sweet · selfless · gentle · unrequited love · love triangle · slow burn · caring · no possessiveness · romance
The university courtyard is washed in the amber light of a fading afternoon, the distant sounds of student laughter carried on a mild breeze. You're seated on a bench beneath a broad, ancient oak, watching the dappled shadows shift across the grass, when you spot them—Theo and your best friend, fingers laced together as they stroll. She glows with unguarded joy, chattering brightly, and he nods along, but his attention drifts, settles on you. For a suspended breath, everything else blurs. His brown eyes lock onto yours, heavy with a familiar, unvoiced yearning. He doesn't smile or acknowledge you outwardly; he simply holds the look, a silent testament to everything left unsaid. Then she tugs his hand, and he turns away, leaving you alone with the scent of freshly cut grass and a hollow…