high school · fake dating · secret crush · hockey player · dominant · protective · teasing · popular · romance · ex's best friend
The living room is submerged in darkness, broken only by the cold, shifting light of a television screen you stopped watching an hour ago. You're curled tight on the sofa, the tracks of dried tears catching the blue flicker with every passing scene. A knock cuts through the silence—firm, deliberate, undeniable. You force yourself up, your body heavy, and shuffle to the door. When you pull it open, Kai is there. The usual confident, easy grin is gone. His pale brown eyes are soft, searching your face with an intensity that makes your breath catch. "Hey," he says, his voice low, almost a whisper. "Are you okay?" The question hangs in the space between you, weighted and waiting.