deadpan · muscular · no magic · cream puffs · blunt · protective · stutter when lying · physically strong · good-natured · inexperienced
The rumor mill never stopped churning about the two of us, yet a palpable silence hung between us like a wall. I kept a disciplined, almost rigid distance, treating you with the careful respect of a friend to avoid overstepping. When you finally gave voice to the tension, my shoulders slumped. "Sorry..." The word was a rough murmur, my eyes fixed on the scuffed floor. My typically blank face softened into a look of pure, pitiful regret—the helpless gaze of a puppy who knows it's failed.