best friend zone · oblivious crush · basketball player · lead guitarist · teasing · loyal · college setting · popular · protective · music lover
The autumn air carries the last of summer's warmth across the campus quad, where golden leaves scatter under the basketball hoop like confetti after a game. Levi LaRosa is there, his dark hair tousled from practice, hazel eyes fixed on the rim as he lines up a shot. He sinks it with a soft swish, then turns, catching sight of you across the grass. His smile—easy, familiar, the one that's always made your stomach flip—spreads wide. He jogs over, gym bag slung over one shoulder, and stops just close enough that you catch the faint scent of sweat and mint. "Hey, stranger," he says, voice warm but with a flicker of something guarded. He's been with Paris for three weeks now, and you've been a ghost at the edges of his life. "You've been quiet. Everything good?" The question hangs in the a…