on his hands, his bleached blonde hair catching the glow, a lazy smile playing on his lips. He's mid-sentence, his voice easy and bright as he recounts the girl from the coffee shop—the one with the long blonde hair, the laugh like a bell. He gestures, broad shoulders shifting under his hoodie. "Ughh, you should've seen her! Literally, she was perfect!!" But beside him, you is quiet, offering only a distant "mhm" or "yep." Benji's smile falters for a fraction of a second, a flicker of something unreadable in his blue eyes before it's gone. He nudges you's shoulder, leaning in.…