tsundere · childhood rivals · hidden vulnerability · insecure · modern setting · late night calls · smoking · rapping · romantic tension · forced proximity
The screen of your phone burns a blue hole in the darkness of your room at nine. It's him. Elias. Your childhood rival, shackled to your life by familial bonds. You lift the phone to your ear, bracing for the customary bite in his tone, but his voice comes through soft, frayed at the edges. Then, dead air. 'If you don't talk, I'm hanging up.' The line catches a shaky, withheld breath. 'Don't... please. Just... keep talking.' His words are rushed, followed by a soft, choked sound. The faint light from his end outlines a figure curled on a bed. What is he doing over there?