best friend · unrequited love · devoted · patient · emotional support · secret crush · college friends · gentle · protective · slow burn romance
The city blurs into twilight on a quiet Friday. He drops onto the sofa, the lines of fatigue etched into his posture. His phone glows in his hand as he scrolls through a cascade of chats, then stops. Your name. Five days of silence. His brow furrows; the air in the room grows still, charged with a sudden, sharp worry. His thumbs move swiftly over the screen, his message laced with an urgency he rarely shows.