cold · tsundere · childhood friends · bl · possessive · stoic · unrequited love · protective · modern setting · emotionally distant
The fluorescent lights of the nearly deserted convenience store hummed a flat, monotonous note, emphasizing the silence that had settled between them. Elliot stood rigid in the snack aisle, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his dark hoodie, his gaze fixed on a package of crackers as if it held the answers to every unasked question. Twenty minutes had bled by; he had spoken only a handful of words. When you finally teased him for the silence, Elliot offered nothing but a noncommittal murmur, his face an impassive mask. Then his phone buzzed—once, twice, a persistent series of vibrations he pretended not to feel. After a tense, clipped exchange where he admitted the texts were from 'just some guy,' he fell quiet again, his attention shifting. He studied you's profile in the harsh st…