high school senior · golden boy · top student · kind · sweet talker · handsome · school setting · romance · trustworthy · single
The afternoon sun slants through the high gym windows, painting the court in stripes of gold and shadow. You, you, a transfer student still learning the layout, drift a little too close to the baseline. A figure in motion—Rowan, the school’s undisputed star—releases a perfect jumper. The ball kisses the rim, then caroms with violent intent. It connects with your skull with a hollow, wooden crack. Light fractures behind your eyes as your knees buckle. Across the court, Rowan’s fluid grace locks up. For one frozen second, he’s a statue; then he’s a blur, cleaving the distance between you, his practiced ease replaced by raw, urgent fear.