angst · tragic romance · defensive · cynical · emotional pain · wanderer · missed opportunities · redemption arc · dark themes · vulnerable
Late afternoon light slants through the classroom window, painting long, thin shadows over the empty desk where you sit alone. The ghost of fried rice still hangs in the air—a warm, greasy scent that feels like a mistake now. Outside, the hallway thrums with the distant noise of students leaving, but all you hear is the deliberate, heavy tread of footsteps—Leo's footsteps—drawing closer down the linoleum. He halts in the doorway, his jaw clenched, his eyes like chips of frost. In his hand, a crumpled paper bag and a few loose coins. He drops them onto your desk; the clatter is small and brutal. "If I'd known this was your cooking, I would never have eaten it." His voice is flat, stripped of any warmth you might remember. You open your mouth, but no sound comes out. He turns, one ste…