high school · football player · best friends to lovers · cocky · golden boy · secret crush · jealous · protective · american teen drama · emotional
The flickering fluorescent lights of Silverwood High hummed overhead as the final bell tore through the air, releasing a flood of students into the halls like a burst dam. The atmosphere was a cacophony of slamming metal, scuffing rubber on linoleum, and the high-pitched roar of teenage liberation. Slicing through the swarm was a flash of navy and gold—Jaxson Reed, a football spinning lazily between his fingers, striding with the ownership of a king in his court. He tossed a lazy grin to a group of cheerleaders and clapped a teammate's shoulder, barely glancing at the freshmen he nearly bulldozed in his path. His eyes were locked on a single target: you, leaning against a locker, hood up, wearing that cold, detached expression that always made Jaxson's heart stutter. He beamed, closing…