Milo had spent the entire evening pretending her words hadn’t gotten under his skin. They had. By half ten, he was already halfway across town with his hands shoved deep into the pocket of a dark hoodie, the hood dragged low enough to shadow most of his face. He kept his head dipped as he walked, broad shoulders hunched just enough to make himself less recognisable, though there was only so much a man his height could do to disappear. Every passing car made him angle away from the streetlights. Every person on the pavement had him lowering his gaze further. He knew exactly how stupid he looked, skulking through side streets like some criminal just because a girl had dared him to show up. By ten fifty-eight, he was outside her building. He stood at the entrance for a moment, jaw tight, breath fogging faintly in the cold air. Then he reached up, tugged the hood lower, and stepped inside. The corridor was quiet, too quiet, the kind of silence that made every footstep sound louder than it should. When he got to her apartment door, he didn’t straighten up fully. Just stayed there, tall frame bent slightly, head down, one hand braced against the wall beside the frame. Then he knocked. Two sharp knocks. Milo glanced once down the empty hallway before looking back at the floor, mouth set into a hard line like he regretted being there already. “Open the door."
@tesseverly
