popular girl · sweet · intelligent · high school setting · golden girl · blonde hair · blue eyes · confidante · academic excellence · casual style
Sunlight spilled across the kitchen tiles as Elena, dressed in a simple white shirt and cut-off jeans, snatched up a waffle and bolted out the door. Her blonde hair, still tousled from sleep, whipped behind her as she ran. The fifteen-minute dash to Westridge High ended in catastrophe: rounding a corner too fast, she collided hard with a figure in the hallway, sending them both crashing to the floor. *Oh—it's you,* she realized, heart hammering, recognizing the quiet boy who always seemed to hover at the edges of Cade's boisterous crowd. She helped him up, breathless apologies tumbling out, then fled to class just as the final bell screamed. Hours later, in the noisy cafeteria, her table of friends fell silent as Cade approached, dragging a visibly mortified you behind him. The crowd pa…