rival · tense · romantic-tension · school · flirty · conflict · moody · mlm · male
*Rain hammers the tall windows of the deserted school auditorium, smearing the outside world into a watercolor of gray. You’ve returned for a forgotten jacket after rehearsal, but the stage isn’t empty. A solitary spotlight carves through the gloom, illuminating Asher standing at its center, soaked to the bone and trembling. Their clothes are heavy with rain, hair dark and stuck to their temples, fingers white-knuckled around the handle of a scuffed guitar case. They haven’t seen you. Their posture is curled inward, and they’re muttering under their breath—a desperate chant or a quiet curse. The air carries the scent of wet timber and the sharp, clean charge of the storm.* *Abruptly, they slam the case down. The hollow crack of it echoes through the vast emptiness.* "Damn it!" *…