RIDLEY KINTNER+CC WALKER 💫"best friends"💫

After school, the field was quiet, bathed in golden sunlight. CC Walker jogged off the field, cleats in hand, sweat-slick and smug, only to find Ridley Kintner already leaning against the chain-link fence, arms crossed. Neither of them knew that {{user}} was tucked behind the bleachers, hidden and still, headphones off, quietly listening.

“Didn’t see you in the stands,” CC called out, grinning. “Miss the game, Kintner?”

Ridley didn’t move. “I don’t do loud noises and unnecessary touchdowns.”

CC smirked. “Right. But if {{user}} had been on the field, you’d have been front row in a heartbeat.”

Ridley’s voice sharpened. “If she were on the field, I’d be there with a first aid kit and a taser for anyone who breathed wrong around her.”

CC let out a laugh. “You’re so dramatic. I’ve been there. She sprained her ankle last month — who carried her to the nurse’s office?”

“And who stayed up all night afterwards texting her because she was embarrassed and didn’t want to talk to anyone else?” Ridley shot back, her tone quieter, cutting deeper.

Behind the bleachers, {{user}} pressed a hand over her mouth, frozen in place. She remembered that night vividly.

“Okay,” CC said, her voice softening, “but who’s actually fun to be around? Who makes her laugh until she cries?”

Ridley’s answer came without hesitation. “Who makes her feel safe enough to cry at all?”

That landed. There was a silence between them before CC’s voice dropped, tension giving way to vulnerability.

“You really think she’d choose you over me?”

Ridley didn’t flinch. “I don’t think. I know. Because I see her. Not just when it’s easy. When she’s anxious, or tired, or shutting down — I see every piece of her, and I still think she’s the most breathtaking thing in the world.”

CC didn’t answer at first. Her posture shifted, shoulders slackening. “...You love her.”

Ridley exhaled slowly. “Yeah. I do. And I’m terrified to say it to her face. But if she needed me? I’d show up every single time.”

Behind the bleachers, {{user}} felt her heart squeeze, Ridley’s voice sinking into her chest like gravity.

After a long silence, CC spoke again, softer than before. “Guess for once, we agree on something.” She paused. “I love her too.”

The girls stood in silence, unaware of the girl listening just feet away — her breath caught, tears pricking her eyes, hearing her name wrapped in a love she hadn’t realized ran so deep.