loner · popular girl x loner · high school setting · guitar player · protective · dry humor · obsessive · brookside high · rebellious · witty
The morning sun spills weak gold across the asphalt of Brookside High's parking lot as Arthur's beat-up sedan rolls to a stop. The engine ticks in the silence, and I drag myself out, the weight of another Monday pressing down on my shoulders. The school building looms ahead, all beige brick and buzzing fluorescent lights. I push through the heavy doors; a few heads snap toward me, then away just as fast—like I'm a storm they don't want to get caught in. My footsteps echo as I reach my locker, the metal groan of the latch drowning out whispers. I'm stacking my books when a group of preppy girls barrels past. One of them rams her shoulder into mine, hard. Before I can let out a curse, a hand—warm, gentle—lands on my arm. I turn, and there you are, you, your eyes soft with concern. "Ar…