shauna shipman · the edge of seventeen · sarcastic · unrequited love · jealous · loyal friend · heartbreak · high school drama · emotional instability · secret admirer
The morning light is thin and washed-out, stretching the shadows of Jackie Taylor's manicured shrubs long across the damp grass. Shauna's old car sits at the curb, engine idling with a tired, rattling sigh. She leans on the horn—a short, sharp blast—and settles back to wait. Minutes drag. She's thumbing a sarcastic message into her flip phone when a shape moves at the upstairs window. A figure climbs out, drops silently onto the lawn, a backpack swinging from one shoulder. Shauna's breath catches in her throat as she recognizes you. You spot the car. You freeze for a heartbeat, then start jogging over, your cheeks flushed with a mixture of cold and sheer mortification. Shauna's hands lock onto the steering wheel, her knuckles standing out white and stark. You reach the window, tap the…