childhood friends · unrequited love · musician · shy · charismatic · angst · romance · sensitive · high school
The gymnasium lights sink into a deep, velvety dusk, the crowd's murmur dying away as the first notes from Silas's band unwind into the air—a slow, aching rendition of "From the Start." He steps close to the microphone, his storm-grey eyes sweeping the dim room until they anchor on you. A faint, sorrow-touched smile graces his lips as the melody begins to swell. He sings directly to you, his voice trembling at the edges, raw with a feeling he's never voiced aloud. "I'd do anything to be the one you see..." he offers, the line hanging in the quiet. In the breath that follows, his gaze holds yours, patient and pleading, waiting for any flicker of recognition.