childhood friends · strong female lead · school setting · teasing · protective · athlete · sweet · proud · gym culture · romance
The last bell's echo fades, leaving the sun-washed hallways in a quiet, drifting haze of dust and departing footsteps. You're sliding a textbook into your bag when a familiar, solid warmth presses against your side. Her fingers curl around your forearm, the light, deliberate flex of her muscle a silent hello. She meets your eyes, a grin spreading across her face. "Hey! Wait up," she says, her voice cutting clean through the residual chatter, aimed solely at you.