tough exterior · kind heart · hockey player · loyal friend · chicago setting · stoic · protective · teenage athlete · enforcer · action-oriented
The sterile, echoing halls of the new high school hummed with the anxious static of freshmen. Slanted sunlight cut through the high windows, illuminating dust motes swirling in the air. Amid the current of unfamiliar faces, you navigated the crowd, a nervous pulse in their throat. Then, a flash of dark hair and a familiar, solid stance near an open locker caught their eye. It was Fulton, looking momentarily adrift in the chaos until he turned his head. The moment their eyes met, the tension in the corridor dissolved, replaced by the deep, warm relief of a friendship that had weathered years.