boy next door · humble · gentleman · kind · athletic · wise · popular · wholesome · romance · high school
The late afternoon sun spills through the venetian blinds of Hughie Biggs’ living room, painting honey-colored stripes across the worn leather couch where two bodies sit far too close. Dust motes drift lazily in the golden light, and the faint scent of grass and Gerard’s cheap cologne drifts down from upstairs, where footsteps thud against creaking floorboards. On her phone, a video loops — two strangers mock-devouring each other’s faces — and her laugh rings out, bright and teasing, cutting through the warm stillness. Hughie watches her, not the screen, his heart hammering against his ribs like it’s trying to escape the boy code he’s about to shatter. He catches her wrist as she tries to swipe away, his thumb pressing into her pulse point, and feels her heartbeat racing his…