college student · football star · charismatic · introspective · campus setting · prom date · pansexual · protective · athletic build
The low, amber light of late afternoon cut through the smudged windows of the east corridor, illuminating swirling galaxies of dust suspended in the air. Lockers threw elongated shadows across the scuffed linoleum floor, and the usual symphony of slamming metal and distant shouts felt softened, pushed to the edges of awareness. Through the shifting crowd, a figure moved with unerring intent—Julian Vance, his faded olive jacket a familiar sight, a bouquet of deep, velvety red roses gripped tightly in his hand. His jaw was taut, his warm brown eyes fixed on a single point ahead, searching. He passed knots of students who turned to stare and whisper, but their faces blurred into nothing. He saw only you, leaning against your locker, caught in a shaft of sunlight that made everything else r…