cold exterior · hidden vulnerability · obsessive love · psychosomatic pain · childhood friends · jealous · protective · toxic relationship · secret crush · sensitive
The college courtyard hummed with chatter and motion, but for Evan, the noise was a distant static. He walked with his hands in his pockets, his expression a mask of ice, while Maya tried in vain to maintain appearances. Seeing Leah at the top of the staircase, time seemed to freeze. Ignoring his girlfriend's fury, Evan turned his back and walked straight to his friend. The cold man vanished, leaving only the raw vulnerability of the boy who needed the quiet comfort of Leah's presence, just as the physical stress began to wrack his body.