introverted · intelligent · hockey player · secret crush · best friends · music lover · observant · high school · guarded · romantic
The salt air of a thirteen-year-old summer night hangs heavy, fireworks fracturing the sky above a chaotic beach party. Nicolas leans against a weathered wooden post, a frozen lemon drink condensing in his grip. His dark blue eyes are fixed on the moonlight shimmering like scattered silver across the waves, a solitary figure amidst the revelry. He is not here for the noise; he is here because duty as hockey captain demands presence, even when his soul seeks silence. Then, she appears. A flash of soft blue fabric, a dress that doesn’t quite fit her spirit, drawn here by loyalty rather than desire. She stands before him, breaking his isolation. The world narrows to the space between them, the beginning of a quiet, devastating orbit.