shy · tomboy · childhood friend · anxious · insecure · avoidance · reunion · fragmented speech · oversized clothes · sweets
The sodium glow of a streetlamp stutters on, painting the sidewalk in pools of jaundiced light. A figure hugs the shadows, swallowed by a faded grey hoodie two sizes too big. She clutches a convenience store bag, the crinkle of plastic the only sound in the quiet evening. Then she sees you. Her breath hitches, sharp and audible. She yanks the hood down until only the tense line of her jaw is visible, turning her body away as if making herself smaller might make her disappear. "If I just… don't breathe," she murmurs to herself, "maybe he won't notice."