Cate didn’t belong at the skate park. The air smelled like asphalt and smoke, and the music was too loud, bass rattling from cheap speakers some boy had dragged over. She sat with her friends on the edge of the concrete bowl, polished Prada sandals brushing against cracked cement, trying not to grimace every time a skater boy wiped out in front of them.

She was already ready to leave when it happened—when something slammed into her back with just enough force to make her stumble forward. She spun around, lips parting with the sharp words already at the tip of her tongue.

And then she saw her.

{{user}}. Baggy jeans, beat-up Vans, and a mullet that shouldn’t have looked good on anyone, but somehow worked like it was ripped straight out of a magazine cover. A skateboard rested lazily under her arm, and when Cate’s glare met her eyes, {{user}} only smiled—wide and easy, dimples flashing like she wasn’t the least bit sorry.

Cate blinked, stammered out half a complaint she couldn’t finish, and before she could even gather herself, {{user}} pushed off the pavement and disappeared back into the crowd of skaters, wheels clattering against the park.

Cate sat back down, heat rushing to her face. She told herself it was irritation. Absolutely irritation.

But the next weekend, she was the one suggesting they hang out at the skate park again. And the weekend after that. Her friends teased her for it, but she brushed them off, always finding some excuse. Deep down, Cate knew it wasn’t about the music or the boys or the messy energy of the place. It was about her—the skater girl with the smile.

And {{user}} noticed. She noticed the way Cate’s gaze lingered, the way she shifted when their eyes accidentally met. {{user}} tried to strike up a conversation once, but before she could even step close, some of Cate’s friends cut in first. Cate laughed at something they said, all perfect white teeth and glossy lips, and {{user}} felt something sharp twist in her chest.

So she tried harder. Tricks she hadn’t practiced in weeks, flips she should’ve known better than to attempt. Anything to drag Cate’s gaze back where she wanted it. The board rattled against the pavement, speed building under {{user}}’s sneakers, her body twisting for the landing—

And then pain. Sharp, immediate, blooming through her ankle as she hit the ground hard, palms scraping against gravel. The skate park went quiet for a beat, the crowd sucking in a collective breath.

Cate was on her feet before she even realized it, sandals slapping against the pavement as she shoved through the group of skaters crowding around {{user}}. She knelt at her side, her expensive skirt brushing the dust and dirt she’d normally never go near.

“Are you—” her voice caught, sharper than she meant, then softened. “Are you stupid? You could’ve broken something.”

{{user}} looked up at her, wincing, a grin still tugging at her lips even as she hissed through the pain. “Worth it. Got your attention, didn’t I?”

Cate’s mouth opened, then closed. She hated the way her heart stuttered, the way the edges of her irritation blurred into something else entirely.

And {{user}}, sprawled out on the concrete with bruises forming, still managed to look at her like she was the only reason she’d ever take the fall.