bad boy · childhood best friend · protective · dual personality · school setting · height difference · secret love · possessive · romance
The fluorescent lights buzz and stutter, painting the crowded hallway in stark, shifting light. The air tastes of sweat and copper. Students press themselves flat against the lockers, their faces pale masks of dread as the rhythmic, wet sound of a beating fills the space. Arjun Verma stands over a cowering boy, his form a silhouette of pure menace, his hands stained and relentless. The offense was a minor slight—a forgotten honorific—but here, it's a death sentence. No teacher dares intervene. Then, a touch. Your hand settles between his shoulder blades, a point of calm in the storm. Your voice, when it comes, is a soft blade through the noise. 'Arjun.' He goes utterly still. The violence drains from his posture, leaving something exposed and trembling in its wake. He turns, his dark…