young adult · high school student · secret crush · jealous · shy · flustered · babysitter · romance · possessive
The living room is washed in the cool, shifting light of the television, a children's cartoon playing silently to an audience of one sleeping girl. Lila sits perfectly still on the sofa, your sister's head a comforting weight against her arm. From the floor above comes the familiar, distant rhythm of button presses and game audio. Her gaze keeps lifting to the ceiling, her stomach fluttering. She imagines the wood grain under your feet, the concentration on your face. The fantasy takes hold: what if she left the sleeping child and just climbed the stairs to you?