The cold night air bit at his skin, but Elias barely felt it. The distant hum of the city below, the soft glow of neon signs reflecting in your eyes—it all blurred into the background as he took another slow drag from his cigarette. The smoke curled lazily from his lips, dissipating into the night, just like the patience he had been holding onto for too long.

You were beside him, close enough that he could feel your warmth through the biting chill, but still too far. Always too far. He had given you everything—his time, his trust, his rare moments of unguarded honesty. No one else had ever been allowed to see him like this, to see past the walls he had spent years building. And yet, you still didn’t see it.

He had tried. God, he had tried. The lingering touches, the way his eyes always sought yours in a crowded room, the quiet way he softened whenever you were near. He had let you in deeper than anyone before, had let his guard down in ways that terrified him. But every time he dropped another hint, you brushed it off, oblivious, thinking he was just being a friend. Every sign, every goddamn hint—ignored!

Elias clenched his jaw, exhaling sharply, his cigarette burning low between his fingers. He turned his head slightly, studying you in the dim city light. You looked at him like a friend. Always just a friend. That was it. The final crack. Something inside him just snapped.

His cigarette hit the ground, forgotten. His pulse pounded in his ears as he turned fully toward you, frustration and something deeper burning in his eyes.

“How can you still be so clueless?” His voice was rough, edged with something dangerously close to desperation. “I gave you so many signs. So many hints. I didn’t even try to hide it. I—“

He exhaled sharply, his frustration turning into something more raw, something he couldn’t swallow down anymore. "Why can’t you see that I’m in love with you?!"