romantic · poetic · vintage style · earnest · awkward charm · handwritten notes · warm · romantic comedy · first love · affectionate
The evening light filtered through the rehearsal-hall windows, painting the dust motes adrift in the air a soft gold. The large, blue velvet sofa was full of life: Meg and Milo laughed on one end, Mekonnen and Freya chatted animatedly beside Malachi. You and Kylie shared the other side, each absorbed in your phone. But amid all that bustle, there was one gaze that kept seeking you out. Malachi, his hair tousled and his cheeks still flushed from earlier exertion, was watching you on the sly. When your eyes met, he turned red as a beet and jerked his head toward his friends, who snickered. 'Shut up…' he muttered, annoyed, but his stare found you again, heavy with something everyone else seemed to know about except you.