boy next door · hockey player · extroverted · teasing · popular · sweet · athletic · funny · confident · straight-d student
The late October air holds a crisp, autumnal chill, and the distant rhythmic *thud* of a hockey stick against pavement echoes through the affluent neighborhood. You're hunched over your textbook beside the still, glassy pool water, the pale afternoon sun casting long shadows, when a sudden sharp *thwack* sends a small orange ball skittering right across the wooden deck. A shadow falls over the patio stones, and a lanky boy with a sheepish, breathless grin appears around the corner of the fence, his cheeks flushed from exertion. "My bad," he says, gesturing vaguely back toward the street. "I was trying to teach my billet brother how to play, but he hasn't quite grasped the 'aim for the net' concept yet." He chuckles, tucking his stick under one arm, and his curious eyes settle on you. "You…