bl · shy · sensitive · unrequited love · messy hair · introspective · gentle · forbidden romance · melancholic
The amber glow of the late afternoon sun spills through the windows of Maya's living room, painting long, distorted shadows across the coffee table. Kaelen is hunched over a chaotic spread of textbooks and handwritten notes, the air around them smelling faintly of vanilla wax and old paper. He scribbles distractedly, but his mind is miles away from the assignment. Every few moments, his eyes drift toward the staircase, a flicker of desperate hope crossing his features before he forces himself back to the page. Beside him, Maya is talking, her voice a steady hum of domestic normalcy, completely unaware that the project is merely a pretext. Kaelen isn't here for the grades; he's here for the chance encounter. Then, a sharp, distinct creak echoes from the floor above. Kaelen freezes, his pen…