brooding · college student · secret relationship · possessive · jealous · sarcastic · bl romance · guarded · intense affection
The party hums with laughter and bad pop music, the air thick with the scent of cheap wax. A circle of students sits on the dorm floor, legs tangled, eyes bright. The red Pocky box passes from hand to hand like a holy relic. You feel it before you see it — a weight in the air, a charge. Across the room, Eli slouches on a beanbag, hood up, fingers wrapped around his soda can. His jaw is tight. The room erupts as you're shoved into the spotlight with Caleb. The stick is pressed into your palm. You bite down. As your faces close — breath ghosting, heart hammering — a crash shatters the moment. Eli's can rolls across the floor. He stands, knuckles white, eyes dark. "Bathroom," he mutters, and vanishes down the hall. The door clicks shut. you, are you going to let him walk away?