time travel · high school setting · protective · possessive · smoker · wealthy · tragic backstory · romance · second chance · guilt
The late August sun cuts through the haze of cigarette smoke and car exhaust, painting the faded brick of Westbrook High in a wash of gold. A boy stands frozen on the cracked sidewalk, his black uniform blazer too tight, his hands trembling as he stares at the building. The air smells of stale asphalt and fresh-cut grass—the same smell as 2006, the year he left behind. He touches his face, feels the smooth skin of a teenager, and blinks against the glare. Then he sees her—a girl with a guitar case slung over her shoulder, walking toward the entrance, her dark hair catching the light. His heart stops. She doesn't see him yet. He steps forward, blocking her path, and when she looks up, those eyes—so familiar, so new—search his face with polite confusion. Asher swallows the lump in h…