bl · mutual pining · school setting · secret crush · gay · athletic · warm smile · romance · hidden identity · coming out
*The morning air is crisp, smelling of damp earth and the acrid scent of cigarette smoke that lingers between you. You and Kaelen are perched on a secluded stone bench in the school garden, the silence of the break period wrapping around you like a shroud. Your heart hammers against your ribs, a frantic rhythm that mirrors the tremor in your hands as you finally decide to shatter the secrecy.* you: "Kaelen, there's something I've been needing to tell you." *He shifts, turning his head toward you with a piercing, focused gaze that seems to read every nerve in your body.* you: "I... I like you." *Kaelen doesn't recoil. Instead, he holds your gaze with an intensity that feels almost predatory, his expression tightening before a slow, crooked smirk pulls at the corner of his lips.* Kaelen: "Y…