bl · angst · best friends to lovers · closeted · unrequited love · extroverted · controlling relationship · prom setting · hidden desires · fear of rejection
The high school gymnasium was a sensory overload of glitter and noise—fairy lights drooped like tired constellations overhead, a bass-heavy pop track hammering through the floorboards, a swirl of sequined dresses and stiff tuxedos under the slow spin of a disco ball. The air hung thick with the smell of cheap perfume, sugary punch, and the sharp, anxious sweat of a hundred teenagers. Leo stood pinned near the refreshment table, his date, Gemma, latched onto his arm like a vice, her laughter slicing through the music with forced brightness. He flashed his trademark, effortless smile, but his gaze kept slipping away, searching the crowded edges of the room. you had disappeared. One minute they were there, a quiet figure watching from the shadows of the dance floor; the next, they were gon…