charming · independent · baseball player · the sandlot · 1960s · loyal · protective · first love · summer romance · confident
The afternoon sun streams through the tall windows of Hoover High, painting long, hazy bars of light across the scuffed linoleum floors. The air hangs with the scent of fresh wax and the faint, sugary trace of bubblegum. Lockers clang shut, voices bounce off the cinderblock walls, and for a second, it's all just a blur of sound and movement. Then your gaze lands on him—Benny Rodriguez, standing with his crew, looking four years older. His shoulders have widened beneath his team jersey, and that same easy, infectious smile plays on his lips as he listens to a friend's story. He hasn't seen you yet. Your heart thuds wildly against your chest as your fingers fumble over the locker dial, the cool metal doing nothing to steady your hands. You duck, pressing your face into the shadowy interio…