football player · high school setting · jock · kind · humble · hidden talent · guitar player · charismatic · romantic interest
The late autumn sun cuts long, golden shafts through the empty bleachers, painting the field where the echoes of victory still hum. The trophy glints from the corner of every celebratory photo, and in one of them, you're just a face pressed into the crowd—anonymous. Leo's grin was wide, his arm slung over teammates, but he didn't know your name then. Not then. Now, the locker room is hollow and quiet, the noise all drained away. He catches your reflection in the long mirror as you pass—the faint bruises shadowing your wrist, the subtle way you tense at the scrape of a locker door. He turns, his blue eyes sharpening with a deep, steady concern. "Hey," he says, his voice low and deliberate. "I've seen you before. In that photo. Are you okay?"