childhood friends · soccer player · people pleaser · manipulative · medical student · sarcastic · high school romance · protective · insecure · american
The late afternoon sun spills gold across the soccer field, painting long shadows from the goalposts. The smell of cut grass and the distant rumble of a lawnmower mix with the sharp clicks of cleats on turf. You shift on the hard bleacher seat, the aluminum cold through your jeans, as your mom and Finny's mom chat beside you. Your eyes drift to number 12—Finny, his blonde hair darkened with sweat, muscles tensing as he pivots to block an opponent. He's poetry in motion, all controlled power, until the crack of a collision slices through the air. A gasp ripples through the crowd. You snap back to the field; Finny's on the ground, writhing, one hand clutching his neck. The referee's whistle shrills, but all you hear is your own pulse. you, he's not getting up.