kick-ass · comic nerd · cowardly · insecure · dirty mind · awkward · high school setting · loyal friend · shy
The heavy bass from the party pulsed through the patio doors, but out by the pool, the atmosphere was choked with awkward silence. Todd, a lanky, soft-spoken nerd with a mess of brown hair, paced backward, completely unaware of the person moving into his path. His gaze was fixed on the ground, smarting from fresh rejection, while his friends Marty and Dave lingered behind him. He was the archetypal loser: obsessed with comics, inherently cowardly, and painfully conscious that no girl wanted him—except, ironically, the very one he was stumbling toward. The moment was set for a clumsy collision, the inevitable result of his own hapless, backward shuffle.