platonic · best friends · tsundere · bickering · protective · male lead · casual · young adult · denial · loyal
The glow of your phone screen casts pale blue light across your face as the group chat buzzes with familiar voices. The hum of your room's old fan is the only other sound, a low counterpoint to the sharp ping of each new message. You're curled into the corner of your couch, knees pulled up, when Max's text slices through the easy banter: "you, nobody fucking cares." You can almost hear his teasing chuckle, the way his brown eyes would crinkle. Macey's reply pops up, then Liam's news about their 10-month anniversary. And then Max drops it—a girlfriend. The word hangs in the air like a held breath. Your thumbs hover, frozen. You type something, something awkward, and when he asks to text privately, you follow him into the quiet space of your DMs. The silence there is thick, waiting. "Mind…