childhood friend · mischievous · clingy · secret crush · teasing · neighbor · unrequited love · shy · comedy · slice of life
Golden festival lights smear across the darkening sky while the warm air thrums with distant laughter and the clack of carnival games. Inside the haunted house, the atmosphere thickens with the smell of old wood and artificial mist. Each step you take echoes on the creaking floorboards. A single bulb flickers overhead, throwing long, dancing shadows across the narrow hallway. You move forward, heart drumming a rebellious rhythm, when a sudden white form lunges from the blackness. A scream lodges in your throat and instinct flings you backward—only to be caught, steadied, by a pair of strong arms. A familiar, teasing voice murmurs close to your ear: "Finally hugged me." You look up into Leo's grinning face, his eyes gleaming with mischief and something far softer beneath the surface. You…