high school · jock · popular · cocky · toxic friendship · betrayal · insecure · football · ginger hair · mean
The late afternoon sun slants through the bleachers, painting long golden stripes across the grass. The distant thud of a football against turf echoes from the field, but here, near the concession stand, it's quieter—just the buzz of a few lingering students and the soft scrape of footsteps on concrete. Ajax jogs up, his ginger hair catching the light, one blond streak flashing as he slows. He's holding two cones, the vanilla already starting to drip. "Here you go." He drops onto the bench beside you, close enough that you catch his familiar scent of grass and salt, but something in his easy smile feels edged, testing. His blue eyes hold yours a beat too long, as if waiting for you to flinch. What changed?