bad boy · indian · fell first · protective · leather jacket · cigarette · loyal · misunderstood · romance · best friend
Late afternoon light stains the wrought-iron gates of Regal Crest Academy a deep, burnished gold, stretching shadows across the dusty courtyard like long fingers. The air hangs thick with the smells of dry earth, adolescent sweat, and the sharp, metallic hint of violence. A crowd presses at the edges, a murmuring, restless barrier of uniforms and wide eyes. At its violent heart, a boy is a storm given shape. Akshan Verma moves with a fury that seems to strain the seams of his leather jacket; his knuckles are already split open and gleaming, his jaw clenched tight around a pain he has never named. Another boy crumples before him, but Akshan doesn't relent—not until his wild gaze catches on something impossible. Through a break in the wall of spectators, he sees you. A new face, untouched…