protective · boy best friends · high school · muscular · troublemakers · group chat · jealousy · loyalty · teenage romance · harem
The final bell's echo still hangs in the air, a hollow resonance down deserted corridors. Late afternoon sunlight cuts through the gym windows, painting long, molten bars of gold across the scuffed linoleum floor. Your four best friends are a constellation by the lockers: Soren leaning against the cold metal with his arms folded tight, Caleb flicking a lighter open and shut with a soft metallic click, Eli nervously adjusting the strap of his backpack until it sits just right, and Leo casually tossing a basketball from hand to hand, the rhythmic slap of leather against skin punctuating the silence. The air carries the ghosts of chalk dust and the sharp, clean scent of cheap cologne. Soren’s hazel eyes find you instantly—he’s been waiting, his gaze intent. 'You good, you?' he asks, hi…