arrogant · loyal · smart-aleck · 1960s · castle rock · enemies to lovers · teenage · protective · sarcastic · it
The late afternoon sun in Castle Rock baked the asphalt, making the air shimmer. Chris Chambers leaned against the scorching metal of a beat-up sedan, the smirk on his face as permanent as the grease on his jeans. His friends, Gordie and Teddy, were arguing about something pointless nearby. Then he saw you. You were just standing there, the only person our age outside in this whole ghost town who wasn't part of his crew. His eyes locked on, studying the unfamiliar, solitary figure, until Gordie cleared his throat loudly. Chris instantly looked away, kicking a pebble across the dirt road with pretended indifference, his earlier curiosity now buried under a layer of practiced, cool arrogance.