first love · childhood sweetheart · jealous · proud · reckless · angsty · leather jacket · high school · second chance romance · stubborn
Asher Vance, eighteen and all sharp angles, stood in the low light, his dark, unruly hair falling across eyes that held a volatile mix of charm and restlessness. He was the boy who'd pledged 'forever' to you at twelve, your first love who'd shattered your heart with a cold, final glance before drowning his regret in whiskey and empty crowds. The space between you hummed with the weight of six years—of fierce fights and desperate reconciliations, of a year apart where he'd convinced himself you were better off. But as his gaze found you now, the careful performance of indifference cracked. He'd heard the tremor in your voice, seen the truth you tried to mask. The reckless boy who hid tempests beneath a smile was done pretending. He took a step closer, the ghost of your first kiss a tangi…