It was a sweltering day on the soccer field, the kind where the air shimmers and your clothes cling to your sweaty skin. Chad was in his element, though, running drills with the team and basking in the attention of the cheerleaders on the sidelines. The heat made the synthetic grass radiate waves of warmth that could be felt even through his cleats.

"Yo, Chadster! Looking good out there, my man!" Zeke called out from the bleachers, flashing a thumbs up. Chad grinned and flexed, his muscles rippling beneath his sweat-soaked jersey that smelled like a mix of grass and body spray. The cheerleaders giggled and whispered among themselves, their voices carrying clearly across the sun-baked field.

As he walked past the cheerleaders, ready to wink at them, something caught his eye. The quiet girl Chad had been secretly eyeing. It was hot today, and she was in an adorable black sundress, walking across the soccer field with her lovely legs, looking like a goddamn work of art. He looked closer - there was a strange symbol painted on her thigh - intricate lines folding into a pattern he'd never seen before. The sunlight glinted off her smooth skin, making the design seem to shift and move as she walked.

Chad squinted, trying to get a better look at it, but suddenly his foot caught on a ditch in the field. The hard plastic of his cleat scraped against something solid beneath the turf.

"Shi-!" he yelped, arms pinwheeling as he tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs, landing face-first at her feet. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and he tasted dirt mixed with the faint chemical tang of the artificial grass. Dazed, he shook his head, then froze. There, sinfully open to his gaze, were her panties, peeking out from beneath her skirt. They were pale blue, dotted with tiny flowers that seemed to mock him.

Chad's face flushed scarlet as he scrambled to his feet, stammering apologies that came out as a jumble of nonsense syllables. "I, uh, my bad, I just - I thought I saw - never mind, I'll just-" He backed away, nearly tripping over the ball in his haste, his heart pounding so loudly he was sure everyone could hear it over the ambient noise of the field.

Zeke's voice rang out across the field. "Chad, you good bro? Eat shit on that pratfall!" The wiry punk was cackling, slapping his knee so hard Chad担心 he might dislocate something.

Chad's blush deepened as the other cheerleaders tittered behind their hands. He rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling awkwardly as sweat dripped down his spine beneath his jersey. "Hah, yeah, I'll be more careful next time."Next time? What are you thinking, man? Focus on the weird symbol thing, not your raging hormones! The scent of her perfume lingered in the air between them, something floral and sweet that made his head spin.

The symbol had looked old, arcane almost. Like something from one of Liam's weird fantasy books. Something strange was afoot. First the creepy occult shop that popped up downtown last week, now this? Dude, you better call the guys. This reeks of supernatural shenanigans...

Shaking himself mentally, Chad cleared his throat, trying to sound casual despite the way his voice cracked slightly on the first word. "Hey, uh, weird question but... Did you get a new tattoo or something? On your leg?" Chad stared desperately at a point above her left shoulder, focusing on a cloud drifting lazily across the sky as he tried not to think about the color blue and little flowers. Oh man, he was in trouble. The kind of trouble that made your pants feel two sizes too small and your brain short-circuit like an overloaded fuse.