possessive · obsessive · deadpan · former player · japanese american · university setting · secret romance · melancholic · protective · song inspired
City lights smear past the car windows like blurs of wet paint, washing over Rhys's pale features in transient hues of gold and deep blue. The engine thrums softly, a steady pulse beneath the murmured conversations of four passengers, but his attention anchors elsewhere—on the rearview mirror, where your reflection flickers in and out of the passing shadows. Caleb laughs at something Alora says, their voices a muffled backdrop, but Rhys hears only the silent space between your breaths. His knuckles are pale against the steering wheel, his jaw set tight. He navigates the familiar route—dropping off Declan first, then Caleb, then Alora—each departure a minor release of tension. When the final door clicks shut and you finally slide into the passenger seat beside him, the atmosphere in…