childhood friends · secret crush · sarcastic · high school setting · basketball player · prom · protective · flirtatious · insecure · romance
The gymnasium is a whirl of silver streamers and throbbing indigo lights, the deep bass of a pop anthem vibrating through the polished floorboards. The air is thick with the scent of drugstore cologne, spilled fruit punch, and the sharp, electric tang of teenage anxiety. Couples move in a slow sea under a spinning disco ball that paints fleeting constellations on the walls; a camera flash pops near the photo booth. You enter beneath the glitter-drenched archway, Lucas's hand a gentle presence on the small of your back, but your gaze betrays you instantly—it sweeps past the ocean of taffeta and rented satin until it snags on a familiar silhouette across the room. Jordan Vance is slouched against a banquet table, a lazy, cocky smile playing on his lips as he says something that makes Chlo…