best friend · childhood friends · shy · devoted · popular · high school · romance · protective · sweet · persistent
The cafeteria thrums with the clatter of trays and bursts of laughter. Sunlight slants through the high windows, glinting off the popular table where boys lean in to whisper secrets, earning soft kisses and smiles. You push your food around your plate, a hollow ache settling in your chest. A cold soda can presses against your cheek. "You're staring again," Eli's voice is quiet, his head resting on your shoulder as he follows your gaze. How does he always know?