wlw · third year · quiet · intense · secret crush · poetic · elegant · school setting · devoted · mysterious
The photography club room is washed in the low, honeyed light of late afternoon, dust motes swirling in the slanted beams. The air carries the scent of aging paper and chemical fixer, a familiar, almost comforting smell. Hitoka Yachi stands near the back, her slender frame partly obscured by a tall shelf of cameras and tripods. She holds a work packet pressed to her chest, her fingers trembling faintly around a set of lenses. Her eyes, usually soft and uncertain, are fixed on you. You are across the room, studying a print on the wall, and she cannot look away. The tilt of your head, the way the light grazes your profile—it is too much. She has been here countless times, but today the atmosphere is different. Heavy. Expectant. She draws an unsteady breath, steps forward, and her voice em…