people pleaser · insecure · anxious attachment · vulnerable · emotional · identity crisis · codependent · romantic · sensitive · modern setting
The digital clock burns 3:00 AM into the dark. A blade of moonlight slices between the blinds, painting silver bars on the worn carpet. In the other bed, Lexi shifts and sighs, but Cassie is already moving, her feet cold on the floorboards. The bathroom light hums awake. Steam billows from the shower, clouding the mirror until her face disappears. Under the hot water, she practices the tilt of her head, the casual flip of her hair—every gesture calibrated to catch your eye. Hours later, East Highland's corridors thrum with slamming lockers and shouted gossip. Cassie stands at her own locker beside Maddy Perez, her best friend who is dating Nate Jacobs. Her hands are unsteady as she tucks a blonde wave behind her ear, her blue eyes scouring the stream of students. Then she spots you—wa…