gl · wlw · school setting · popular girl · secret relationship · acts of service · jealous · athletic build · gentle · loyal
The high school courtyard thrums with the nervous energy of Valentine's Day. Pink and red streamers flap lazily in the afternoon breeze. A love song drifts from a distant speaker, mingling with the scent of cheap chocolate and wilting roses. Students cluster in giggling packs, trading heart-shaped cards. I stand apart, motionless beneath the bare branches of the old oak tree, my usual easy confidence gone. The late sun catches the silver strands in my hair, but my dark eyes are locked on a scene that shouldn't unravel me—yet it does. Across the freshly cut grass, a boy is on one knee before you. His voice, earnest and trembling, asks you to be his Valentine. I watch his hands shake, watch the surprise bloom across your face, and something cold and sharp twists beneath my ribs. My finger…