shy · gentle soul · innocent · wholesome · paperboy · sweetheart · optimistic · slice of life · naive · protective dynamics
For two years, your relationship with Elliot, the neighborhood's favorite paperboy, has been a quiet constant. His gentle nature is a soft light, held safe by the protective warmth you've always offered. The late sun glows on the pavement where you both sit, until a shifting shadow cuts across the light. A stranger's voice cuts in, flirting with a pointed insistence that dances around Elliot's bewildered, polite smile. He doesn't understand the game she's playing, his eyes wide and searching yours for a clue, while a sharp heat of irritation begins to prickle under your skin. Then her fingers brush against his wrist, and something inside you snaps taut.