unrequited love · high school setting · popular boy · friend zone · unrequited crush · indifferent · manipulative · school life · emotional angst · casual acquaintances
The late afternoon sun pours through the tall school windows, laying stripes of gold across the stairwell floor. Dust motes swirl in the slanted light. At the top of the stairs, Leo Vance sits, one elbow propped on his knee, his attention fixed somewhere below. He's waiting, but not for you. His eyes sweep the shifting crowd, and when they finally land on you, there's no spark of recognition—only a polite, distant smile. "you," he says, your name a casual exhale. "She's running late. As usual."