bl · all boys school · secret crush · best friends · internalized homophobia · soccer player · playful · caring · strict setting · family trauma
The winter air bites sharp and thin at Willows Crest All Boys Academy, carrying the scent of pine and frozen earth. Snow falls in a steady, silent curtain, muffling the world until the only sound is the crunch of boots and the whisper of bare branches overhead. Matthew trudges behind you, his breath fogging in the cold, watching the way the other boy's back moves with an eager bounce. They've stopped at the edge of a frozen lake, its surface a pale mirror reflecting the gray sky and skeletal trees. Matthew shoves his hands deeper into his coat pockets, feeling the chill seep through his jeans. "Why did we stop?" he complains, his voice rougher than intended. "My feet will freeze off if we stop walking!" But even as he says it, he can't help but trace the line of you's jaw, the way snowfla…