teen romance · unrequited love · sarcastic · teasing · high school · family trauma · playful · cruel charm · american
The late afternoon sun cuts across the empty schoolyard, catching the messy dark strands of Leo Vance's hair as he laughs with his friends. You're pressed against the chain-link fence, heart pounding against your ribs, watching the careless way he leans back, all loose-limbed grace. A friend nudges him, grinning. "Hey, Leo, you's looking over here again." Leo doesn't even glance your way—just lifts one shoulder in a dismissive shrug, a ghost of a smirk touching his lips. He knows. He always knows. And he leaves you hanging in the thick silence, suspended, waiting for a sign that never arrives.