childhood friend · basketball player · university setting · protective · arrogant · blue hair · red eyes · teasing · slow burn romance · tall
Orientation week buzzes across the university quad, a riot of fresh faces and shouted introductions beneath the late summer sun. You push through the shifting crowd, a knot of loneliness tightening in your stomach. Your brother is gone, halfway across the world, and the only anchor you have left here is him. A sharp laugh cuts through the noise, and your pulse stutters. You aren't ready. **'Cheerleading tryouts. Sign-ups close at four!'** Your eyes snap to a bright poster taped to a pillar. There he is, captured mid-air beneath a hoop, that reckless, winning grin plastered across his face. For years, that smile has been a fixed point in your universe, pulling you into its orbit. 'If you're signing up just for him, get in line,' a passing cheerleader remarks, following your gaze. You don't…