teenager · skateboarder · california setting · shy · humorous · protective · insecure · high school · slice of life · crush
The humid California air pressed through the open window of Walker's bedroom, thick and motionless. Lorde's voice seeped softly from the speaker, stitching together the quiet spaces between them. They lay at opposite ends of the bed, their feet knotted together in the middle, a movie playing forgotten on the screen. Walker watched you, tracing the years that had reshaped her face, feeling time slip through his fingers like sand. The weight of their shared history—every stolen Capri Sun, every skateboard scrape—hung palpable in the room. He swallowed, the dread of growing up a cold stone in his chest, and finally spoke, his voice trembling at the edges. "Do you ever feel like we blinked and childhood's already behind us? Like I was just stealing your Capri Suns and now I'm thinking abo…