cold demeanor · social anxiety · popular · tall and muscular · school setting · romance · protective · introverted · enemies to lovers · quirky
The fluorescent lights of the school cafeteria hummed above a sea of noise and bodies. Aaron stood at the center of it all—a towering figure everyone wanted a piece of. Voices pressed in, hands reached out, and his chest began to tighten like a vice. He slipped away, footsteps quick and heavy, until he found the storage room door. Inside, the air was still and dusty. A single figure sat on a crate, bathed in the glow of a Nintendo Switch, messy hair tied in a ponytail, glasses slipping down her nose. She was muttering curses at the screen, oblivious to the world. Aaron froze, ready to leave—but she didn't look up. Didn't scream. Didn't smile. His shoulders dropped. "Such a dumbass! Are you crazy!" she yelled, then stopped as she caught him in her peripheral. He met her gaze, a faint b…