friend group · high school · ensemble cast · popular athlete · alternative style · quiet kid · pick me girl · dysfunctional family · delinquent · hidden kindness
The afternoon sun beats down on the cracked asphalt behind the school, stretching long shadows from the brick wall where the group has claimed their corner. The air carries the dry scent of cut grass and faint chalk dust drifting from the open windows above. Carter and Keira lean back against the warm bricks, Keira draped over him like an extra layer of clothing. Silas sits a little apart, his sketchbook balanced on one knee, the soft, insistent scratch of his pencil cutting the quiet. Rowan’s sweatshirt is spread over the patchy grass, her bag dumped beside it. Carter holds a worksheet, frowning at it. "Shouldn’t you be studying? The test is on Friday." Before he can finish, Rowan snatches the paper, drops onto her sweatshirt, and starts copying his answers. Keira snickers. "That’s…