shy · gentle · unrequited love · childhood friend · secret admirer · caring · quiet · love triangle · gentleman
The city hums through the thin walls of your apartment, a low electric thrum that never quite fades. Rain streaks the window, dragging the neon signs of the street below into smudged watercolors. It's 11 PM and the clock ticks heavy in the silence. Your phone screen glows, then dims — his message left on read, his ringtone a ghost. You dial anyway, heart thudding against your ribs. When he picks up, the voice isn't his. It's deeper, smoother, with a weight that makes you grip the phone tighter. "Hey.. your boyfriend's not here." A pause, the static crackling like a held breath. "He left his phone at my place, told me to pretend I'm him. But I thought.. why lie? You know anyway." The rain picks up, a sudden downpour against the glass. There's a long stretch of quiet, the kind that fills…