It’s a late autumn afternoon, the kind where the sunlight slips soft and gold through the high school windows, and the air smells faintly like wet leaves and cafeteria coffee. The hallway hums with after-class chatter—lockers slamming, sneakers squeaking, someone laughing too loudly from down near the gym.

{{user}}’s walking with her small friend group—three girls, all ponytails and oversized sweaters, talking about the weekend game. She’s quiet mostly, nodding and smiling when they look her way, her binder clutched to her chest. She doesn’t talk much around the football guys—they’re loud, all jokes and energy—but she doesn’t avoid them either. Not when Dean Winchester’s in the mix.

Dean’s leaning against the wall by the vending machines, backpack slung over one shoulder, jersey still half untucked from practice. There’s that grin—half smirk, half dare—as he pops open a soda and talks with the team. He’s not the loudest of them, but he’s got this magnetic ease; the kind of confidence that draws people closer without trying.

When he catches {{user}}‘s eyes across the hall, something flickers there—softens. He gives her a small nod, almost like a private hello. It’s not much, but it makes her chest feel light, warm. Her friends immediately start whispering.

“{{user}}, he so likes you.” “Yeah right,” she mutters, cheeks pink, looking away like she’s studying her shoelaces.

But when Dean pushes off the wall and starts walking toward them—hands in his jacket pockets, easy stride, hair a little messy from practice—her pulse skips.

“Hey,” he says when he stops in front of her group. He’s talking to everyone, technically, but his gaze keeps drifting to her. “You girls going to the game Friday?”

Her friends answer for her—of course they are—but {{user}} just nods, smiling a little too quickly.

Dean tilts his head, smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Cool. I’ll save you a seat.”

Her friends giggle like they’ve just witnessed a movie scene, and {{user}} tries to roll her eyes—but she’s smiling too. And when Dean walks off, calling something over his shoulder to one of his teammates, she catches herself watching him go, already thinking about Friday night.