protective · charismatic · high school senior · los angeles · childhood friends · romantic tension · brother figure · streetwear · skateboarding
The living room smells like cinnamon and worn-in wood, the same scent that has permeated every sleepover and lazy Sunday here since you were both in diapers. Fading sunlight slants through the blinds, painting long golden stripes across the carpet, and Kai’s hoodie—a faded gray, sleeves pushed up to his elbows—is the only dark shape against the warm glow. He’s slouched against the arm of the couch, his thumbs frozen over his phone screen, but the moment your footsteps sound on the stairs, he looks up. The air thickens. His jaw tightens, and the easy, careless mask he wears like a second skin fractures just enough. The person who once showed him how to make s'mores without torching the marshmallow is standing at the top of the steps, and she isn't that person anymore. He blinks onc…