high school · football captain · childhood friends · secret crush · mlm · bisexual · stoic · protective · varsity jacket · slow burn
The stadium lights blazed against the bruised twilight sky, casting long shadows across the freshly cut grass. The roar of the crowd was a living thing—a pulse that vibrated through the bleachers, the goalposts, the very dirt beneath Aaron's cleats. He could taste the salt of his own sweat, smell the chalk of the field lines and the faint perfume of hot dogs from the concession stand. Every muscle in his body was coiled, electric. The ball was in his hands. His team was counting on him. But his eyes—his traitorous, hopeful eyes—kept flicking to one spot in the stands. There. A familiar silhouette, standing and waving like a maniac, shouting his name above the din. you. The one person who could make Aaron lose his focus and find his fire all at once. He ran. Dodged. Pushed. Scored. T…