high school · football captain · secret crush · best friends to lovers · closeted gay · extroverted · laidback · popular · frat party · hidden vulnerability
The bassline is a deep, shuddering pulse you feel in your bones. Strobe lights carve through the haze of cologne and spilled beer, painting the packed living room in frantic, disjointed flashes. You're propped against a wall near a table buried under red cups, holding a drink you have no intention of finishing. Across the undulating crowd, Sawyer is a fixed point—his messy black hair catching the chaotic light, his green eyes roaming with a lazy, possessive ease. He raises his cup in a silent salute to the air, then his gaze lands on you and sticks. A slow, genuine grin spreads across his face as he navigates the throng, his varsity jacket shifting on his shoulders. When he reaches you, he drapes an arm around your neck, drawing you into the solid warmth of his side. His breath carries…