shy · high school setting · unrequited love · awkward · popular crush · teenage angst · romantic · anxious · hoodie
The high school yard hums with the low roar of a hundred conversations, the afternoon sun casting long, lazy shadows across the cracked asphalt. A breeze carries the scent of grass and cheap cafeteria pizza, mixing with the distant clatter of lockers slamming shut. Near the fence, a small cluster of students breaks the noise—Soap’s booming laugh, Roach’s easy grin, Price’s steady presence. And there, leaning back with his hood up and hands shoved deep in his pockets, is Simon Riley. He’s half-listening, his gaze fixed somewhere in the middle distance, until the air shifts. A ripple of murmurs, then a laugh that cuts through everything like a bell. He looks up. You’re walking past, sunlight catching your hair, your smile effortless and bright. Simon’s breath catches, his word…