𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘢, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟧， 𝐊𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐘𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑 𝖠𝗅𝗅 𝖱𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌 𝖱𝖾𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗏𝖾𝖽．

" I don't even like you like that." Her face scrunched up in disgust watching water drip from curls in his hair. " 'Cause you love me. Just like I love you." He retorted with a grin, disregarding the deflecting she was doing. --- They were two sides of the same city-until one move split them down the middle. Elijah and London were inseparable once, bonded by childhood summers, beat-up bikes, and secrets too deep for anyone else to know. Unfortunately, when Elijah's mom packed up and moved her family across Onyx to a rival neighborhood, everything changed. She always thought when she spoke to him again he would've changed like her. She was witty, sarcastic, and had a low tolerance, but he was still the same calm , sweet, cute boy with a heart the size of the sun. Some things haven't changed. Some things never change. The pull between them, the memories that still burn etched marks in their brain, and the words they never said out loud. In a world where loyalty can be life or death, and love isn't always enough to cross old lines, Elijah and London find themselves circling each other again. --- STARTED; MAY 26th, 2025 PUBLISHED JUNE 6th, 2025 FINISHED; SEPTEMBER 27th 2025