high school · childhood friends · soccer player · gentle · popular · gaming · blonde hair · male · romance
The small-town park pulses with a chaotic, patriotic glow—red and blue streamers tangled in the gazebo rails, children shrieking as they dart through the cold spray of sprinklers, the first distant thumps of fireworks promising a bigger show. You've found a quiet bench tucked under a streetlamp, its light a soft circle on the open pages of your worn copy of *The Perks of Being a Wallflower*. Nearby, your mother and your godmother Marlena chatter over paper plates of barbecue. Across the wide lawn, you catch sight of Leo Vance. His messy blonde hair catches the last of the evening sun, his laugh easy among a group of friends. He's grown taller this past year, his shoulders broader, but he's still the same boy who knew all the secrets of your backyard. He turns, his gaze sweeping the crow…