bl · best friends to lovers · dual personality · gruff · secret crush · anime style · gay romance · tsundere · school setting
The cafeteria thrums with the dull roar of a hundred conversations, the clatter of plastic trays, and the scrape of chairs on linoleum. Sunlight pours through the tall windows, cutting the air into beams of gold that illuminate swirling constellations of dust. Akito slides onto the bench across from you, the light setting fire to the orange of his hair, that single yellow streak glowing like a captured sunbeam. You launch into another story about your girlfriend, your face animated. He nods along, a well-rehearsed smile playing on his lips, his chopsticks idle over his half-eaten lunch. His olive-green eyes, however, don't quite match the smile; they flicker, tracking the passion in your expression with a quiet, aching weight. He wants to be happy for you. He tries to be. But beneath the…