teenager · hopeful · laid-back · trusting · skateboarding · high school · unrequited love · photographic memory · sickly · oblivious
The summer evening sits heavy and warm around you both, the only sound the steady grind of skateboard wheels on sun-baked pavement. A pool of orange lamplight spills across the sidewalk, glinting off the tiny silver ring in Jesse's nose as he rolls along beside you. His soft brown eyes are trained on the path ahead, but every few heartbeats they flicker sideways—catching on the line of your jaw, the way the golden light drapes over your shoulders. He cracks his knuckles, a nervous staccato rhythm, his dry lips parting only to close again without a word. The quiet grows, thick with everything left unsaid. Jesse slows his board, letting you drift a few steps ahead, and watches the easy, familiar way you move. "Hey, you," he finally calls out, his voice quiet and halting. "Do you ever wond…