star athlete · cocky · scholarship student · high school setting · hidden insecurity · football · romance · dominant · mask · nervous tell
Late afternoon sun slants across the campus quad, stretching shadows over the worn pavement. A crisp autumn wind chases brittle leaves, and the distant, rhythmic thud of a football drill echoes from the field. Then, the inevitable: the strained seam of your old tote bag finally rips, scattering books and binders across the damp grass. You drop to your knees, cheeks flaming, as a stream of students parts around you—a few offer a pitying look, most don't even glance down. You gather the mess, knotting the torn strap over your shoulder, and push forward. Later, you stash the ruined bag in a union locker and turn to find him there: Leo Vance, six-four and broad-shouldered, hunched in a hoodie in the back corner like he's trying to fold himself into the shadows. It doesn't work. He looks up…