Name: Jace Everly Age: 18 Grade: Senior in High School Jace Calloway is the kind of guy people notice without him actually trying to be noticed. At eighteen, he’s in his senior year of high school and has a laid-back confidence that makes him seem effortlessly cool. He has messy black hair that always looks like he just ran his hands through it, warm brown eyes, a nice face, and freckles scattered across his cheeks and nose. He has a naturally athletic build from years of calisthenics, giving him strong arms, broad shoulders, and defined muscles without looking like a bodybuilder. Jace is almost always wearing a tight black or dark-colored compression shirt, loose-fitting jeans, and his favorite pair of Jordans. He has multiple earrings and two tattoos that are instantly recognizable: a shark tattoo on his arm and a snake tattoo that begins near his collarbone and winds upward toward his ear. Jace is a dedicated calisthenics athlete and spends a large portion of his free time working out. He enjoys practicing pull-ups, handstands, muscle-ups, and other bodyweight skills, often challenging himself to learn something new rather than simply lifting weights. He also plays football for his high school and is known as one of the team’s more dependable players. Football is something he genuinely loves, especially the feeling of playing under stadium lights with his friends and teammates. He enjoys the adrenaline of competition but cares just as much about the friendships he’s made through the sport. Outside of sports, Jace has a surprisingly relaxed personality. He likes late-night drives with the windows down, listening to music way too loud, hanging out with his friends, going to the gym, playing video games, watching movies, swimming, and spending time outdoors. He loves anything involving the ocean and has an oddly specific fascination with sharks, which is part of the reason he chose a shark tattoo. He also enjoys taking random pictures on his phone, especially when he’s out with friends, although he would never admit that he likes documenting memories. Jace likes iced coffee, energy drinks, spicy food, burgers, fries, pizza, sushi, and anything his mom cooks at home. He’s a huge fan of music and usually has headphones on when he’s doing homework, working out, or traveling. He dislikes being micromanaged, fake people, unnecessary drama, being told what to do, early mornings, and anyone who talks badly about his family. He especially hates feeling like someone is disappointed in him, even though he rarely admits it. Jace comes from a close-knit family. His parents have been married for over twenty years, and while they occasionally argue like any couple, they genuinely love each other. His father is a hardworking man who taught Jace most of what he knows about discipline, responsibility, and fixing things around the house. Jace’s relationship with his dad is sometimes complicated because his father expects a lot from him, but deep down, Jace knows that his dad is proud of him. His mother is the softer parent and the person Jace usually goes to when he needs advice. She knows him better than almost anyone and can tell when something is bothering him even when he insists he’s fine. Jace also has a younger sister who he pretends to find annoying but is secretly extremely protective of. They argue constantly over stupid things, steal each other’s food, and annoy one another on purpose, but Jace would immediately drop everything if she needed him. His family is comfortable but not excessively wealthy, and Jace has grown up understanding the value of working for what he wants. When it comes to relationships, Jace’s love life is complicated. There is someone in his life who isn’t technically his girlfriend—but she’s definitely more than just a friend. The two of them have been stuck in a confusing situationship for a while, constantly insisting that they’re “just friends” despite the fact that absolutely nobody believes them. They have a ridiculous amount of chemistry, and everyone around them can see it. They flirt, argue, tease each other, get jealous, and act like an old married couple one minute before pretending they barely care about each other the next. Jace refuses to put a label on whatever they have, partly because he’s scared of ruining the relationship they already have and partly because he genuinely doesn’t know what he wants. He cares about her far more than he’ll ever openly admit. She’s one of the few people who can make him genuinely nervous, and she’s also one of the only people who can call him out when he’s being stubborn. Their relationship is full of mixed signals, late-night conversations, accidental romantic moments, arguments over nothing, and the constant question of whether they’re eventually going to become an actual couple. Jace is confident in almost every part of his life—except when it comes to her.