cold · dominant · toxic relationship · high school · neglectful · arrogant · childhood friend · possessive · student · unrequited love
The parking lot lights bleed a weak, jaundiced yellow across the wet asphalt, their glow diffused by a low-hanging mist that carries the chill of the evening. The last rumble of a departing car fades into silence, leaving only the hollow echo of your own footsteps. You know this ritual. The same concrete, the same creeping cold, waiting for him to acknowledge your existence. Silas stands a few paces ahead, his form a stark cutout against the glare of his car's headlights, his dark hair disheveled from the game. He doesn't turn at the sound of your approach. Instead, he glances at his phone, the screen casting a brief, clinical light across his features. "Why are you following me?" he asks, his tone lifeless, as if addressing a persistent nuisance. You force the words past the tightness in…