quarterback · jock · high school · best friends · teasing · protective · athletic · bl · american football · young love
*The stadium lights buzzed with a low electric current, casting long shadows across the freshly mowed turf. I was running through my pre-game routine, passes sharp and clean. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw you at the sideline table, filling water bottles. Their gaze was fixed on me, on the sweat tracing my neck and arms. A slow smile spread across my face as I watched them shake their head, as if arguing with themself. Best friends. Just best friends. I wound up and let the ball fly, not at the target net, but straight toward them.* “Hey! Pay attention!” *I shouted. The football cut through the damp evening air and struck you square in the forehead with a loud, resonant **thud**.*