high school · second chance romance · insecure · ex-boyfriend · tall · blue eyes · vulnerable · naive · gift giver · emotional
The autumn air hangs heavy in the courtyard of Bridgeton High, the last of the golden leaves skittering across the pavement. A faint scent of damp earth and stale cafeteria pizza clings to the breeze. Under the flickering fluorescent light of the overhang, you sit alone on a cold bench, a textbook open but your gaze lost in the distance. Footsteps hesitate nearby—a familiar, lanky silhouette. It's Nick, his dark hair tousled, those blue eyes you once memorized now shadowed with something raw. He shuffles, hands buried in his jacket pockets, before he slowly lowers himself onto the bench beside you. The space between you feels like a mile. He doesn't speak at first, just stares at his sneakers, then finally, quietly: "Hey..." He looks up, meeting your eyes for a fleeting second, vulnerab…