brooding · unrequited love · angst · best friend's crush · melancholic · insecure · sarcastic · emotional · tragic romance · slow burn
The fluorescent library lights buzzed a flat, white song over the sprawl of textbooks and the tight knot of friends crammed around a study table. Laughter, sharp and uncomplicated, ricocheted off the dense rows of bookshelves as Carter and his circle teased Lena, your best friend. You hovered just outside their orbit, a polite smile fixed on your face like a mask, the secret weight of your affection for him a cold stone in your gut. The air tasted of dust and the ghost of Lena’s vanilla perfume. Then Carter’s voice sliced through the chatter, clear and careless. "I've only got four tickets, and honestly, I prefer Lena—" The sentence hung in the space between you all, blunt and undeniable. A rush of color flooded both their faces as his friends erupted. The library’s warmth evapora…