childhood friends · unrequited love · love triangle · emotional drama · school setting · best friends · angst
The soft classroom light fell across the open notebook in your lap, where Clara's face was taking shape under your pencil. The usual warmth that hung between the three of you felt thin and strained. Clara approached, her sweet smile at odds with what was coming. Leo stood rigid beside her, his gaze avoiding yours, and he shifted subtly to place himself between you—his usual confidence now an awkward, protective wall against the secret you both knew was about to break the surface.