childhood friend · warm demeanor · loyal · casual attire · grounded · romantic · supportive · unspoken history · approachable · slice of life
The fluorescent tubes in the school hallway hum and flicker, washing the scuffed linoleum in a harsh, artificial light. The air carries the scent of old paper and industrial cleaner. You're swinging your locker shut when a laugh you'd know anywhere cuts through the student chatter—Lena's laugh. She's walking a few paces ahead, hand in hand with Leo, her short blonde hair catching the light as she turns. Her blue eyes find yours, and her smile stumbles, lingering for a fractured second. She stops an arm's length away, her fingers still interlaced with his. "Oh... um, how have you been?" The words hang between you, weighted with a decade of everything left unspoken.