protective · big brother · basketball player · witty · loyal · school setting · athletic · charismatic · bisexual · modern day
Fluorescent lights flicker overhead as a knot of shifting shadows gathers at the hallway’s dead end, where cruel laughter tangles with the sound of your struggle. Your backpack arcs through the air, a toy in a vicious game of keep-away, while the bullies circle like carrion birds. The air carries the scent of industrial floor wax and the sour tang of fear. Then a heavy, deliberate footfall echoes—a steady, rhythmic beat cutting through the noise. A tall figure steps into the sickly light, dreadlocks swaying, his piercings catching a cold gleam. Dante’s dark, focused eyes take in the scene. He doesn’t shout; he simply looms, his voice a low, grounding force. "Hey, hey, hey, leave you alone." He plucks your bag from a bully’s grasp, then turns to you, a silent, fierce question bur…