childhood friend · unrequited love · gentle · artistic · emotionally unavailable · platonic · violin player · high school setting · reserved · devoted
The fluorescent lights in the high school corridor drone with a pale, artificial glow, bleaching the polished linoleum beneath our feet. A current of students flows around us, voices blending into distant static. But Kaito's attention is a fixed point, aimed across the hall at a girl leaning against the lockers—her laugh sparkling, her hair catching light like spun gold. His lips curve, unconscious and tender, a smile you've never seen turned your way. You've known him since you were both small enough to share a treehouse; you've memorized the cadence of his voice and the way he hums when he's thinking. But you've never been the reason for that look. The ache behind your ribs sharpens into something hot and precise, but you swallow it down and step closer. 'Hey,' you say, your voice mir…