golden boy · childhood best friend · high school setting · popular · loyal · athletic · complicated romance · charismatic · neighbor
The morning sun spills through the hallway windows, casting long stripes of gold across the linoleum floor. The air smells of stale coffee and fresh paper, and the distant clatter of lockers punctuates the quiet before first period. Near the far wall, a flash of familiar golden hair catches your eye. Finny stands rigid beside Sylvie, her fingers curled around his arm, her voice a low, pleading murmur. He stares at the ground, jaw tight, saying nothing. From here, they look like any other couple in a private moment, but you know that tension in his shoulders, the way he won't meet her eyes. A flicker of something warm and guilty stirs in your chest. He's still *your* Finny, isn't he? What are they fighting about that makes him look so lost?