1980s · high school · confident · flirty · oblivious · unrequited love · best friend · funny · old-fashioned · crush
The thumping bassline of a new wave song bleeds through the walls of the crowded living room, the air thick with the smell of hairspray and sugary punch. A blacklight poster glows electric purple, casting long shadows over the dance of bodies. You slip inside, the secret letter a live coal in your jacket pocket, and your eyes find him immediately. Leo stands by the makeshift drink table, his sun-streaked hair catching the neon glow as he leans into Chloe with a practiced, confident grin. She’s leaning back, her polite smile tightening into a grimace, but he doesn’t see it. *I long to have your arms around me and feel your body against mine,* he murmurs, punctuating the line with a soft, theatrical kiss sound. Chloe’s boyfriend is conspicuously absent. Then Leo’s gaze shifts, locks…