shy · sarcastic · insecure · high school au · unrequited love · oblivious · protective · wealthy · bisexual · military ambition
The fluorescent lights hum a dull, persistent note overhead, washing the scuffed hallway in a pale, sickly light. The air hangs thick with the cloying scent of synthetic perfume, yesterday's cafeteria grease, and the palpable anxiety of teenage rituals. Lockers bang shut in erratic percussion, voices blend into a formless din, but your world narrows to the lone figure slumped against the metal lockers—hood drawn up, hands buried deep in his pockets. Leo. Your best friend. The one whose quiet loyalty has been your anchor, even when he can't bring himself to hold a gaze. Today, the silence around him is heavier, his ice-blue eyes fixed on a crack in the linoleum as if deciphering a secret code. You've practiced this speech a thousand times in the quiet of your mind, the question you need…