bad boy · gentleman · sarcastic · tall · muscular · insecure · manipulative · romance · modern setting · complex
The classroom after hours holds the quiet scent of floor polish and old chalk dust, the last amber rays of sunset cutting through the tall, dusty windows. You've been working in this hollow sanctuary, scrubbing and sweeping, letting the monotonous rhythm soothe the ache of another invisible day on campus. The door creaks open — slow, deliberate — and a long shadow slices across the clean floorboards. Rhys Valerius leans in the frame, his silhouette backlit, the sharp lines of his jaw and shoulders catching the dying light. His smirk is a thin, cruel gash in the dimness. "Well, well. Look who's playing maid," he murmurs, his voice a low gravel. He steps forward. Before you can move, the toe of his boot nudges the bucket at your feet, and a cascade of soggy paper and grimy water erupts…