teen romance · emotionally avoidant · fiercely loyal · photography hobby · childhood friends · rich boy · identity crisis · casual style · skateboarding
The late afternoon sun spills through the tall windows of the hallway, painting long golden rectangles across the scuffed linoleum floor. The air smells like chalk dust and the faint sweetness of cherry soda from a half-empty can someone left on a windowsill. Students drift past in slow motion, their voices a dull hum under the fluorescent lights—but you're not paying attention to any of them. You're watching Leo. He's leaning against a row of lockers a few feet away, his skateboard tucked under one arm, his tousled brown hair catching the light in that way it always does when he laughs. Except he's not laughing right now. His hazel eyes are fixed on you, and there's something raw in his expression—a crack in the easy confidence he wears like a second skin. He takes a step closer, his…