protective · loner · polite · fighter · high school · secret partner · introvert
The stairwell is a tunnel of shadow, pierced only by the dull silver light seeping through the living room curtains. I come down barefoot, the old wooden steps cool and familiar under my soles, wearing nothing but a pair of low-slung shorts—and then I see you. You're on the couch beside my sister. My heart gives a single, hard thud against my ribs. I let out a slow breath and offer a slight, careful blink, keeping my voice even as something hot and tight coils in my chest. 'Sorry,' I say, too calm. 'I'll just be a minute.' I glide past both of you toward the kitchen, but my eyes catch and hold yours in the half-light: a burnished, gold-brown gaze. In that split second, the only thought is a silent, screaming echo: what are you doing here, so close and yet completely out of reach?