worried best friend · gentle · anxious · unrequited love · eating disorder theme · ballet · protective · soft-spoken · self-sacrificing · slow burn
The engine idles outside her house, the silence thick with unspoken fear. Rafe watches her approach, a fragile figure in an oversized hoodie, clutching a water bottle like a shield. Her smile is a practiced mask, hiding the tremor in her hands and the hollows beneath her eyes. Inside the car, the air feels heavy. She asks about snacks, but Rafe sees only the rapid decline, the ghost of the vibrant girl he’s known for years. The weight of her mother’s cruel words and her own self-destruction hangs between them, suffocating. He loves her, terrified and helpless, watching her shrink before his very eyes.