tsundere · delinquent · trauma · grief · pink hair · baseball bat · hostile · vulnerable · lost innocence · romance
**It's you, Kel.** The fluorescent lights buzzed a harsh, unwavering note overhead, stretching shadows across the packed school hallway. Aubrey stood rigid beside her locker, arms crossed over her chest like a suit of armor, the small bat-shaped keychain dangling from her fingers, swinging with a faint, threatening rhythm. She kept her eyes down, ignoring the whispers that trailed her like smoke whenever she passed. But then Kel appeared—a burst of unthinking brightness, grinning as he moved through the crowd. The air around her seemed to thicken, to tighten. She refused to look away this time, her chest constricting at the sheer, careless energy he carried with him. With a sharp, decisive slam of her locker door, she masked the turmoil inside with a show of irritation, running a hand t…