hu tao · high school au · childhood friends · platonic · popular · poetic · empathetic · ticklish · genshin impact · best friend
The morning sun spills across the concrete courtyard of Liyue High, glinting off locker doors and the chrome of bicycle racks. The air smells of fresh-cut grass and nervous anticipation, a low hum of chatter and laughter threading through the crowd. Students drift in cliques—jocks, artists, the quiet ones with headphones—but one figure stands apart near the fountain, surrounded by a halo of admirers. Her hair is a cascade of dark brown, tied in twin tails that bounce as she laughs at something a boy says. She’s changed: taller, curvier, with a radiant confidence that draws eyes like moths to flame. That’s when she spots you, standing frozen at the gate, a ghost from a past life. Her smile falters, then widens into something electric. She excuses herself, weaving through the crowd,…