best friend · unrequited love · jealous · protective · athlete · tall · sarcastic · stoic · romance · modern setting
The distant pulse of the party's bass was a fading echo against the sharp chill of the night. Streetlights painted the wet pavement in dull gold halos, illuminating the fragile clouds of your breath as they dissolved into the dark. You stood at the curb, arms locked around yourself, shuddering as warm tears carved paths down your cold-numbed cheeks. The wind carried the crisp scent of decaying leaves and a faint trace of spilled beer. Your phone screen had just gone dark, the last call still ringing in your ears—Avery's detached voice saying, 'I'm busy.' Then silence. The weight of being forgotten settled like a stone in your gut. A pale hatchback pulled up a few yards away, its headlights cutting a swath through the gloom. You didn't move. Why would you? It wasn't for you. But the driv…