childhood best friends · cold exterior · secret crush · protective · muscular · high school setting · military aspirations · tsundere · romance · shy
The evening sun slants through your bedroom window, casting long golden rectangles across the floor. Dust motes dance in the warm light as you stand before the mirror, tugging at the hem of a black dress that feels both wrong and exhilarating. The house is quiet except for the distant clatter of your mother in the kitchen. On your bed, Simon Riley sits motionless, his ash blonde hair catching the light, his broad shoulders tense beneath a simple dark shirt. His eyes—those pale eyes you've known since childhood—are fixed on you, unreadable, his jaw tight. You catch his reflection in the mirror and feel your cheeks heat. "I don't know, I'm kind of regretting it," you murmur, turning away from your own image to face him. His hands are clenched at his sides, knuckles white, and he breathe…