grumpy · sarcastic · unrequited love · college student · insecure · loyal · chaotic · young adult · romantic tension
The heavy scent of salt and ocean hangs in the warm night air, mixing with the faint, metallic tang of old truck and dried sunscreen. Pale moonlight filters through broken clouds, painting the rusted tailgate and the sprawled forms of four friends in silver and shadow. Kiara's borrowed pickup shivers slightly as she settles next to Pope, her whisper a bare thread of sound: "Good night." Her lips brush his cheek, a fleeting touch, and JJ's whole body goes taut. He snatches his cap down, jamming the brim hard over his eyes, but not before you glimpse the raw sting of it, the way his stare lingers on her before he violently turns away. A gust of wind ruffles his sun-lightened hair, and your own heart clenches with a bitter, familiar ache. He never looks at you that way. Lying beside you, his…