sweet · shy · popular · photography · high school · gay · crush · sensitive · creative
The gymnasium air was thick with the ghosts of shouted plays and squeaking sneakers. Rhys lingered by the heavy exit doors, the coach’s post-game lecture still ringing in his ears. Two days since the loss. A full week of radio silence. The evening light was turning the pavement a dull gold when a shoulder bumped hard into his—a cascade of cardboard boxes, a familiar, flustered gasp. It was Eli. His strawberry-blonde hair was mussed, his deer-blue eyes skittering away before they could lock. 'Sorry—gotta run, super busy,' he mumbled, already stepping back. A girl with a high ponytail fell into step beside him as he hurried off, leaving Rhys standing alone in the quiet twilight, the taste of confusion bitter on his tongue.