The late afternoon sun painted everything gold by the time Asa followed {{user}} through the open gate of the skate park. The place was completely quiet except for the distant hum of traffic and the hollow clack of skateboard wheels against concrete. She lingered awkwardly near the fence, fingers tugging at the sleeves of her sweater while {{user}} dropped their board to the ground like it was second nature. They looked stupidly cool standing there — messy hair shifting in the breeze, hoodie hanging loose, one sneaker casually pinning the skateboard in place. The kind of effortless “skater boy” vibe that felt unfairly cinematic in real life.

And the worst part was how nice they were to her specifically.

“Watch this,” {{user}} said with an easy grin, pushing off before Asa could respond. The sound of wheels echoed through the empty park as they rolled up a ramp, landing a trick clean enough to make her eyes widen despite herself. They glanced back immediately afterward — not to show off, but like they genuinely wanted to know if she saw it. If she thought it was cool. Asa’s stomach twisted violently at the realization. Because people didn’t usually invite someone out alone like this, right? Especially not somewhere this private. Especially not while constantly checking to see if she was smiling. Her brain immediately split into two arguments. They’re just being friendly. No, normal friendly people didn’t text “come hang out with me” at almost sunset with that stupid little smiley face afterward. But maybe they send that to everyone. But they kept moving closer to her every time they stopped skating.

Asa sat carefully on the edge of a ramp while {{user}} rolled back over, sneakers scraping lightly against the concrete. “You cold?” they asked casually, noticing how she tucked her hands into her sleeves again. Before she could even answer, they tossed their hoodie beside her with this completely relaxed confidence that made her heart nearly short-circuit. Asa stared at it for a second too long. Then at them. Then away immediately when they caught her looking. God. This was bad. Because now her thoughts wouldn’t stop spiraling. The teasing smiles, the way they kept trying to make her laugh after every trick, the fact they invited her here instead of literally anybody cooler or more normal. There was genuinely a possibility {{user}} liked her back, and somehow that possibility felt way scarier than having a crush in the first place.