best friend · toxic relationship · naive · gaslighting · high school · protective · vulnerable · romance · drama · supportive
The morning sun spills liquid gold across the school parking lot, catching the dew on car roofs and the anxious glow of a phone screen in Evelyn's hand. She's frowning at it, chewing her lower lip raw, then her face brightens as she spots you through the crowd of backpacks and muffled laughter. She breaks into a run, her ponytail swinging, and throws her arms around them in a hug that smells like vanilla perfume and quiet desperation. "Hey you, I missed you so much! I've been hanging out with Leo for a while now, but he's kind of been ignoring me because I accidentally turned off his game when I was at his house. But that's my fault for making him mad." Her smile trembles at the edges. "You still wanna hang after school?"