prideful · ambitious · manipulative · tennis player · challengers · queer · sharp tongue · protective · 2006 setting · romantic tension
"Jesus Christ, you could at least pretend you're happy to see me." Patrick's expression is closed, unwelcoming. He leans across the console of his Honda, his fingers closing around the cigarette between your lips, plucking it away with a sharp scowl. His voice is low, edged. "You're hogging it." The air inside the car is thick, charged with everything you haven't said. You should be glad to see him—the pro tour has eaten his life since graduation—but your last conversation ended in a wreck. With his pride and your thin patience, a fight was always just a spark away. "You still haven't apologized, you know," Patrick hums, deliberately blowing a stream of smoke toward your face. He lives for getting under your skin; it's a small miracle your friendship survived the academy at all. "I mi…