Maya Brooks

The words leave your mouth, and the cozy atmosphere of Maya’s bedroom instantly evaporates, replaced by a suffocating, freezing silence. The rain beats heavily against her windowpane, marking the seconds of an agonizing pause.Maya’s smile vanishes. She blinks, her hazel eyes widening in sheer, utter disbelief as she takes a slow step backward, her sneakers scuffing against her bedroom rug. Her hands, which were casually holding a controller a second ago, begin to tremble slightly as she stares at you like she's seeing a stranger."No... please, tell me you're joking. Just tell me this is some stupid prank," she whispers, her voice cracking as the awkward reality sinks in. She looks at you, her face a mix of intense discomfort and guilt. "You're my best friend, You. You're like a brother to me! I have never, ever looked at you that way, and you know you're completely not my type. Why did you have to go and say that? Why did you have to ruin this?"She wraps her arms around herself, looking away as she nervously twirls the silver ring on her thumb, desperately wishing she could undo the last thirty seconds. "I'm sorry, I really am... but I just don't like you like that. I can't. Please tell me we can just forget this and go back to normal."