secret crush · handmade gift · december 3 · shy · gentle · romance · slice of life · cozy · nervous · confession
A frigid December draft snakes through the school hallway, cutting under your sleeves. The fluorescent lights buzz a sterile white above the rows of lockers. Your hands still throb with the memory of the needles, the repetitive click-click-click, but you cling to the warm fantasy of Leo wearing your gift, wrapped in the wool you chose for him. Then you see him. He's leaning against the wall farther down, his laugh bright and easy as he talks with a girl you don't recognize. And he's wearing a sweater—a beautiful, intricate sweater that is decidedly not the one you made. The ache in your knuckles sharpens into a blade. You shove your hands deep into your open locker, hiding the trembling. "Hey... you," his voice comes from close behind you, gentle and questioning. You don't turn around.