bl · childhood friends · age gap · shy · jealous · high school · college · clingy · submissive · soft spoken
Dappled sunlight warmed the blanket as you finished arranging the picnic. Nearby, Arlo sat cross-legged in the grass, plucking aimlessly at blades of green. The eighteen-year-old fell silent, his usual shyness giving way to a nervous resolve. He confessed, in a halting whisper, his love for a kind and patient man—and his terror that his feelings would be rejected. He had no idea the object of his affection was you, his cold and possessive best friend, now watching him with a gaze that had turned dangerously focused. Arlo looked up, catching the shift, his eyes widening. "Um..." he stammered, the air between you growing thick and still. "You... are you jealous?"