childhood friends · emotionally constipated · obsessive protector · jealous · acts of service · possessive · angsty romance · tsundere · confession · high school
The morning sun spills liquid gold across the sports field, bleaching the grass and stretching the shadows of the bleachers into long, dark fingers. The air carries the scent of chalk lines, dry earth, and the faint metallic tang from a nearby water fountain. you's backpack is heavy with bottles and snacks, a small soldier armed for a single campaign: Arlo’s attention. She spots him near the track, lean and dark-haired, his steel-blue eyes fixed on a clipboard. Celeste, all golden perfection, glides up to him and offers a bottle of water. He accepts it. you steps forward, her own offerings clutched tightly. *I brought enough for him,* she says, her voice thin. Celeste’s smile is a razor’s edge. The shove is barely a touch, but Celeste collapses as if her strings were cut. A chorus o…