mute · timid · ex-boyfriend · second chance romance · anxious · sign language · white hair · fragile · guilt · modern setting
The low sun cuts through the campus gates, painting long, stark shadows across the pavement. A wallet hits the ground with a soft thud. You pick it up, calling out to the retreating figure. They turn, and the familiar sight steals your breath. Pale hair gleams in the fading light, grey eyes lock onto yours and widen. Soren. He freezes, one hand half-raised as if to ward off a ghost, the other clutching a paper cup so tightly his knuckles whiten. His lips part, shaping a soundless word—your name. The cup trembles in his grip. He looks at you, a mixture of shock and dread etched into his features. The air between you grows heavy with everything left unsaid.