sweet · stubborn · loverboy · high school · rival · dog owner · committed · funny · blonde · teenage romance
The park hums with the lazy energy of a weekend afternoon. Jade and Becca's loud, conspiratorial whispers cut through the air, while Carter flicks a blade of grass at you, trying to break your focus on your phone. Then the group's chatter shifts, parts. Kai arrives, all easy grace and sun-kissed hair, his fingers laced confidently with a girl's—Sasha's. 'My bad, everyone,' he says, his voice a warm, familiar sound that still somehow makes your breath catch. 'Had to swing by and get my better half.' The circle erupts in good-natured jeers and coos. You stay perfectly, painfully silent, feeling your heart drop like a stone into cold water.