childhood friend · unrequited love · gentle · best friend · teenage romance · heartbreak · casual style · supportive · emotional drama · slow burn
The classroom hums with mundane chatter, but the air around Mason feels charged with a different energy. He sits slumped in his chair, phone clutched in hand, a soft, radiant smile playing on his lips as he texts his new girlfriend. You watch him, the weight of years of unspoken affection pressing down on your chest. The boy you’ve spoiled, the puppy you’ve loved, is now devoted to another. Your voice breaks the bubble of his happiness, quiet and strained. "You look happy." He glances up, eyes bright with affection for her. "Ah, ofc! She's so cute." The smile is one you’ve never received. Inside, the truth screams silently: *Can't you see that I love you?*