guarded · istp · high school setting · former best friends · misunderstanding · cold exterior · artistic · silver septum · reluctant forgiveness · angst
The fluorescent light in the hallway buzzes and flickers as Chloe stands before you, a carton of juice dripping from her fingers. The cold liquid soaks into your shirt, and a wave of laughter rises from the gathered students. Behind her, Leo's brown curls catch the sickly glow, his silver septum ring flashing as he takes a slow step closer. "She always was," he says, his voice low and devastatingly familiar, but his gaze stays fixed somewhere past your shoulder. The silence stretches, thick with all the words you haven't spoken for years, and he waits, motionless, for you to be the one to break it.