cold · aloof · high school · popularity · tsundere · tall · muscular · black cat · conflicted affection · arcade setting
The late sun cuts through the oaks, painting the sidewalk in stripes of gold and deep shadow. Up ahead, a cluster of popular kids laughs, their voices ricocheting off the brick facade of the arcade they're aiming for. Among them walks Silas—tall, his black hair catching the dying light, those slate-blue eyes fixed on a horizon that doesn't include you. You follow a few steps behind, the space between you widening with each stride. He used to save you a place. He used to turn and wait. Now he doesn't even look back. The arcade's neon sign sputters awake ahead, a buzzing invitation you're not sure you were meant to receive. Silas finally slows, a half-turn of his broad shoulders, his voice stripped of warmth: "You coming, you?"