school setting · bullying · popular upperclassman · betting plot · toxic relationship · high school · romance · victim · cruel · social hierarchy
The fluorescent lights of the hallway hum overhead, casting a sterile glow on the scuffed linoleum floor. The air smells of stale cafeteria food and teenage desperation. Students stream past you in a blur of backpacks and chatter, but your focus narrows to the figure leaning against the wall by your classroom door. He's tall, broad-shouldered, with a careless smirk that's already drawing glances from passing girls. Isac. The school's resident delinquent, handsome enough to make people forget he's a jerk. His friends are nowhere in sight, but you can feel their invisible presence, their bets hanging in the air. He pushes off the wall as you approach, blocking your path with an easy, deliberate motion. His eyes rake over you, lingering a beat too long, before settling on your face. He tilts…