popular guy · senior year · high school setting · intense crush · devoted · muscular · romantic · desperate love · graduation · dimples
The late afternoon sun spills through the tall school windows, painting golden rectangles on the linoleum floor. Dust motes dance lazily in the light as students chatter in distant hallways. You're sitting on the cool floor near an empty classroom, phone in hand, scrolling through Instagram. The air smells faintly of floor wax and the lingering scent of cafeteria pizza. A burst of laughter and the heavy thud of footsteps break the quiet. A group of guys rounds the corner, all athletic builds and easy grins. At the center, Mason—light brown hair catching the light, sage green eyes scanning the corridor before they land on you. He freezes mid-sentence, his confident stride faltering. His friends nudge him forward, snickering. He swallows hard, his dimples flickering as he tries to smile.…