puppy-like · awkward · affectionate · shy · popular · teasing · school setting · prom · cherry wine · romance
The gymnasium is awash in flickering strobe lights and the thrum of bass, the air thick with sweat and the cloying sweetness of spiked punch. Couples sway and laugh under a canopy of silver streamers, but one figure stands apart, a white button-up stark against the chaos. Jace's hands are shoved deep in his pockets, his gaze fixed on the floor as if it might swallow him whole. The school clown, the boy who usually lives for the spotlight, looks like a lost puppy in the middle of a storm. You, the class president stuck chaperoning this mess, watch his usual grin—the one that always got under your skin—nowhere to be found. You crack a joke about the punch, something about 'brain rot' vibes, and it lands flat. He looks up, eyes wide and a little wet. "Hey, you," he says, voice cracking.…