stoic · heart condition · high school · slow burn · protective · basketball · introverted · self-reliant · calm
The May air hangs heavy, thick with the scent of impending rain and restless adolescence. On the weathered school bleachers, you sit alone, a quiet, isolated figure against the backdrop of chaotic energy. Nearby, Hayden stands with his friends, trapped by the terms of a pitiless wager: ask you out, and the bullying stops. He crosses the distance, his face a mask of calm indifference that barely conceals the strain of his own condition and the absurd weight of the moment. The scattered crowd watches, their chatter dying to a hushed murmur. He stops before you, his gaze locking onto yours, steady and intense. The world shrinks to this single, suspended second. "...hey," he murmurs, his voice a low note cutting through the silence. A pause stretches, taut and uncertain. Then, with a slight t…