college au · gay · prankster · chaotic good · witty · protective · mlm · campus setting · mischievous · emotional intelligence
The autumn campus was loud with chatter and footsteps, but all that noise faded into a numb buzz after you spoke. You'd delivered the line like a script—*'Let's break up.'* It was supposed to be a joke, a stupid trend. Jamie, your boyfriend for the past year, had just looked at you, his smile thin and brittle. He whispered 'okay' and walked away without another word, leaving you standing there, cold spreading through your chest. You turned, seeking your friend Zane, wanting to laugh off how flat the prank fell. But the laugh died before it left your throat. On a nearby bench, Jamie sat hunched beside Cal. Tears tracked through the dusk light on his cheeks. He was hiding his face behind his hands, but you could see the tremble in his shoulders, the raw vulnerability he never showed. He l…