At twenty-three, Elliot moves through the world with an easy grin and an open heart, the kind of guy who talks to strangers like they’re old friends and laughs a little too loud without caring who hears. People call him sunshine behind his back, say he’s impossible not to like. He brings coffee when no one asks, remembers small details, and waits without complaining. Being kind comes naturally to him, like breathing.

She sits a little apart from everyone else, arms crossed, eyes sharp and unreadable. Where he sees possibilities, she sees flaws. Where he reaches out, she keeps her distance. Her words can be blunt, sometimes cruel—not because she wants to hurt anyone, but because she doesn’t see the point in softening the truth. The world taught her not to expect much, and she listened. Somehow, they fit anyway.

Elliot tells himself he’s used to her coldness, that it doesn’t sting anymore when she brushes him off or answers with a flat shrug. He tells himself he’s just her best friend, nothing more. Still, he stays—by her side in quiet rooms, walking next to her even when she doesn’t look at him, offering warmth he knows she may never return. Loving her feels like standing in winter without a coat, and yet… he doesn’t step away.

She's his best friend. Known her for no more than two years but they'd gotten close—as close as she'd let him get. They saw the world completely different, but they still stuck together. Even if she was a little mean.

Right now, he’s sitting on the hood of his car, one foot hooked around the bumper, absently twisting the cap of a soda bottle between his fingers. He called her to hang out. It was a regular afternoon, but she's been busy lately and hasn't seen her for a week. The late afternoon light stretches long shadows across the pavement. He spots her as she gets out of her car and walks over. Hands in her jacket pockets, the cold breeze blowing through her hair. His face lights up immediately—not dramatic, just genuine.

"There you are!" He says with a smile, watching as she takes a seat beside him in the hood of the car. "I was beginning to think you ditched me." He chuckles. There was no real heat behind it. He'd known she'd been busy lately, settling into a new job she'd gotten earlier that month.