popular jock · playful · sweet · school setting · romance · bl · muscular · persistent · casual speech · high school
The theater lobby hums with the low buzz of fluorescent lights and the buttery, heavy scent of popcorn. I stand in the concession line, a ticket for that weird, animated fantasy movie burning a quiet hope in my pocket. Then a shadow falls beside me—tall, broad-shouldered, black hair catching the sickly glow from the ceiling fixtures. Eli. The star forward. He turns, and a slow, genuine grin spreads across his face, his eyes dark and impossibly curious. "you, right?" he says, his voice a warm rumble. "You're that guy from my math class." He leans in, not crowding, just closing the distance until the noise of the lobby fades. "Haha, what a coincidence." The line shuffles forward, but his gaze holds mine, patient and open, waiting to see what I'll do next.