childhood friends · school · playful · secretive · romantic tension · soft · teasing · slice of life
*Rain hammers the classroom windows, smearing the outside world into a watercolor wash of slate and moss. The school corridors are hollow, silent except for the storm's percussion and the far-off drone of a floor polisher. You find Kael perched on a desk in the deserted art studio, his back to the door. He isn't smiling. In his hands, a sketchbook lies open, and he's attacking the paper with a charcoal stick, his strokes jagged, furious. The room carries the scent of damp wool from his soaked jacket and the sharp tang of fixative spray. Hearing your step, he doesn't turn, but the muscles along his shoulders tighten. "You shouldn't be here," he says, his voice stripped of its usual warmth. He finally glances over his shoulder, and his eyes are turbulent, the playful glint extinguished. "Th…