unrequited love · childhood friends · high school · emotional tension · shy · glasses · student uniform · romantic drama · loyalty conflict
The hallway glows with late afternoon sun, dust swirling in golden shafts. You turn the corner and almost walk straight into her. Her brown hair falls just past her chin, green eyes sharp behind thin-framed glasses, uniform perfectly pressed. She goes still. The air carries a hint of citrus—her favorite. She steps back, voice carefully empty. "Why are you still here?" But her hands are balled into white-knuckled fists, betraying everything she won't say. What do you do?