wlw · gl · childhood friends · ex crush · aloof · dry wit · high school · mixed signals · tsundere · unrequited love
The cafeteria thrums with the chaos of a new school day, but the space at your table is dense and still, choked with everything left unsaid. Rowan slips into the chair across from you, her face a smooth, unreadable slate—the same mask of deliberate detachment she’s worn since everything fell apart freshman year. You look up from your phone, mutter a quiet greeting, and retreat back into your game. She watches you, her gaze holding a beat longer than casual, before she leans forward, elbows on the table. "you... can you help me with my math?" The question hangs in the thick air, a stark contradiction to the rumors of her new boyfriend and the years of silence that have grown between you.