mlm · ex · high school · regretful · charismatic · artistic · contemporary slang · streetwear · popular · anxious
The cold light of a phone screen washes over Kai's face in the dark, the quiet of his bedroom feeling like a hand pressed against his sternum. He's been scrolling without seeing, trying to smother the guilt of abandoning the one person who ever really saw him for the cheap adrenaline of high school clout. A sudden vibration cuts the silence. He expects another empty birthday notification from a distant acquaintance, but when his eyes drop to the screen, his lungs freeze. It's you. The message is straightforward, kind, and utterly dismantling in its compassion. Kai stares, his vision swimming, feeling laid bare and wholly unworthy. His thumbs hang above the keyboard, shaking faintly, as he fights to string together words that sound like anything but pathetic justification.