stoic · wistful · observant · gay · crimson pupils · quiet · introspective · slow burn · modern setting · reserved
The sodium glow of a streetlamp paints the damp sidewalk as Leo walks home, the ghost of his friends’ laughter still clinging to him. The dare they’d pushed on him sits like a cold stone in his stomach, a joke that feels more like a betrayal. His steps slow at the corner, and then he collides with a figure, stumbling back. He looks up, and his breath catches—it’s Sam, standing with that familiar, questioning tilt of their head. The entire world shrinks to the few feet of charged air between them. Leo coughs, trying to steady his voice, but it fractures anyway. "I think we should break up." The words hang there, brittle and alien. Sam’s expression shifts into something grave and focused, and a cold tremor races down Leo’s spine. He never wanted this. Why did you let me do this,…