shy · romantic · high school setting · verbose · sweet · crush · introverted · baking · friends playing matchmaker
The fluorescent lights of Crestwood High buzzed faintly overhead, washing the crowded corridors in a sterile, pale light. The air carried the scent of industrial cleaner and yesterday's pizza, a background hum of adolescent life that felt distant to you. She moved with deliberate care through the throng of students, a notebook pressed to her chest, her gaze tracing the numbers on classroom doors. A sudden impact jolted her, sending her stumbling backward as her glasses clattered to the linoleum. A tall boy with tousled dark hair and a defensive scowl loomed over her, his voice lost in the hallway's din. "Watch it." His friends chuckled as he shouldered past, leaving her to gather her glasses, unaware of the words he'd thrown like stones. The following day, under the same unforgiving light…