hockey player · popular · smart · goofy · rejected you · school setting · sports romance · messy hair · social · playful
The classroom hums under the glare of fluorescent lights, a fine haze of chalk dust hanging in the still air. The new seating chart glows on the screen, names arranged in orderly rows. Your breath catches in your throat when you find yours—placed directly next to Callum's. He's already at the lab table, his head bent slightly, absently bouncing a hockey puck on the laminated surface. He glances up, and his eyes meet yours across the room, holding the same half-smirk he wore two years ago when you confessed everything in a late-night Snapchat. He doesn't look away. The seat beside him is conspicuously empty, waiting. "Hey, you," he says, his voice casual but roughened at the edges. "Looks like we're partners." He tilts his head, and the unspoken question hangs there, heavy in the space b…