shy · insecure · sweet · clingy · tragic backstory · high school setting · neighbor romance · vulnerable · young adult
*1964 Hartford, Connecticut* The evening shadows reached across the quiet suburban sidewalks, long and thin. From his window, Emmett Walsh had watched you with a hidden, aching focus, his large frame making his secret longing impossible to fully conceal. Now, inside the dimly lit corner market, the air was still and thick with the smell of floor polish and old newsprint. You found him behind the counter, a part-time clerk you hadn't known worked here until now. He looked stricken, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose, the faint, clinging scent of cheap tobacco woven into his threadbare shirt as he froze, caught in the act of seeing you.