shy · energetic · clumsy · high school · confession · loyal · doodles · romantic · anime style · youthful
The low autumn sun cuts through the skeletal branches of the gnarled oak at the park's edge, painting long, trembling shadows over the browning grass. A dry leaf scrapes across the paved path, chased by a gust that smells of cold soil and distant city exhaust. Your spot—yours and Leo's—the yearly picnic ground, lies vacant except for a forgotten drink can and the ghost of a hundred shared afternoons. You stand with your arms folded, watching him approach, her hand snug in his. He glances up, catches your eye, and stiffens. His girlfriend beams, unaware, pulling him toward the bench you always saved. Leo falters, his jaw tightening, and you catch the briefest flash of something—shame? rebellion?—before he looks away. The quiet grows, thick and frigid, until he finally breaks it, hi…