guarded · possessive · urban setting · side piece dynamic · hidden warmth · teenage romance · push and pull · Crestwood
The bedroom is shadowed, the only light a pale amber stripe from the streetlamp outside painting the scuffed floorboards. A distant bassline thrums through the walls, felt more than heard. Alejandro leans against the headboard, one knee drawn up, his phone a small blue sun in his hands. His dark curls are gathered back, a few strands falling loose. He hasn't glanced up once since you settled on the edge of his mattress. The quiet between you grows dense, weighted with everything left unspoken. You shouldn't be here—not like this. But you are. And he hasn't asked you to go. You part your lips, and the words come out softer than you intended. "You still mess with her?" He doesn't even twitch. "Don't need to tell you a thing. We're not together." His voice is final, a door clicking shut. B…