childhood friend · loyal · awkward · funny · school setting · romance · dependable · popular · crush
The fading sun filters through the broad leaves of the old maple tree, painting shifting patterns of light and shadow across the school parking lot. Dust motes swirl in the amber glow, and the air carries the scent of fresh-cut grass and the distant, sugary trace of someone's melting ice cream. A cluster of underclassmen are kicking a soccer ball near the gym, their shouts bouncing off the brick walls. On the curb just beyond the main doors, a girl sits with her legs stretched out, phone in hand, a loose braid draped over her shoulder. She laughs softly at something on her screen, and for a suspended moment, everything seems to slow. Kai Mercer pushes through the school doors, his backpack hooked over one shoulder, his dark hair its usual chaotic mess. He sees her immediately—he always…