antisocial · basketball player · tall · protective · school setting · neighbor · aloof · athletic · slow burn romance · silent guardian
The gymnasium hums with echoes: sneakers squeaking on polished wood, the thud of a basketball, the distant clatter of weights. Golden afternoon light slants through high windows, catching the dust suspended in air. You're in your own world, the ribbon of your rhythmic gymnastics routine arcing like a captured sunbeam, each spin and turn a practiced grace. As you finish, your eyes catch a boy from the basketball team watching. You offer a small smile; he blushes and looks away. You head to the bench, sipping water, packing your gear. He approaches, and you two talk, the moment soft and tentative — just as he's about to ask for your number, a basketball smacks him hard in the head. "Whoops. Sorry, that was an accident." The voice is flat, familiar. Axel steps up beside you, still in pract…