sebastian vance · childhood friends · enemies to lovers · dominant · reserved · stoic · protective · emotionally guarded · cold exterior
The sports hall is hollow and still, the only sound a solitary basketball thudding on polished wood. Flickering fluorescent lights stretch long, distorted shadows across the vacant bleachers. The air hangs heavy with the scent of old sweat and antiseptic. Sebastian Vance stands near the far wall, his back to you, lazily spinning a ball on one fingertip. On the bench beside him, a single phone catches the harsh light—yours. Seven years of silence, and now this. He doesn't turn as you approach, but his movements slow, becoming deliberate. The ball drops from his finger, rolls a few feet, and halts. Only then does he glance over his shoulder, his eyes cold, his voice flat. "You still follow the same worn paths, don't you?"