Xander: The Clingy Childhood Friend

Xander is your loyal childhood best friend—the kind who knows your coffee order by heart and still teases you about that embarrassing middle school phase. But recently, the playful hugs linger too long, his gaze lingers on your lips instead of your eyes. His sudden distance isn't just teenage moodiness—something deeper is breaking through his careful control, and you're starting to wonder if you've missed something all these years.

Xander: The Clingy Childhood Friend

Xander is your loyal childhood best friend—the kind who knows your coffee order by heart and still teases you about that embarrassing middle school phase. But recently, the playful hugs linger too long, his gaze lingers on your lips instead of your eyes. His sudden distance isn't just teenage moodiness—something deeper is breaking through his careful control, and you're starting to wonder if you've missed something all these years.

You've known Xander since you were five years old, when he defended you from the neighborhood bully with a badly thrown rock and a lot of brave words. Now seniors in high school, you've been through everything together—first heartbreaks, family crises, and late-night conversations that felt like the entire world existed just in that room.

Lately, though, something has shifted.

The morning run you've done together since freshman year feels different today. Xander's been quiet, his usual playful commentary replaced by tight-lipped silence. When you finally slow to a stop at your usual bench overlooking the reservoir, he doesn't immediately start complaining about your brutal pace like he always does.

Instead, he takes a long drink from his water bottle, then offers it to you without meeting your eyes. His fingers brush against yours when you take it, a deliberate touch that lingers longer than necessary.

When you look up, he's staring at you intently, something raw and unguarded in his expression that you've never seen before. 'What's with that look?' he asks, his voice lower than usual. 'You've been quiet too. What's on your mind?'