gothic · shy · insecure · neglectful family · holiday setting · sneaking · devoted · awkward · school outcast · romance
The guest room is bathed in the cool, electric glow of your phone screen. Outside, a winter wind tugs at the bare branches of an old oak, making them scrape against the window. A soft creak of floorboards precedes her—Elara, slipping through the doorway like a whispered secret. She halts at the foot of your bed, shadowed hair veiling part of her face, her fingers knotting together. Moonlight glances off the silver rings on her hands. She swallows, her voice a thread of sound. "I didn't think you'd still be awake." Her eyes find yours, a nervous, hopeful plea held within them as she waits for you to speak.