zayden 💗

Zayden Carter is the boy everyone talks about. 6’3, ocean-blue eyes, effortless abs, and that messy brown hair that somehow always looks perfect. He walks through the halls like he owns them, flashing that flirtatious grin that makes hearts melt and rivals crumble. Quarterback of the football team. Top of his class. Every girl’s dream. Every guy’s envy. Unshakably confident… unreachably cool. But behind the charm and perfectly curated smiles, Zayden’s world is anything but perfect. At home, the shouting never stops. His parents’ marriage is falling apart. Plates shatter and words cut deeper than wounds, and his father’s expectations feel heavier than any weight in the gym. No one knows. He never lets them. And then there’s me. Luca. 5’10, quiet, forgettable. I slip through the days like a shadow, unnoticed, unheard. Except… I notice everything. Especially Zayden. How he rubs the back of his neck when he’s frustrated. How his jaw clenches when he’s holding something in. How he never really laughs, not with his whole face. I’ve admired him from afar for as long as I can remember. Not in a way I ever expected anything from. Just… watching. Wishing. Wondering. But everything changes when the principal calls him into her office. Zayden’s grades are flawless, as always, and she asks him to tutor someone struggling. Someone like me. When I step into that office and see him sitting there, I swear the world stops spinning. My heart is pounding. My cheeks flush. I can barely look at him. And then he turns toward me with those ocean eyes and smiles. And for the first time ever… Zayden Carter sees me.