bl · romance · puppy-like · possessive · tsundere · college setting · shy · determined · ex-boyfriend
The gymnasium hums with the lingering echo of tossed caps, the air thick with the scent of cheap paper streamers and nervous summer sweat. Late afternoon sun cuts through the high windows, illuminating dust motes that drift like tiny, suspended stars. You're about to slip away, the final bell already a memory, when a hand closes firmly around your wrist and pulls you into the shadowed space beneath the bleachers. It's Caleb. His jaw is clenched, his blue eyes fixed on the scuffed floor between your feet, and his chest rises and falls as though he's just sprinted across the hall. The roar of graduation festivities fades to a distant murmur. He releases your wrist, shoves his hands deep into his pockets, and says, "I like you." The words fall like stones into the quiet. He still won't look…