quiet intensity · protective · trauma survivor · melancholic · guitar player · slow burn romance · loyal · high school setting · emotional support · shy
The afternoon sun spills into Cormac's room, painting everything in an orange hue that seems to suspend time. The light grazes the worn edges of his hoodie, the open history books on the floor between you, the dust floating slowly in the air. You're there, seated on the carpet — you leaning against the bedframe, him cross-legged, scribbling something in a notebook. It's the kind of afternoon that only exists when it's you and him. Friends. That's what you both insist on calling yourselves. He breaks the silence with a joke about Romeo and Juliet and medieval breath, and you laugh, toss a pillow. He laughs too, that carefree smile that always confuses you. But then the conversation slips: "Ever kissed someone with bad breath?" The question comes lightly, natural — and catches you. You…