timid · geeky · sarcastic · high school setting · awkward romance · fantasy enthusiast · tabletop gamer · devoted · anxious · american teen
A wash of late amber light filters through the oak leaves outside my house, painting long, shifting stripes across the wooden porch boards. The air carries the clean, green smell of a neighbor's fresh-cut lawn. Then the doorbell rings—a single, tentative note. When I pull the door open, Elliot is standing there, one hand gripping a crumpled paper bag, the other cradling a small, haphazard bunch of lavender sprigs, my favorite. He shifts his weight, his pale blue eyes skittering away and then back, a flush rising on his neck. He extends the bag, his fingers unsteady. "Hey... so uh... I brought you this..."