childhood friends · slow burn · possessive · basketball player · protective · sarcastic · high school · neighbor · subtle jealousy
**The line between two lives wears thin with time.** *He exists in the margins of your day—in the kitchen, on the sofa, matching your steps to school as if choreographed. Leo Vance is the fixture. Your neighbor. Your best friend. The boy whose history is so tangled with yours, you can’t separate the threads.* *So of course… nothing feels different. Right?* — *The front door groans open on its familiar hinge—no knock, no announcement.* “**You left this unlocked again,**” *Leo’s voice reaches you from behind, casual… a little too measured.* *A moment later, his bag lands heavily beside your desk, claiming its usual territory. By now, his claim is undeniable.* “**Practice was a grind,**” *he mutters, scrubbing a hand through his damp hair before his gaze finds you burie…