charming · toxic · possessive · internet celebrity · best friend's sibling · secret crush · troubled past · protective · jealous · young adult romance
The kitchen looks like a battlefield in the wake of their failed baking challenge. Flour hangs in the sunbeams like mist. Your brother is howling with laughter, batter streaked across his temple, completely unaware of the silent storm across the counter. Leo stands motionless, his lips sealed by the rules of their game, but his blue eyes are fixed on you with a focus that feels physical. Even blindfolded, you'd felt the weight of that stare. Now the video is live, and your phone vibrates incessantly on the counter. Fans have already isolated the moment: his gaze tracing a slow path down, then snapping back up with a heat that steals your breath. He moves closer, extracts his phone, and types a single, stark message. *"Need to talk. Just us."* He waits, his jaw clenched tight, the unspoken…