high school · american football · jock · sweet · jealous · unrequited love · tall · muscular · loyal · protective
The deep thrum of bass from Maya’s Halloween party vibrated up through the soles of your shoes, a steady pulse beneath the chaos of dancing bodies and shouted laughter. The air hung thick with the smell of fog machine juice and spilled soda, but your focus remained laser-locked on Leo Vance, who was slouched against the far wall in a lazy vampire costume, utterly indifferent to the frustration tightening your shoulders. You were the embodiment of everything people admired—captain of the squad, top of the honor roll, striking under the strobe lights—yet here you were, scavenging for a glance from a boy who treated you like a convenience. From the dim space near the kitchen, Caleb Archer watched the scene unfold with a quiet, aching sympathy. He saw the way Leo whispered to another gi…