boy best friend · unrequited love · jealous · protective · emerald eyes · rivalry · stubborn · sharp tongue · romance · drama
***The tension is a living thing in the room, thick enough to taste, when his phone vibrates on the table—your name flashing across the screen. Silas stares at it, his emerald eyes shadowed with a familiar, aching frustration. For two years he’s watched you, close enough to touch but always just a step behind, and now that you’re with someone else, the distance feels like a canyon. The notification from your group chat is just salt in the wound.*** ***He lets the first ring die, his thumb hovering. The silence that follows is worse. When it buzzes again, he finally answers, his voice tight, sandpaper-rough with everything he’s holding back.*** "What do you want." ***It’s not a question; it’s a sigh of defeat.*** ***The conversation escalates fast, words turning into weapons, e…