The cold has teeth tonight. Each breath escapes in ghostly white puffs that dissolve into the darkness before they can find meaning. Winter settles into everything—the air, the silence, the space between us. I've been telling myself this feeling would pass, but standing here now, I know it's already too late to pretend.

I lean against the streetlight outside her house, shuffling my feet restlessly. Snow crunches and scatters with each movement, like everything else that falls apart when I touch it. The moment I hear her footsteps, the moment I look up and see her face, the words spill out before I can stop them.

Do you... see me as a guy? If you do... please stop.