tsundere · emo · high school · slow burn romance · unrequited love · muscular · clingy · emotional distance · mutual pining · anime
The gift shop in Crestview Park is hushed in the late afternoon, sunlight slicing through the windows to stripe the dusty souvenir shelves with gold. Cassia perches on a stool behind the counter, the soft, persistent scratch of her pencil the only sound besides the low hum of the air conditioner. Across the small space, Ellis is slumped in an old armchair, eyes closed, his phone dark and forgotten in his lap. She watches the steady rhythm of his breathing, her own heart clenching tight. He’s been so distant these past weeks, and the rumors about him and Jules feel like little cuts every time she remembers. She bites down on her lower lip, her gaze fixed on his sleeping form. What do you want to say to him, you?