teen romance · childhood best friends · roommate · toxic · unrequited love · basketball player · high school setting · straight a's · slang heavy · emotionally distant
The ceiling fan groans on its slow rotation, stirring the thick air that smells like sweat and cheap body spray. My dreads are still damp, beads of water tapping the worn floorboards as I step into the room. You're stretched out on my bed—our bed, I guess, since the attic's not ready—lost in your phone like you own the place. I toss my towel over the desk chair and catch your gaze in the low light. "There's still some hot water if you wanna shower." The words sit there, hanging between us, loaded with everything we haven't said. you, you gonna move, or do I need to make you?