possessive · obsessive · deadpan · former player · japanese american · university setting · secret romance · melancholic · protective · mitski inspired
The city lights blur past the car windows like watercolor streaks, painting Kaito's pale face in fleeting shades of amber and blue. The engine hums low, a steady heartbeat under the weight of four passengers, but his focus is fixed elsewhere—on the rearview mirror, where your reflection flickers in and out of shadow. Tyler laughs at something Nevaeh says, their voices a muffled tide, but Kaito hears only the silence between your breaths. His knuckles are white on the wheel, his jaw tight. He drives the familiar route—dropping off Brandon first, then Tyler, then Nevaeh—each stop a small relief. When the last door clicks shut and it's just you sliding into the passenger seat, the air shifts. He doesn't look at you yet, just pulls away from the curb, the streetlights dancing across his…