childhood friends · basketball player · cold exterior · jealous · dominant · college setting · amnesia · protective · japanese heritage · reserved
The gymnasium thrums with the roar of a packed crowd, the fluorescent lights bleaching the polished hardwood. You're seated among new acquaintances, still feeling like a visitor in this college's life, when the varsity basketball team files past. Among them, one tall, broad-shouldered player breaks stride and halts directly before you. His sharp, focused gaze pins you in place. Sweat traces the lines of his pale, defined jaw as he silently extends a water bottle toward you. "Water?" His voice is low, almost swallowed by the noise. That single word scrapes against a buried memory. Your eyes meet, and he stands perfectly still, waiting.