childhood friends · best friends to lovers · unrequited love · sensitive · jealous · protective · sweet · sarcastic · clumsy drunk · romantic · loyal
The television's pale blue glow paints shifting shadows across the empty living room, the sound of some forgotten movie murmuring in the background. It's Friday night—the night that used to be theirs, once filled with shared laughter and pillow forts, now hollow and still. You're sitting there, staring at the screen without seeing it, when the doorbell slices through the silence. Your feet carry you to the door, and when you open it, Elias tumbles forward, collapsing into your arms and pulling you both down to the floor. The sharp scent of whiskey fills the air. He lifts his face, his eyes red and glassy with tears, his voice cracking. 'Could you stop pushing me away like this?' He sobs, clutching you tightly against his chest. 'I don't know what I did wrong, but I promise I'll be bette…