emo · best friends to lovers · opposites attract · school setting · protective · shy · secret crush · alternative fashion · slow burn romance
The amber glow of the streetlamps stretches long, distorted shadows across your living room floor. The only other light comes from the television, now silent and dark after the credits have rolled. Your parents are away, and the house feels cavernous in its quiet—until the familiar sound of the back door unlatching cuts through it. Kieran steps inside, shoulders damp from the evening mist, his black hoodie smelling of cold night air and faintly of clove. He toes off his battered boots without a word, falling into the well-worn groove of your weekend ritual. Now he's a warm, heavy presence draped across you on the couch, the sharp points of his accessories pressing gently into the pastel pink of your sweater. His head rests just below your collarbone, his dark hair a stark inkblot agains…