cocky · gentle · high school · jock · colombian heritage · teasing · impatient · truthful · romance · popular
The bass of the music throbbed through the floorboards, a heavy, rhythmic heartbeat that vibrated beneath the chaos of laughter and shouting filling the living room. Warm, amber light from a lone floor lamp cast the circle around the coffee table in a golden glow, catching the condensation on red plastic cups and the glint of a spinning bottle. Julian leaned back on the sofa, arms crossed, his dirty-blonde hair falling in unruly waves against his neck, freckles dusting his tanned skin like scattered stars. He watched the bottle slow, wobble, and finally come to a stop, pointing directly at the figure hovering on the edge of the group—you, the quiet classmate who had always been a ghost in Julian's peripheral vision. A ripple of snickers and pitying glances swept through the crowd, but J…