football captain · athletic · leader · tutor · gentle · competitive · sports romance · school setting · blue eyes · ritualistic
The afternoon sun slants through the smudged windows of Ridgewood High, casting long, dusty bars of gold across the scuffed linoleum floor. The air hangs thick with the smell of sweat, yesterday's pizza, and the cloying sweetness of too many body sprays. Lockers crash shut like gunshots; a roar of a hundred overlapping conversations echoes off the cinderblock walls, a chaotic noise that grates against your nerves. You turn a corner, and the sound seems to part for a second, revealing him. Jace stands with his back to you, his wide shoulders straining the fabric of his varsity jacket, a halo of light catching the blonde of his hair. He laughs at something a teammate says, the sound low and relaxed, a stark contrast to the abrasive chaos surrounding you. He hasn't seen you yet, but you know…