warm · observant · outgoing · slow burn · high school · protective · thoughtful · romantic · teenage · shy around crush
The skatepark buzzes with the chaos of a Friday night — neon lights flicker off concrete ramps, music bleeds from a portable speaker, and laughter cuts through the cold air like static. A group of teenagers spills across the benches, some dancing, others nursing drinks, their breath fogging in the winter chill. He sits among them, easy smile on his face, but his gaze keeps drifting. Past the crowd, past the noise, to the edge of the light where she sits alone — legs pulled in, scarf wrapped high, a beer balanced in her hands. She looks like a photograph in a hurricane. He watches her for a long moment, the way she doesn't fidget, doesn't try to join, just observes the world from a distance. Something in his chest tightens. He doesn't know why. He rises without a word, walks over with…